Rue Du Liban — Restaurant in Mumbai

Rue Du Liban : The restaurants name is derived from one of the most elegant and posh streets next to the French colony in Lebanon.

AMBIENCE (5/5) : Upon entering I thought I had walked into one of the street cafes of Lebanon with wonderful ambient lighting and lovely background music.

SERVICE (5/5) : The staff was very warm and welcoming and was on point at all points. Mr Hanumanta did an excellent job of explaining all the dishes to us. Amazing hospitality.

A FEW OF MY FAVOURITES👌😍♥️🌟 WERE :

DRINKS 🥂-

LIBANADE Crushed ice soda with flavours of star anise, lime and mint. Very light and refreshing perfect way to start the meal. MUST HAVE ✔️

COLD MEZZE -

1. HOMMOS BEIRUTY ⭐: One of the best hommos I have had till ddate.The chickpeas were fist mashed then mixed with a creamy yogurt and tahini. It was whipped till the texture was smooth, light and airy. MUST HAVE✔️

2. RAHIB 🔥: I dont like aubergine's at all but this was another one of my favourites. The aubergine's were fist blanched in cold water after which they removed the skin and seeds and made it into a paste adding bell peppers, tahini and then smoking it. Had an amazing burst of flavours in my mouth leaving a smokey after taste. MUST HAVE✔️

3. LABNEH MEIZEH : This dish is definitely for cheese lovers as it was rich in flavour and salty. The goats cheese is soaked in brine which gives it that nice watery and salty taste. Topped with sumac as a garnish, fried mint and pistachio. PS : This dish is a bit on the heavier side and may not suite everyone's pallette.

HOT MEZZE -

1. FALAFEL : Only order if you are ready to get your hands messy. Crispy chickpea croquettes served with harissa and tahini along with raddish, cherry tomatoes and pickled chillies. Make sure to try and include each element in the bites you take.

All the above mentioned dishes were served with a fresh and light pita bread which they make completely in house

BAKERY -

1. JIBNEH ARAYES🔥⭐ : A lovely light Lebanese bread in which you will find layers of 3 cheeses mixed with a harissa sauce. It looks like a pizza but isn't one, the texture is of cheese but actually doesn't taste like it. This dish gave us surprise after surprise in terms of looks and taste. Just spectacular. MUST HAVE✔️

DESERTS :

1. BEKLEWA 🤩👌 : Nice and light phyllo pastry which had the texture of a khari biscuit. Lovely aromatic mastic ice cream which gets it's flavour from the dried resin of a mastic tree. On the base was a nice cruncy mixture of nuts with toasted sesame seeds, honey and sugar blossom syrup. Lovely combination with a twist to the traditional baklava. MUST HAVE✔️

2. OSSMALLIEH : Baked vermicelli with rose petals ice cream. The vermicelli noodles gave this desert a nice crunch which went well with smooth and silky texture of the aromatic rose petal ice cream. The ice cream was fresh with pieces of rose in it. This is something you will not find anywhere very unique.

SCOPE FOR IMPROVEMENT 😐😑😶

1. SHANKLISH (Cold Mezze) : Aged and dried levantine cheese mixed with a few herbs, tomatoes and olive oil. There was something about this dish which just dint feel right. It was too dry.

2. FATTOUCH (Salad) : Fresh vegetables served with a lemon oil dressing with strips of crispy fried bread in a pomegranate molasses. It was a nice salad but it just lacked the wow factor for me.

3. SHISH TAOK (Grills) : Marinated grilled chicken with biwaz and toum on a Lebanese Flatbread. The chicken was nice and juicy in which you could taste the lovely marination. However on a whole when you try it all together it tasted average.

4. BOMBAY JALLAD (DRINKS) : A mixture of pomegranate, dates and pistachio. At first you get an overwhelming taste of pomegranate sourness which is followed by the sweetness of the dates. Quite an unusual drink.

PS : Most of their portions are small in size for sharing other than a few exceptions. So order accordingly.

A meal for 2 would be anywhere from an upward range of 4K depending on what you order.

Thank you team Rue Du Liban for an amazing fine...

Moutabal Baba Ghanouj; Baba Ghanoush is more of a kind of dip in Levantine cuisine. The dip is generally made from olive oil, garlic, and other seasonings along with mashed eggplant (Aubergine). At this place, his dish was served perfectly — a cold mezze that was served with two pita bread. The pita bread was very soft and delicious. Chargrilled aubergine was mixed well with the tahini sauce. The preparation was then topped with pomegranate, spring onions, and sumac. The sumac powder gave the dish a picturesque look.

Samaka Harra: After trying a cold mezze, I tried a hot mezze. Comparisons are a sin when you are at such a beautiful place but still I would say that my choice of hot mezze was better than the choice of cold mezze- nothing taking away from the cold mezze though. The spicy tomato sauce is the essence of the dish. I must say that this dish was also done perfectly and I loved every bite of it. A non-veg preparation- the fish was very soft and delicious. Samaka harra is basically a taste from Beirut, equally loved in Tripoli. If you love fish, then this is for you — a highly recommended dish.

Halloumi: If you do not understand what Halloumi is, better I must say that this is more of a kind of paneer- pardon me for that. Halloumi is one of the varieties of cheese generally made up from goat and sheep’s milk. The Halloumi is well-taken with people from Cyprus. The cheese was perfectly grilled and served as a base for the salad. Over the cheese, the rocket lettuce and cherry tomatoes were placed perfectly along with the pomegranate. The olive oil hint was perfect — a salad that can be chosen if you love to try a various variant of cheese.

Soujok: Another hot mezze- disappointed us a bit. Lamb sausages were not fresh, they were processed and may be because of this reason the flavour was missing. Lamb sausages were prepared in cherry tomato gravy along with bell pepper and pistachio were sprinkled over the final preparation. Good in taste but missed the hint.

Jawaneh: Chicken wings grilled perfectly. The charcoal grilled chicken wings- a pure delight to the appetite. Topped with dukka spice and served with toum dip. The toum dip missed the feel of garlic but it was one of the finest dips, I had in recent times. The chicken wings were loosely marinated with the toum dip - Not a side dip as you get with other dishes. Pomegranates were sprinkled over the final preparation to give it a picturesque look. A dish that was loved a lot by us. A highly recommended dish.

Mashewi Mshakal: A dish from Grill section. After trying various sections, we moved to the grill section. It was awesome — the best of the platter. It contains charcoal grilled chicken cubes, beef cubes, and minced lamb kebab. All the three types of meat were served over the Lebanese bread. Grilled tomatoes and onion made the flavour perfect. Half cut onion and tomato was grilled and served along with the dish. The taste was delicious. The flavours of the dish were perfect. A highly recommended dish.

We also tried some of the mocktails. They were good but in patches.

Kalaghoda Spritzer: A tonic water preparation with a blend of peach, pomegranate, and orange along with the rosemary. The drink was perfect, a bit tangerine.

Fruit and Nut Smoothie: A smoothie as good as we ended up ordering twice. A fig based smoothie with a blend of various nuts along with yogurt. The flavour in itself is a delight — a highly recommended drink.

Beirut Breeze: A blend of pineapple and pomegranate juice with a hint of peach. The sumac at the rim of the glass makes the drink perfect. The taste of sumac enhances the flavour of the drink. A highly recommended drink.

Rosemint Lemonade: a let-down. Missed the lemonade feel. The feel of rose was too high to adjust with. May be an off day with this one. The mint and lemonade feel were missing completely.

In desserts, we tried Beklewa and Tahina ice cream. The baklawa is a crunchy Lebanese dessert made up of phyllo pastry filled with nuts and soaked into...

Rue Du liban - Streets of Lebanon. Liban also means Successful. This is a New Opening at KalaGoda. Maybe a month and a half. Happening place. The who's who of Mumbai might have already visited the place. Serves Lebanese food plus some Syrian. Ambiance is class. Gives you 60's feel. Chic and ancient feel. Not going much into the details let's start with what I had a couple of days back.

Middle Eastern Soups are a Must try - Lentil Soup was amazing. Loved the texture and the balance. Lentil is very common and popular when it comes to soup. Lovely Flavour with a touch of cumin and drizzle of olive oil. Caramelised Onions were a surprise however they did enhance the taste. Just that tad sweetness which was required. Overall lovely.

Cold Mezze - They have a good choice hence difficult to choose.

Mohammra - Entire Middle East has its way of making mezze. Lebanon has that sweet/spicy touch to it. Rusty in texture. Blend of Roasted red peppers with a bit of Harrisa which gives you that spicy touch. Pomegranate Molasses gives that sweetness. Crushed walnuts and Olive oil. Overall a lovely dish. Goes well with the Pita.

Bourghoul w Banadoura (Bulgur Grain) it's basically wheat based product from the Middle East. Various methods of getting different textures. Finest grade requires less cooking. Its grain using Tomato broth but not sticky. Healthy option. A bit of onions/Garlic and olive oil. Cherry tomatoes and scallions went well. Tasted good.

Labneh Meizeh - wow this was good. Levantine Goat cheese shaped till a ball topped with Pistachio a bit of sumac and Garnish of fresh Mint. This was rich. Uploading the picture to give you a better idea. Balance was perfect as pistachio did cut the sharpness of the goat cheese.

When one visits a Lebanese restaurant or their homes - Tabbouleh and Fattoush are mandatory.

TABBOULEH - one of the best I have eaten in Bombay. It's all about getting the balance correct. Citrusy feel. Parsley plays a big roll. It's a combination of finely chopped parsley/ diced tomatoes/Mint/ diced onions/ lemon juice/salt/pepper and OLIVE OIL. Some may use Burgur as well. Here the chef kept it simple. Loved this.

FATTOUSH - to get a perfect one in Mumbai is difficult. Guess these guys did get it. Crunchy/Minty/sweet/lemony they had it all. In short a lovely balanced salad. Mixed vegetables in pomegranate molasses with lemon dressing. Sumac plays a big role to get it correct. Crispy Lebanese bread gets you the crunchiness. Primary ingredients used Purslane/tomato/cucumber/sumac/Khubz (toasted) Onion/mint. End result = fantastic.

Hot Mezze - Foul Moudamas. I did not try. Got a thumbs up from my partner. It's all about boiled fava beans and chickpeas with Pine Nuts a bit of garlic and lemon. Semi liquid texture. Subtle in taste.

Bakery: Asked for Jibneh Arayes (loved the filling) this is a Lebanese flat bread. Crust was good. Baked. Harrisa (spice) feta/emmental and mozzarella topped with marinated olives. Do try this. Spices and Flavours were balanced well.

Manakeesh Zattar - found it a bit dry. Could have been better. Freshly baked bread (flat) topped with zaatar, sumac. Missed the glaze and sheen of Sesame and olive oil. (Chef please looks into it) balance could have been better.

Mains:

KAFTA MESHWI - this was the STAR dish of the day. Middle East is known for Lamb Kebabs. These guys did a perfect job. Minced Lamb kebab (soft juicy grilled to perfection) placed on Lebanese bread with Biwaz (preparation from Arabic flat bread topped with red pepper paste Onions mixed with sumac and parsley) Biwaz is always served with Meshwi. In short it's a Red pepper paste. Coming back to other condiments on the dish. Onions/Tomatoes with sumac and a portion of Chopped...