Al Khayma — Restaurant in London

Al Khayma is the best hidden secret in Illford! I had been wanting to eat Lebanese food for a while and knew there were a few decent restaurants in the city but my partner convinced me that his colleagues swore by this ‘fantastic’ restaurant in Illford but I was not convinced! However since he insisted and I wanted to eat, I begrudgingly took his suggestion and he booked us in for dinner. The place was easy to find. Just 7 minutes walking from Illford train station on the newly Elizabeth Line or 2-3 bus stop if one does not fancy the walk. There we were greeted by Saad who was super friendly and accommodating. He was extremely helpful and helped us with some choices on the menu while offering excellent suggestions! The restaurant had an ambient atmosphere and the gentle traditional music playing in the background gave it a relaxing vide that travelled the mind to exotic destinations. It also had a well decorated flower wall that would look great for those #hashtags on Instagram (if anyone is up to that kind of stuff!)

So when the food arrived, the restaurant offered little appetising sides with Lebanese bread that was warm and homely. I ordered the Shish Tawook (charcoal grilled skewers of chicken) which was juicy and cooked to perfection with a side of chips but it also came with a complimentary salad. My partner ordered a grilled boneless baby chicken that he said it was crispy on the outside with a soft interior that was super tender and flavoursome. But wait. There is more..! Since it was B.H Monday and were were out-out, we decided to do a little extra and ordered a Halloumi side and another one called Batara Harra. In one word I would describe it as mind blowing! The portion of the Halloumi was surprisingly generous and the Batara Harra was a dish of potato cubes marinated in all sorts of flavours and served on a bed of sweet peppers and chilly. It came with a quartered lemon (which I thought was odd) but after a few bites I decided to drizzle some on top of the potatoes (assuming that it might serve a specific purpose) and boy was I right about that! I genuinely don’t understand how a few drops of lemon can transform a dish so much but honestly if you order this food, just use the lemon! You won’t regret it. After completion of dinner we were offered free of charge a traditional Lebanese tea which unfortunately did not have the time to be taste but that was not a problem as we were already decided that we would be visiting this place again. Overall lovely staff, great food with generous portions and a relatively reasonable bill that would work out about £20-25 per person including drinks. Extra bonus is the Valentine’s Park across the street. A huge park with a central lake for an evening stroll, that also includes a large playground area if you are visiting the area with children. So yes, that was our culinary experience at the Al Khayma. Friendly service, great food, clean establishment and reasonable prices. Really nothing more to ask. Highly...

Would give 0 stars if I could. I walked in to buy a shawarma for takeaway, the worker looked at me as if I'm an alien. He said 'what do you want'? To which I replied 'I would like a shawarma for takeaway please'. He went to the front till near the entrance without calling me (he was cleaning too so I thought maybe he's putting his equipment away). He then proceeded to loudly shouting to get my attention. I walked to the till which is hidden behind the hall at the entrance, and ordered. Thereafter, he did not tell me where to wait or if I could sit, I was left near the entrance behind the hall. I just wondered around a little while on my phone (my 1st time at this restaurant and covid signs everywhere so not sure if i could even enter or sit at the tables). Then the manager came down and looked at me very suspiciously and asked 'everything ok?', to which I responded, 'yes I've ordered'. He not so politely then said 'take a seat'. Then my food was ready and when he gave me the bag no eye contact was made no smile, I said 'thank you have a great evening', and got no response. The shawarma wasn't great either, I'd give it 3/10 due to it being vertically filled on one half while the other half was empty so I folded it in on itself vertically. Also, the entire time it felt like I was not wanted there and even my presence was not acknowledged except by the guy that had no choice but to attend to my order, which he done very rudely, as well as the manager who only came to me as he was very likely suspicious for whatever reason (maybe me just standing around walking up and down a little while on my phone, as not told if I could sit or if I could come back inside after ordering). My first experience here and I'll never be going to al khayma again. The workers need to be replaced or taught how to respect and acknowledge customers, and the manager needs to understand that looking at people as if they're thieves or a risk is disrespectful and uncalled for. I'm a medical student, last thing I want on a weekend evening is to be treated like that at a restaurant after all the stresses I...

Fizzy Cola Bottles £18 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Alkhayma is a Lebanese Restaurant in Cranbrook Road. We started off with food in the main restaurant which was very nice, authentic Lebanese cuisine for a fraction of the prices you would pay around central London. The shisha Lounge is separate from the restaurant, as soon as I walked in it reminded me of those Middle Eastern style lounges I’ve been to such as Shisha Garden Grill, Al Arez 2 and Deserts Rose all of which lacked in their shisha that I gave them 2 stars each. This on the other hand was different, we ordered fizzy cola bottle and this smoked very well. It was a long time since I smoked a very flavourful fizzy cola, the shisha was made to perfection with 4 coals the clouds were smooth and very very thick. We smoked over an hour and half with the flavour still pulling through. Coals used were good quality with a set lasting over an hour without breaking and hardly any ash falling off. Service here was impeccable the guys certainly know how to look after their customers. The seating was comfortable and laid out nicely, plenty of sofas and chairs. Prices are decent compared to what’s being charged now with Al Fakher at £16, Premium at £18 and Frozen at £20. Plenty of parking after 6:30 and some roads have all day free parking if you can walk a few minutes. Overall a very enjoyable visit, will definitely visit again and highly recommend anyone to visit this little gem...