Food & Drink

Restaurant Review BY MELISSA REYNOLDS

Danny’s Lebanese

Good food with a big personality

Eponymously named for its larger than life owner, ‘Danny’s’ Lebanese Restaurant is a gem of a find just off the busy commercial area at the corner of Griva Digeni and Colombia and a safe enough distance from the tourist areas to provide an indication of its food quality and value for money.

Danny likes things done his way, the right way, so whilst keeping one eye on the staff and the food going out, the other is artfully trained on the front door to ensure all customers entering the restaurant receive one of the warm, hearty greetings and giant handshakes for which he is renowned.

Choosing to eat early, although most diners come late on weekends to catch the restaurant’s live entertainment, it was still quiet enough for me to get a feel for the place and a good look at the d?cor. In spite of the sturdy dark-stained wooden front doors and scattering of shisha pipes, overall the look is understated Mediterranean meets Middle East. It avoids the excessive ethnic theming you might expect, yet achieves a sense of the culture, enhanced by the delicious cooking smells wafting from the kitchen.
Ordering a light local white wine to complement the freshness of the food, it arrived promptly and well chilled, quickly followed by the appearance of an enormous decorative salad arrangement, presumably not for consumption unless you want to tackle its skilfully presented whole lettuce, uncut peppers and cucumbers.

Given the vast array of delicious-sounding Lebanese dishes like Arayes Kefta, (ground lamb mixed with tomatoes, parsley, onions, pine seeds & spices grilled on Lebanese bread), putting together your own feast from the selection can be difficult. With time ticking by and under mounting pressure from my partner, who as always wants to try everything, we both plumped for the meze to provide us with a good assortment of goodies to savour. The menu lays claim to the Lebanese invention of this popular style of eating, which is perfect if you are either unfamiliar with the food or in my case, a serial menu ditherer. It seems only correct to throw yourself in whilst removing the order risk factor and food envy provoked when your companion’s choice is better than yours.

We needn’t have worried as not a single dish within the ten or so generous portions laid out before us disappointed, ticking all the sensory boxes, easy on the eye and with an unmistakable fragrance of the very freshest ingredients.

My partner, a connoisseur of Middle Eastern food who would eat it noon and night if he could, proclaimed the homous to be the best he had ever tasted, and I must admit – though I’m not normally a fan – it was a much smoother and tastier blend without the mild bitterness that I have previously encountered. My particular favourite was the sweet and gently spiced M’Hamara; so much so, that even at the point when my stomach was becoming uncomfortably full I was still reaching for the bread to dip into it, wondering if Danny might provide a vat of the stuff to take home with me.

The falafel were a product of rare scientific genius in achieving a procession of individual flavours each hitting the tastebuds in an orderly fashion and further enhanced with a good dollop of Labneh Imtawmeh, a minty, garlic yoghurt. Along with standard dishes, actually surpassing all standards, such as Tabouleh and Fatoush, were chicken kebabs cooked in special sauces and Mishwe Kefta, tightly packed ground lamb and beef with parsley, herbs and spices. Other dishes included a couple of aubergine concoctions, stuffed vine leaves and a range of smaller items too numerous to mention.
By late evening the place was jam packed, even so, when a party of 16 people arrived a day early Danny did some shifting around and squeezed them in rather than disappoint them.

“I promote happy times,” he said, refusing to turn them out into the night.

Unfortunately this meant that with one member of staff short for the evening we were unable to catch the busy waitress’ attention long enough for a run-down of the dessert menu, probably just as well considering we were already fit to burst, so we settled for Lebanese coffee instead.

When the entertainment arrived in the shapely form of a belly dancer, all eyes, particularly those of the male patrons, were temporarily diverted from plates onto the gyratory spectacle around the tables. By the time we left at around 11pm she had already managed to do three sets and glittery costume changes although the party was still in full swing with no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

For fabulous food at reasonable prices, traditional entertainment and convivial atmosphere Danny’s is bang-on target; just be sure to wear loose clothing and be prepared to party.

VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALITY: One hundred per cent Lebanese (although some French influenced dishes can be requested)
WHERE: Off the corner of Griva Digeni and Colombia past the Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank
CONTACT: 25587711 or visit www.bigdannys.com
PRICE: Meze, a bottle of wine and coffee for two came in at just over £30
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