Mamounia Lounge (Middle Eastern) – Knightsbridge

The first thing that leaps out at you when walking past Mamounia Lounge on a busy evening in Knightbridge is its buzzing atmosphere.

It’s the open shop front, with seating for 10 outdoors, that does the trick in drawing you in.

The monochromatic brown and tan colour scheme, which includes the effective use of curtains and hanging drapes, and Moroccan style gold-plated cutwork light shades, which cast atmospheric shadows across the walls and ceiling, combine well to create a wonderfully warm, cosy and relaxed environment.

With dark heavy tables and black chairs, along with thick, fluffy red shag pile rugs, it doesn’t take long to feel that Middle Eastern vibe going on here.

For a seemingly narrow restaurant, Mamounia Lounge also does remarkably well in making full use of the restricted space by comfortably accommodating 100.

While a capacity of 40 is available at the front, a short walk up a flight of stairs and past the restaurant’s well partitioned alcohol bar brings you to an impressively long dining lounge at the back which not only offers space for 50 more, which includes an intimate booth area for 10 known as the “royal box”, but also succeeds in lending a touch of luxury and opulence.

Virgin Punch (left) – Strawberry puree, fresh Passion Fruit, Almond and Strawberry syrup shaken with Passion Fruit juice, £8.00
Virgin Mamounia (right) – Fresh Mint shaken with Lime juice and Sugar, served over crushed ice, £7.00.

These two elegantly presented mocktails certainly looked the part. While the Virgin Punch tasted just as good as it looked, with a sweet fruity combo that allowed for the passionfruit and strawberry to come through strongly, the mint in the Virgin Mamounia was pronounced and thoroughly refreshing.

Virgin Mojito – Pineapple (left), Classic (right) – £8.00 each

Simply presented with glasses comprising of around 70% ice, while the Classic didn’t quite achieve the balance we were looking for given the hint of lemon against the strong mint, the pineapple in its counterpart, though weak to begin with, slowly began to come through, though not nearly as much as we’d have liked.

Assortment Platter (not on the menu) – Hot & Cold Mezes, and Lebanese & Moroccan Pastries

HommusMohammaraMoutabel

Hommus (vegan) – Creamy pureed Chickpeas whipped with Tahini, Sesame Oiland Lemon Juice, served with hot Lebanese Bread, £6.75

As with any good hommus, this was smooth in terms of its consistency, with a slight tangy edge to it courtesy of the squeeze of the lemon.

Mohammara (vegan, gluten free) – Roasted crushed Nuts blended with Red Peppers, Garlic, Sweet Chili and Olive Oil, £8.50

What an absolutely fantastic Meze this Mohammara was.

The depth of flavour of the chilli red peppers mixed with the roasted nuts was superb. But what really brought the dish alive was the clever addition of the slithers of red chilli which married wonderfully with the smoky, sweetness of the peppers, to deliver a taste sensation that made this the best of the cold mezes.

Moutabel (veg) – Smoked Aubergine puree with Tahini, Garlic and Lemon Juice topped with Pomegranate Seeds. Served with hot Lebanese Bread, £7.00

Smooth consistency is what defined this smartly presented Moutabel. What made this stand out from the many other Moutabels we’ve had is the balance of flavours.

The combination of the freshness of the mint, the burst of sweetness from the pomegranate topping, and the tangy sourness of the lemon juice assured that this was one to remember.

Falafel (vegan, gluten free) – Fritter of Fava Beans, Broad Beans, Coriander and Cumin, topped with Sesame Seeds. Served with Tahini Sauce on the side, £6.75

This really was a memorable Falafel. With a deliciously crispy exterior, the cumin-infused soft interior was perfectly tempered by the slightly sour, though watery, Tahini sauce.

(Top-Bottom) Lamb Briouat – Golden brown parcels of Filo pastry with minced Lamb, Onions and Spices, £6.50
Cheese Briouat – Golden brown parcels of Filo pastry with Halloumi Cheese, Goats Cheese, Feta Cheese, Parsley and Thyme, £6.75
Bourek (vegan) – Golden brown crispy Filo pastry filled with seasonal Vegetables, £6.50
Cheese Sambousek (veg) – Light savoury pastry filled with Halloumi Cheese, Parsley and dried Mint, £8.00

An interesting selection of pastries here.

Lamb Briouat

The Cheese Sambousek certainly had a soft, almost creamy cheesy interior that was encased by a thin, semi-crunchy pastry.

The Bourek spring roll, on the other hand, was crispy, crunchy and flaky, with a subtly spiced though tasty vegetable filling.

As for the Cheese Briouat, then its cheese filling was both slightly more dense and slightly more flavourous than its Sambousek competitor making this far better.

But its Lamb cousin stole the show. With the spice perfectly balanced, this little package was full of flavour.

Truffle Hommus (vegan) – Creamy pureed Chickpeas whipped with Tahini, Truffle Oil and Lemon Juice. Served with fresh Truffles, wild Mushrooms, crispy Chickpeas and warm Lebanese Bread, £12.00

And the Chef should certainly be proud of this one. Truffle hommus heaven here!

Not only was the hommus once again ultra smooth, but it had the distinct fragrant taste of truffle running through it. Add to that the sweetness of the dried carrot and beetroot crisps, which provided that much needed textural contrast, along with the light pepperiness of the watercress leaves, the earthiness of the mushrooms, and fresh muskiness of the fresh truffles, and what you had here was an earth-shatterinly addictive dish that positively held our interest right to the end. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Quinoa and Grape Salad (vegan) – Steamed Quinoa, Puy Lentils and Grapes seasoned with Zaatar, Mint and Mabrouka Olive Oil, £9.00

This Quinoa and Grape Salad was a decent one – crunchy and subtly flavoured with a mild minty aftertaste.

According to their website:

Chef says: All meats are halal and marinated for a minimum of 24 hours

Meshoui (Gluten Free) – Traditional shoulder of Lamb marinated in Moroccan Spices, slowly roasted for 8 hours. Served with fresh Dates, Orange and Apricots. Homemade Bouillon served on the side, (Serves 1) £18.50

#LoveLambWeek (1-7 September) indeed! The delicately spiced shoulder of lamb was beautifully cooked, offering a texture that was mostly soft and succulent, but also satisfyingly chewy in places.

As to the addition of the slices of orange placed on either side of the wooden platter, an erect date, and a duo of dainty little pocketed apricots containing what seemed like prunes, then while we all appreciated the attempt at thinking-outside-the-box, we weren’t entirely sold by the concept.

For one, we were unanimous that the orange was far too intense in flavour to allow for the lamb to stand on its own merit. And while one Lion appreciated the sweetness and chewiness delivered by either the apricots and the date, the other believed that the dish required something far sharper than the orange slices to balance each given mouthful.

The pot of bouillon (that’s the posh French word for broth), on the otherhand, while fine in terms of consistency, had an annoyingly bitter edge to it.

And as for the el dente rice, then it was subtly spiced and a good addition to the dish.

Duck Pastilla – Aromatic spiced Duck Confit wrapped in crispy Faille de Brick pastry. Served on a bed of Spinach with a Prune puree, caramelised Plums and Pistachios, £16.50

A second Chef’s Special that left us mightily impressed.

Our admiration for this beautifully presented Duck Pastilla was only surpassed by the sheer joy experienced in devouring this gorgeous bird.

To our delight, the slow-cooked confit duck turned out to be ever so juicy and flaky.

The bed of spinach was the perfect foil against the sweetness of the caramelised plums, while the prune droplets, seemingly intensified in flavour, added an additional level of sweetness that allowed for the distinct taste of the duck meat to come through strongly.

Overall, a very satisfying eat and one we’d recommend any day of the week.

Farruj Meshwi – Free range butterflied baby Chicken marinated with Paprika, Coriander, Lemon and Olive Oil. Served with Watercress, grilled Chilli and a grilled Tomato stuffed with Herbs, Shallots and Bread crumbs, £15.50

The most impressive thing about this well charred, though nonetheless tender, baby chicken was its spicy marination.

As with the above Meshoui, this too was served with a slice of orange and a pocketed apricot housing a prune. This time, however, the spiced rice was placed beside the butterflied chicken.

And while we again dismissed the slice of orange as extraneous, on this occasion we felt as though the prunes didn’t bring much to the plate. What’s more, we were left scratching our heads as to whether the gooseberry was added as a garnish or something more!

More bizarrely was the fact that the “grilled Chilli and a grilled Tomato stuffed with Herbs, Shallots and Bread crumbs”, as mentioned on the menu for the Farruj Meshwi, were entirely absent. Unless we’ve overlooked something, this dish appeared to be somewhat altered!

In any case, for what it was worth, we were left to enjoy the simple flavours of the rice and the chicken alone without the distraction of all those misplaced additions.

Orange and Almond Cake (Gluten Free) – Served with toasted Almond flakes, Ice Cream and Orange Segments, £7.50

This smartly presented Orange and Almond Cake was a great recommendation made by Mamounia Lounge‘s jovial and ever-smiling manager, James.

The combination of the luxuriously creamy pistachio ice cream, the sweet orange segment, and the toasted almond flakes were certainly required to counter the bitter-sweet sharpness delivered by the cake’s crispy caramelised orange top layer.

A delicious dessert to round things off!

Chocolate Fondant – Served with Vanilla Ice Cream, £10.50

And though this Chocolate Fondant was also a recommendation, it didn’t quite do it for us.

The biggest shortcoming here was that the fondant turned out to be dense and stodgy, and consequently dry.

Despite this, however, it did manage to retain a relatively liquidy chocolate centre.

And since this slow, gooey outpour had a bitterness to it, the sharpness of the blackberry and strawberry fruits coupled with the sweetness of the deliciously smooth vanilla ice cream was definitely needed to balance things out.

In the end, however, a fairly substandard fondant.

(Left-Right) Green Tea £4.00, Moroccan Tea £3.50

And, of course, we couldn’t visit a Moroccan-inspired restaurant without ending the evening enjoying a Moroccan Tea. What we got was absolutely fantastic both in terms of its presentation – a shiny brass plated tea pot – and taste. In fact, the intensity of the tea was such that one could smell its fragrance when being poured from a height.

But be sure to have this “medium sweetened”; only then will you appreciate its soothingly sweet, fresh mintiness.

The Green Tea was always going to pale in comparison!