30% off Roma in London Southall, Ealing’s best Lebanese restaurant

A Middle Eastern restaurant in the heart of one of London’s curry capitals, we hear you ask? Well, there’s far more to it than that.

The people behind Roma in Southall Broadway are also the folks behind arguably the best Halal butcher in the borough of Ealing.

Located down the road in West Ealing are the co-owners of The Meat House, Muhammad Dyare and Abu Bakr, who, as anyone local will tell you, single-handedly raised the Halal butchers’ game in the area when launching 13 years ago.

Roma is more than just a Lebanese place in the heart of Southall ‘Curry’ Broadway

Southall’s first Lebanese restaurant

What this little gem of a shop lacks in size, it easily makes up for in quality, cleanliness (hygiene rating of 5) and efficiency, with a streamlined approach that’s literally second-to-none.

As for Roma, then it is Muhammad’s son, Yousuf, that has taken the primary role of running the family’s first restaurant.

With a seating capacity of around 30, what immediately sets this smartly decked-out Lebanese apart from the very many is the sheer quality of its meat, which, of course, is freshly delivered from just up the road.

Roma is run by Ealing's best Halal butcher: The Meat House

Ealing's best Halal butcher The Meat House launch Roma in Southall

What makes things even more interesting is that they make virtually everything served inhouse, which includes the meticulous 18-19 hour marination process of their shawarma.

This involves the meat being marinated at 6-7pm, wrapped in cling film at around midnight, and brought out in the morning each and every day.

Hummus Shawarma Platter – Chickpeas puree with sesame paste, lemon juice & olived oil, shawarma meat & pine nuts, £9.99

The first thing we look for in a classical hummus is consistency, and this Hummus Shawarma Platter isn’t just made fresh to order, but was also silky smooth.

Add to that juicy chunks of chicken shawarma, and this was a fantastic start to the review.

Falafel Platter – Deep fried croquettes of chickpeas, sesame & fine herbs, £7.99

You can’t get better than freshly-made falafels, and this marvellous Falafel Platter was one of the highlights of this review.

Resting on a bed of finely-chopped salad were golden balls of goodness, whose addictively crunchy outer coating gave way to a delectably hot and herbaceous chickpea interior which we couldn’t get enough of.

Kibbeh Platter – Beef crushed wheat shell filled with minced lamb & onion, £8.99

These kibbeh were both robust and delicately crispy in equal measure. The finely-minced lamb filling was subtly seasoned with herbs and spices, and went well with the tahine sauce.

Fattoush – Lettuce, tomatoes, spring onion, mint, parsley, raddish, pepper, cucumber, pomegranate molasses, £6.99

The balance achieved between the sweet and the sour in this fresh and engaging Fattoush turned out to be one of the best we’ve had. Be sure to give this a good toss before diving in.

Chicken Shawarma – Roasted thin slice of marinated chicken, garlic sauce, pickles & tomatoes, £6.50

All it took to make this wrap stand out from the many others out there was that little extra effort in grilling the exterior of the wrap to a crisp finish.

Couple that with the succulent pieces of tasty poultry mixed with garlic sauce therein, and this memorable Chicken Shawarma wrap would be one we’d happily travel for.

Mixed Shawarma (Chicken & Lamb) – Roasted marinated lamb & chicken, garlic sauce, tahini sauce & sesame paste, £7.50

This Mixed Shawarma wasn’t far off. Although the chicken was, once again, wonderfully moist and flavourful, had its lamb counterpart been more chunkier in size, and therefore not as chewy and crispy, the combination of the two would have worked far better.

We also appreciated the small details Roma have put in, such as their thin naans being covered in the juices of the meat to ensure that extra flavour profile.

Mixed Grill Platter – Skewers of chicken taouk, lahem meshy kofta, wings, lamb, grilled veg, with chips or rice, £22.99

This Mixed Grill Platter, which comprised of a selection of charcoal-grilled meats, was as good as any we’ve had in recent times.

Everything was on point, with perhaps the lamb cubes being the best of the bunch, given their juicy pink interior.

These were followed closely behind by the deliciously-good kofta kebabs, which boasted that perfect textural balance, with both the chicken taouk and wings having been charred enough to deliver that smoky hit.

Lamp Chops Platter – Served with rice or chips and grilled vegetables, £21.99

Again the attention to detail, with the chops in this attractively presented Lamp Chops Platter being carefully French-trimmed, wrapped in foil, and expertly chargrilled to a tee. Recommended all the way.

Grilled Baby Chicken Platter – Boneless chicken served with rice or chips, £15.99

Even before we got underway with this Grilled Baby Chicken Platter, we knew, given the precedence set, that this was going to be ultra moist on the inside and charred to crunchy-cum-crispy finish on the out.

And so it proved with this boneless chicken, which was sensationally executed, with a portion of crispy chips to boot.

Tea and Baklava

All that was required to round off an impressive outing to Southall’s first and only Lebanese restaurant, was a well deserved cup of Lebaese tea and some dainty baklava.