Euphrates

If the upsurge in the number of Lebanese restaurants in Oxford in recent years is anything to go by, hookah smoking and belly dancing is in. The latest part of town to succumb to the pitta and mezze trend is East Oxford, with the opening of Euphrates on the Cowley Road last year.

As you walk in there is an open fire, which is lit when it's cold. The front of the restaurant is really a bar area but, if you want the stereotypical Moorish low tables eating experience, you can order food here. The back of the restaurant is more spartan but has proper height tables if you feel, like one of my two companions did, that this is necessary for the proper operation of your digestive tract.

We ordered a couple of portions of pitta bread and a selection of mezze, which we were generally pleased with. Our portion of spicy sausages married well with the jajik (a mint and yoghurt dip) which we'd ordered. Houmous was rather heavy on the techina and so tasted a bit too strongly of sesame for my taste. I was surprised to find that fried saganaki (Greek cheese) turned out to be battered, but the surprise turned out to be a wholly pleasant one. Both this and the other deep fried dish which we had ordered, of aubergine and courgettes, were perfectly crisp and not at all oily. Spinach and cheese filo pastries also had a great crunch and weren't too heavy. We ordered some interesting sounding olives, which the menu claimed were marinated in pomegranate juice, but we couldn't taste the pomegranate and they were actually quite ordinary. One unexpected delight was the Lebanese wine which we drank with the meal. Lebanon is not a country usually known for its wine but the bottle of red that we shared was light and spicy, went well with the food and was better quality than would be expected from an equivalent bottle from elsewhere.

A review of Euphrates wouldn't be complete without mentioning the belly dancer, proudly advertised out front, who performs at 9.30pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. We went on a Thursday despite, rather than because of, her. Whatever your views on the desirability or otherwise of belly dancing, each time she came out to perform the music was turned up loud enough that we couldn't hear ourselves talk over it, so there was little option but to watch. Looking around at the other diners, I realised that it would be a bad place to come in the company of a red-blooded male if you want to hold his attention. This makes Euphrates the wrong setting for a heterosexual date, but for other occasions it offers an unpretentious atmosphere and good food at a reasonable price.

(Two portions of pitta bread, ten mezze, a bottle of wine and service came to £16 a head.)

Natalie Gold 24.05.02