I had walked past Restaurant Du Liban countless times on my way through town, and never really given it a second glance.  I knew it was there, tucked upstairs above Boswells on Broad Street, yet never really had any intention of eating there.  The advertisement of Belly Dancers and an Eat As Much As You Want (though not available Friday and Saturday evenings) menu did very little to inspire me to try the restaurant. However, having since become quite addicted to Lebanese cuisine, but unadventurous enough to take the plunge and order unknown choices off the standard menu of other Lebanese restaurants in Oxford, my partner and I finally decided we would give the place a shot.

We arrived at 9pm, having not booked a table, but were easily seated in the vast restaurant (which was otherwise pretty much empty).  The restaurant is able to accommodate groups of 2 to 10 with no difficulty at all, and I can imagine a party of up to 30 people fitting in quite happily. Inside it was very gloomy and smoky due to the Hubbly Bubbly pipes smoking away at various points in the room.  The walls were plastered but not papered, and the tables laid out with only paper tablecloths and a napkin at each place.  The seats were comfy, but nothing special.  The whole atmosphere was one of being somewhat run-down and dodgy - not a place to dress up for.

We were seated, and ordered a bottle of house wine for £9.60, and plumped for the Eat As Much As You Want menu, entailing that a selection of dishes would be brought to our table from a large menu.  It was possible to choose the dishes you wanted from this, or have them chosen for you after informing them of any meat/vegetarian preferences.

We were brought a platter of meze, consisting of Hummus, Loubieh Bizeit (French beans cooked in olive oil, tomatoes and garlic), Fool Moukala (fried broad beans cooked in olive oil and lemon juice), Sanbousek Biljibneh (pastry filled with fetta cheese) and Fatayer Sebanikh (pastry filled with spinach, onions, pine kernels and lemon juice);  in addition, we were brought Lebanese bread, rice, Sebanikh Ma Lahma (minced lamb with fried spinach, onions, garlic and coriander), Kafta Kebab (minced lamb with onion and herbs and spices formed into a kebab), Jawaneh Djaj ashwiya (chicken wings with garlic sauce), Shish Taouk (boneless chicken cubes with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil marinade), Kafta Ma Batata (meatballs, potatoes, parsley and onions in a tomato sauce) and Fassoolya Ma Ruz (butterbeans cooked with fresh coriander, tomatoes, onions and garlic).

All this food was absolutely delicious, and despite being pretty full at the end of the first round, we still ordered some Sujuq (Armenian spicy sausages) and Muossaa'at Batinjan (fried aubergine, chickpeas and tomatoes) which were also all mouth-wateringly good.

There were no desserts on offer with the Eat As Much etc. menu, though they could be ordered for extra cost from the normal menu.  We declined any tea or coffee, and left, suitably full, after a wonderful meal.

The set menu was £12.95 per head for an evening meal, and £9.95 at lunchtimes for a slightly smaller selection of choices.  The standard menu is priced very similarly to those at other Lebanese restaurants in Oxford, with starters averaging £4 and mains between £6 and £8.  I think, however, you would be much better to go for the more adventurous Eat As Much As You Want menu and to just experience some of the different dishes on offer.

Paul Hook