Al Waha Restaurant, Lebanese and Middle Eastern Cuisine -- One of 10 Best Restaurants in London, UK

Al Waha means "oasis," and at the award-winning Al Waha restaurant, you'll dine on our carefully prepared Middle Eastern specialties, all in a peaceful, relaxed, yet elegant environment. (We are the same Al Waha you remember from the Piccadilly area -- we've just left the hustle and bustle of the West End, and now call the more tranquil Notting Hill area home.)

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We prepare the best Lebanese food, and we do so by using fresh products daily, employing traditional techniques in preparing our dishes.

Start with our renowned mezze (starters/appetizers) -- including our specially prepared olives imported from around the world, our "light as air" falafel, savory sambousek, the freshest salads, and our famous hummus, which has been described by various food writers as "a revelation, undeniably rich...silky...and impossible not to indulge."

You'll enjoy our popular entrees, including delicately marinated and grilled meats, poultry and seafood. Don't forget to end with any one of our popular sweets, including hand-made baklawa. And don't miss our selection of premiere Lebanese wines, and traditionally-prepared coffees.

We hope you'll agree with Guardian food critic Matthew Fort, who said:

"Each dish carried an authentic hallmark of proper Middle Eastern cooking - peppy spices, singing herbs, shining flavors, health and happiness in every mouthful...not a stale note, not a sloppy detail in evidence, even in standard items."

Please explore our menu, take a look (and try!) some of our sample recipes, and feel free to contact me personally if I can help you in any way. I look forward to having you as our guest at Al Waha soon.

M. Bader-Alden
Owner, Chef

About Our Art and Logo: Mouneer al-Shaarani

The paintings in Al Waha, and Al Waha's logo, are by renowned calligrapher artist Mouneer al-Shaarani.

Al-Shaarani was born in 1952 in Syria. He has worked as a calligrapher since 1967 and graduated from the College of Fine Arts in Damascus in 1977. Al-Shaarani was a student of the great Syrian calligrapher Badawi al-Dirani.

Al-Shaarani is a leading light in the field of Arabic calligraphy. His work extends from the traditional to the experimental by combining calligraphy with modern art, creating thus genuine oriental pieces bearing his unique mark and brilliant insight into shaping the meaning of Arabic poetry, sayings and the Holy Koran.

Over the 30 years that span his career, al-Shaarani has exhibited and taught all over the world. He has contributed to a number of magazines and written a number of books on the subject. His work is exhibited at the British Museum until September ’06 as part of an exhibition dedicated to Arabic calligraphy.

Please ask the management for further information on the exhibits or the artist and his work, or visit Mouneer al-Shaarani's web site at www.elshaarani.com.

Moutabel
Grilled eggplant with sesame paste and lemon juice

Moutabel is a dip like hummus, but it is a completely different experience. Like hummus, moutabel is regularly found on nearly every Middle Eastern table. In this recipe the eggplants are grilled, however they can also be fried. You may be familiar with a form of this dish known by another name, babaganoush.

In the past the eggplants would be pounded and mixed with all other ingredients by hand in a large copper bowl. I can remember my mother assigning me the task of garlic crusher.
...Click for the recipe