Restaurant Al Wady
153-155 rue de Lourmel, 15th (01.45.58.57.18). M Lourmel. Open daily noon-3pm, 7pm-midnight. Closed 1 Jan. Average. E25. Lunch menu E11. Credit AmEx, MC, V. Map B9.
Al Wady is not the type of place we’d take a visiting friend keen for a picture-postcard Parisian dining experience. Unless, that is, said friend had a hankering for a Lebanese feast to rival the best in the Middle East. The heroically long menu makes for an agony of indecision so we settled on the meze platter. At €38 for two it’s a great way to sample house specialties, like garlicky hummus, moist tabouleh and smoky baba ghanoush. And that’s just for starters. Pastries cooked golden brown hide the perfect bite of delicately spiced lamb, while succulent chicken pieces in a caramelized orange glaze will appeal to those with a sweet palate. Feeling particularly carnivorous, we bypassed sure-to-please salads in favour of the mixed grill: a meat-lovers selection of lamb and chicken charred to perfection and presented alongside a cooling salad of yogurt tossed with lemon, cucumber and tomato. The yardstick for true greatness in Lebanese kitchens is measured by the falafal – neither too grainy nor too moist, Al Wady’s are orbs of herbed wonder. The coffee is strong and honeyed pastries can be bought in boxes to take away.