It was Mr NQN’s weekend. It was something that I thought we ought to do as every other weekend seems to revolve around my activities. Being Mr NQN’s weekend we went shopping for pants for him-he’s a fusspot with those and as he is rather disorganised, the dinner plans never did eventuate. When he expressed a preference to eating near home, we called Lebanon and Beyond in nearby Randwick only to find that it was of course fully booked this Saturday evening. Not a huge shock so it was Spanish Omelette at home in front of the tv on a Saturday night. A nice change but a touch dull. Although we got to watch lots of episodes of Modern Family and The InBetweeners which we both love.
Like all good spouses, I think he sensed my boredom so we decided to try for Lebanon and Beyond the next evening. I booked earlier that day and lucky we did for as we turn up, a woman with a party of friends is eager for a table but as it’s fully booked she is politely let down. Undeterred she promises to be back in an hour for a table (and she is).
Housed in an art deco building it has a certain retro feel to it. Service is friendly and we are allowed to have one vegetarian banquet and one regular chef’s banquet, each with four courses including dessert. Most banquets these days are over $30 so we’re pleasantly surprised to see a banquet for $28 and a vegetarian one for $25. They give us a plate with spiced peanuts, salty green olives and pickles and I particularly like the peanuts and the pickles together. Mr NQN gets his homemade lemonade which is a flat lemonade with the distinct flavour of fragrant orange blossom-it’s a bit more orange blossom than lemon though.
Orange blossom lemonade
Peeking through we see that the kitchen is small and I pass through to use the ladies room where it seems I’ve entered a different world. The bathroom is seems is shared with a private hotel and inside the bathroom looks to be like a hospital bathroom with a shower. One wonders whether there is any overlap with the hotel residents and restaurant patrons.
Hommous
Baba Gannoush
Lebanese Bread
I return to the table and see that our dips have arrived. There’s hommous and babaganoush presented very prettily with tomato, pickled turnips and parsley and a swig of oil and a smattering of paprika. It comes accompanied by soft Lebanese bread. The hommous is gorgeously creamy and the baba ganoush is lightly smokey.
Tabouli
A generous serve of tabouli arrives next and it’s lovely and fresh. I split a Lebanese bread quarter in half and fill it with the dip and tabouli and we munch away happily on this.
Vegetarian second course with fried cauliflower, felafel and spinach pie
Chef’s Banquet Second Course with fried cauliflower, felafel and Lady’s finger
Our second course arrives and both the vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes have most things in common except for the Lady’s Fingers and Spinach Pie. There is fried cauliflower and a crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside felafel. The lady’s fingers are filled with a sauteed lamb mince, onion, cheese and pinenuts and it’s wrapped in filo pastry and then sliced in half. I prefer the vegetarian version with spinach, onion and feta as it’s a touch more moist (and divine dipped in the hommous and eaten with the tabouli).
Chef’s Banquet Third Course with Lamb Shish Kebab on left and Garlic Chicken on right
Clutching at our stomachs by this stage, even my famished sportsman is signalling fullness. Perhaps I’d fed him too much hommous and taboulli stuffed bread. When the garlic chicken and shish kebab arrives I’m clapping in delight. Oooh toum! That delicious garlic fluff that I love so much (and when both of you love it and you both reek of garlic, it doesn’t really matter does it?). I take a bite of the garlic chicken and it’s flavoursome and tender. The lamb shish kebab is also packed with flavour although compared to the chicken it’s less tender. And we get two sticks of each which is more than we’d thought one person would get.
Vegetarian Banquet Third Course: Cabbage Rolls
Vegetarian Banquet Third Course: Stuffed Eggplant
The vegetarian serving sizes are generous too with two vegetarian cabbage rolls which are stuffed with rice, onion and herbs and a lemon sauce and are vaguely dolmade like. The vegetarian zucchini is a hollowed out zucchini with rice, onion, herbs and a tomato sauce. They’re both a bit bland though and a bit too similar to each other.
Baklava and Orange Blossom Tea
Cinnamon Tea
We ask if we can change the coffee to a tea owing to the late hour which is no problem and instead we try the orange blossom tea and cinnamon tea with our baklava. The orange blossom tea looks like hot water but is lightly fragranced with orange blossom water and is a nice, semi sweet refresher and the cinnamon tea is rich and strong in cinnamon.
The baklava isn’t quite as sticky as other baklavas which may appeal to those less sweet toothed and the fine, crunchy nuts are delicious. We look at our bill and are again pleasantly surprised and we waddle out of there happily.
So tell me Dear Reader, how often do you have a Saturday night at home?
Lebanon and Beyond
187 Alison Road, Randwick, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9326 5347
Open 7 days 5pm-10pm
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47 Comments | Add your own
Yummm that hommus looks really good. I would probably be satisfied with a bowl of that and some fresh lebanese bread
If we go out any night its generally a saturday, so not often
This used to be our local Lebanese, and always thought they were consistently delicious. The garlic chicken always a favourite!!..alas now though we will have to find somewhere else, as it just closed down
They do seem quite generous. I love lebanese food! I love dipping lebanese bread into hommous and just sit there chomping on it. So simple, yet so tasty. I drive about 40 minutes to Punchbowl to go to my favourite lebanese restaurant, but this place looks great as well. Maybe next time when I’m hankering for lebanese and can’t be bothered driving so far I will try this place. Mental note: book early.
I love lebanese food, I need to take Frank there! We don’t often spend Saturday night at home, as much as I would love to. Although we did the Bondi to Coogee walk on Saturday so we were too tired to go out. What a beautiful walk, Sydney is truly a goldmine of beauty…
x
this is my local but i’ve still yet to try. they’ve recently expanded and renovated into the 2 shops next to it. looks great and much larger now.
We often have Saturday nights at home now that we have moved in together. But that’s perfectly fine with me!
Looks like a great feast!
x
The lamb shish kebab /garlic chicken look very good!
We often do. Husband is a shift worker who does 12.5hrs. If he does a Saturday day he doesn’t get home until 8pm exhausted so I stay home too, cook up a feast and we curl up in front of a movie. It’s actually great after a busy week!
I walked past this place last friday 27/8 and it was still opened. you sure it closed down?
er, clearly my brain was closed when I said that Lebanon and Beyond was. PLEASE delete my comments. Very much open!!!
I adore Lebanese food, so will add this to our list of places to try. Thanks as always for the headsup..
I go crazy for the meze at Middle Eastern restaurants. Seriously, I could make a meal just of the bread and various dips, and be so very happy. But that would be so wrong, as I’d miss out on that baklava and lovely cinnamon tea.
I think we must spend every other Saturday night at home. Lovely spread of food you had there!
Mmm, Lebanese is a favourite of mine. Sadly there are no Lebanese restaurants in he Adelaide hills and not many in town, either!
I love Lebanese food – this looks great. Just curious – do you ever come to Brisbane to try restaurants?
This looks delicious. Unfortunately for me these days most saturday nights are at home. Such is life with a bub!
The golden rule of a Lebanese banquet is… pace yourself!!! You always want to have room for the chargrilled meats that arrive after all the delicious dips and salads
I miss my Tateh’s (grandmas’s) stuffed marrow (the one you thought was bland). It’s a real comfort dish for me.
i check your blog first thing in the morning when im on the train to work but your new layout makes it lag on my mobile
Ps, the food looks yummooo!!
Looks like nice Lebonese food.I like Lebonese food.
It’s sad to say but I spend most weekends at home.
What a good husband! Have to say, most of my Saturday nights are spent at home, but I have gone to a few parties of late
Its been ages since I’ve eaten Lebonese food, so I better rectify that
Can’t remember when I stayed at home Saturday night…, but sadly I wasn’t out wining & dining…, I would be working & making sure everyone else is enjoying their wining & dining..
I love Lebanese food! Mmm garlic – I never worry about smelling
I love my baklava sickeningly sweet though, dripping in syrup LOL.
We are rarely home on a Saturday night – we’re generally at a party or pub though, not at a nice dinner! :p
That hummus! I am in love.
Wow, I love how the Labanese make vegetarian food so apealing!
We either stay home or go to friends’ on Saturday nights. Only because we’re in Canberra and have to make our own fun 8(
I have been staying home more than I care to admit on Saturday evenings since I became a Mommy…but hey, who’s complaining?
We spend most of winter hibernating, but with warmer weather Canberrans start to venture out and blink hazily at the sunshine, exposing lillywhite legs and bodies!
I think you guys had the best of both worlds with your mixture of meat and vego banquets. Yummm…
I have Saturday nights at home all the time. It’s great way to unwind, and it’s often too cold to head out in Winter!
The orange blossom drink sounds nice!
Spend most Saturday nights at home(sigh)getting old!! But always make something special – more time and shop that day, do candles best crockey and cutlery.
Check out that humongous plate of hummus! Love it.
I like to spend Saturday nights cooking something new when I don’t go out, my aim is always to cook something new every weekend!
The food looks great but what takes my fancy most is the tea – both of them sound lovely and something completely different.
Most Saturdays at home these days with a little one. When we do go out it’s often one at a time.
I love Middle Easter/Mediterranean food.. couldn’t get enough of it the whole time we were in Egypt!! YUMMMSSS!!!!!!!
Hate going with the crowd on Saturdays, always try to make it weekdays or lunchtimes for popular places! Love Lebanese food though for delicious vegetables and toum!
Nice! The food looks pretty impressive for the price. Flavoursome and fulling, basically ticks all the boxes!
I love Lebanese food and this meal looks so delicious (except for that strange looking eggplant). And the price sounds great! We love going out together and we love staying at home. Usually if we go out it is Friday night, so Saturday is a meal for two in front of a movie.
This looks like a fantastic meal. I love these dishes, and I would undoubtedly fill up on the dips! I actually kind of like eating while watching movies at home on a Saturday night.
I like the presentation of the hommus and baba gannoush!
this settles it–middle eastern cuisine is my favorite. too bad about the baklava, it does look pretty blah.
That is too cute that you and Mr NQN rotate weekends! Mike and I do that too — I always promise him that on his weekend I won’t do any “blog stuff”, which includes cooking things for my blog. It’s funny because I rarely comply with that, but it’s ok in the end because on my weekends we usually end up eating where he wants to eat. Lol, it all balances out, right? The food looks amazing Lorraine — I’ve been seriously craving falafel!
The banquet options appear to be value for money. When I visit this restaurant, I’ll have to control myself and ensure I don’t over indulge in hommus, bread and tabouli. Great review. Would you say this is on par with Al Aseel in Greenacre or Jasmin in Lakemba? Thanks.
What generous portions, you would have been waddling out of there. This is a must try next time I got to the Ritz for a movie.
i’ve made plans to eat here this weekend after reading your post. hopefully get to try all the dishes you’ve had (and lol, maybe even a few more!)
Hi yes I’m a Randwick local too! And was afraid to go in – major budget lately and just don’t know if I’ll get value for money. Def attending soon!
Saturday nights in – easier in winter! Relishing them in cahoots with budget and weight gain
I am a Randwick local too, but I just can’t handle going to L&B when I know Emma’s on Liberty is only two or three suburbs over. Despite the strange service ethic and noise at Emma’s, the food is infinitely better than at L&B.
Everytime I think of Lebanese food, my mouth waters.
I’m literally drooling now because Lebanon and Beyond is my local. I alternate between that and Cedar Pines which is around the corner.
Now you’ve given me a craving!
Aww glad you managed to get in second time around =) We don’t mind Friday/Saturday nights in if we havn’t already been booked out but every sometimes if we havn’t been out in a while either him or I will get an itching to escape the confinements of the four walls.
I’m having this Saturday night at home to watch the Swannies and eat pizza. “Cheer cheer the red and the white”.
I think this past Winter has been pretty cold though so it made it very hard to go out.
Glad it’s warming up now, although today is very windy.
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