Tonight Levantine hosted and engagement party of sorts for Akhlaq. Ironically just moments after settled in a Hen’s Party also sat down for dinner at Levantine.

The decor of Levantine is stunning and sumptious. It is clear where all the money goes. Unfortunately from the get go Levantine was let down by the service. From the moment we sat down it was strangely agressive with the waitress almost forcing us to buy something off the wine list. I was gratified when no one was pushed into doing so. And then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, Jules ordered some still water as his drink and then when it came they proceeded to distribute his water to the whole table meaning we all got about 2cm of water. Ridiculous.

As has been my experience with a few Lebanese restaurants where this venue excelled was in their starters. Although cheekily charging you for “Warm breads, marinated olives, pickles & salads” (£1.25 per person) these were nevertheless quite welcome and, as it turned out, handy for filling you up. The selection of starters, warm and cold, is larged and varied. Additionally what came out was very tasty and decent portions. The mains, however, were quite disappointing. Those who opted for skewers (most of the table) got some very small portions although from what people said what was received was quite tasty. Just as wel we’d all filled up on the breads.

Levantine also entertained a belly dancer for about half an hour. Rather than simply doing her dance and finishing off she made a concerted effort to go around to every table to try and encourage people to get up and belly dance with her. I was very grateful to be stuck and having no option to get up. It was very funny, however, to witness everyone trying very hard NOT to make eye contact with her. She was very good actually – very fit and quite skilled.

Overall the food at Levantine, at least on this night, was let down by the service and portion sizes. A bit pricey … but then eating out at a Lebanese restaurant always seems to end up costing the earth. I guess someone has to pay for the beautiful decor of the restaurant.