Leon

73-76 Strand

London
WC2R 0DE

I first tried Leon back in 2006, late on a Sunday night, when I was starving and there was seemingly nowhere to eat around the office. I found out Leon was open, and dashing over there, I ended up with the scraps left over from their Sunday service - some cold falafels, a bit of sweet potato something-or-other, and some stale bits of bread. Big mistake - I thought it was all disgusting and avoided Leon from then on.  So today, when I came out of a meeting and saw a Leon across the street, I hesitated. But it keeps winning awards and I thought, maybe I should give it another chance, especially since I think Allegra McEvedy is great. Plus, R&S have the cookbook and made a delicious Leon Gobi for dinner a while back, so I knew Leon made at least one dish I liked. 

It's quite an efficient operation, a bit like fast food - you go up to the counter, order, and they hand you a prepackaged box of hot food or salads or a wrap. I tried the Moroccan Meatballs, described as lamb with Moroccan herbs and spices cooked down in a plum tomato sauce with aioli and a sprinkling of parsley and mint. There were also nuts sprinkled on top, as well as brown rice and coleslaw with cabbage, carrots, and peas (thankfully I could not detect any mayonnaise). The flavors were complex and quite delicious, with a lot of different and interesting textures, and it was nice to have a warm lunch that I could get instantaneously and eat in about half an hour. I think I've been converted.