Mamounia Lounge - Mayfair

37a Curzon Street
Mayfair
London 

W1J7TX

When Mamounia Lounge invited me to review their newly refurbished restaurant in Mayfair, I said yes - I had gone to their Knightsbridge location and thought the cooking was excellent so was excited to see if the kitchen in Mayfair was equally as accomplished. I'm not sure if we ordered better dishes this time or if the chef is even more skilled - but we had a meal with some astonishingly good flavors and textures.

We kicked off with a classic gin martini that A really enjoyed, and the Sheik Royal for me - elderflower vodka and champagne. To compare Mayfair to the Knightsbridge location, we ordered the same starters as last time. Hommus Shawarma - Creamy Chickpea puree served with a centre of marinated Lamb Shawarma, and Calamari – Fried & Served on a Mixed Leaf Salad with a Sweet Chili, and Lemon Dip. The hommus was as creamy and rich as we remembered, with crisp smoky grilled shawarma piled on top - I could eat endless piles of this with the fresh pita bread provided. The calamari was crunchy with just the lightest coating of batter, though not as tender as last time.

For mains, I ordered the Seafood Tagine – Seabass, King Prawns, Mussels & Calamari served in a Charmoula, Coriander and Spicy Tomato Sauce. The portion of seafood was incredibly generous and the sauce kept me dipping my fork in for more. I'm glad I ordered couscous to soak it up. Eat quickly, as the residual heat in the tagine will continue cooking the seafood - the last few bites of prawns were getting increasingly rubbery even though it arrived perfectly cooked. 

A's order of Meshoui - Traditional Shoulder of Lamb, slowly roasted for 8 hours, marinated in Moroccan Spices and served with fresh Dates, Orange and Apricots, was one of the best lamb dishes we've ever eaten. He couldn't stop raving about how tender the lamb was - a mere push of a fork and it would fall apart. We'll be keeping an eye out for this dish in the future, but if you want a wonderful example of it, I would highly recommend this one.

We were stuffed at this point so just managed some Moroccan tea (mint tea with sugar in it) and a mango platter - but Mamounia Lounge clearly knows how to source mangoes as I've never tasted mangoes so good in the UK. We polished off the entire platter despite our fullness - it was just impossible to not finish every slice.

Mamounia Lounge is very lively on a Saturday night - musicians and belly dancing make it feel more like a club/lounge than restaurant, so if you want a quieter meal, I'd go on a non-weekend night. The food is top notch, so just pick your preferred atmosphere - either way you'll get a great meal.

Lebanese Chickpea Stew

I really love chickpeas so when I saw this recipe that incorporated chicken thighs (another favorite), I was ready to give it a try. All of the ingredients were in my cupboards, except for the roasted red peppers that the original recipe called for. So I eliminated the red peppers and threw in some cabbage and carrots I had, and it worked out wonderfully. Of course, I also found out that A isn't that fond of whole chickpeas (something I never realized before, especially given his ability to eat entire containers of hummus in one go). Oops.

Lebanese Chickpea Stew
Adapted from The Amateur Gourmet who adapted it from BonAppetit

Ingredients 

6 chicken thighs (I used with bone and with skin)
Kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup red wine (AG says white wine but this is what I had)
3 dried bay leaves
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained
1 cup cabbage, chopped into smallish pieces

2 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds

2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)
Fresh lemon juice (from half a lemon)
Coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. Heat a medium pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Season chicken aggressively with salt and then brown the chicken, skin side down, until it’s a deep, dark brown. (The best way to do this is not to move it for the first 4 to 5 minutes; then flip it over). Remove the chicken to a plate and turn the heat off for a few minutes before adding the garlic (otherwise it’ll burn). Also, if there’s a lot of rendered chicken fat in the pan, you may want to pour some of it out leaving a few tablespoons. 
2. Turn the heat back to medium-low, add the garlic and monitor carefully. When it’s fragrant but not at all brown add the cumin, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes; stir until a smooth paste forms, about 1 minute. 
3. Add the red wine, if you’re using it, scrape up the brown bits as it comes to a boil; then add 3 1/2 cups water along with a pinch of salt. (If you’re not using wine, just add 4 cups water.) Add the bay leaves and return the chicken to the pot; bring liquid to a simmer, put the heat on low and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender. 
4. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the chickpeas, cabbage and carrots to the pot; bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the chicken and add to the stew whenever it is all shredded. Taste for salt. Sprinkle in cornstarch, if using, in order to thicken the stew a bit.
5. Take the stew off the heat, add a splash of lemon juice (to taste) and a generous sprinkling of parsley. Serve with good bread.

Mamounia Lounge

136 Brompton Road 
Knightsbridge
London
SW3 1HY

I'll be honest and say that Knightsbridge is not one of my usual haunts, but when I was invited to come to Mamounia Lounge to check out their Moroccan and Lebanese menu, it seemed like a good reason to expand the horizons a bit. A short walk from Knightsbridge station, Mamounia Lounge is decked out more like a bar/club than restaurant, and I probably wouldn't have thought about it as a place for dinner if I was just walking past. Inside, it's all dim lighting and dark, intense colors. We started with the long cocktail list, and I tried a Gold Digger cocktail (passion fruit, vanilla, vodka, champagne) and A had the Mamounia Old Fashioned with Flor de Cana 21 rum. They were both well balanced, though A did realize he'd chosen an after-dinner drink for his pre-dinner drink. 

To start we had the incredibly creamy Hommus Shawarma (topped with grilled lamb), and deep fried squid which managed to be both crispy and tender. The mixed grill and lamb shank tagine mains also showed off the skills of the kitchen - I'm not sure I've ever had a chicken kebab that was so juicy and full of chickeny flavor, and the lamb shank was braised to a fall-apart consistency that just needed gentle prodding with a fork. 

Desserts were not as stellar as the savory dishes though - the Mahalabia, an Arabic pudding garnished with pistachios, tasted mostly of roses to me, which was unexpected as I'd never had the dish before and there was no mention of that flavor on the menu. The fig tart had a rather thick, stodgy pastry, but it was saved by the fabulous cinnamon ice cream. This is going to sound disgustingly greedy, but our waiter was insistent that we try the chocolate fondant and brought it out for our third dessert, and to be fair it was the best of the three. 

For something sweet after a meal that won't stuff you even further, I'd suggest going outside for a shisha - we had the mixed fruit tobacco pumped through mango juice, and it was a more unique, fun experience than the dessert menu. That's a popular option though and there isn't much space outside, so you do need to book in advance.

Since we were there on a Friday night, a stunning belly dancer performed after dinner - a bit of extra entertainment if you're looking for it! It seems to fit the neighborhood well - I would hesitate a bit at the prices, especially as I live close to Dalston where meals like this would be half the cost, but you do get a more glamorous presentation in return, and there are certainly many comparably priced places in Knightsbridge without the quality cooking seen here.

Goodfoodetc was invited to review Mamounia Lounge.

Yalla Yalla

12 Winsley Street
London
W1W 8HQ

P suggested Yalla Yalla for dinner, as he loves it. I'd been meaning to try it for ages and was happy to oblige. We didn't have to wait very long for a table, even though it seemed like the restaurant was rammed. P had many recommendations so I trusted him - we got lamb kibbeh (raw lamb mixed with spices and bulgur wheat) and grilled halloumi to start, and then I had a mixed kebab so that I could try both the chicken and the lamb. It was very greedy ordering, I will admit - I would have been fine with just a main - but it was all so delicious that we managed to polish it all off, except for the dish they brought out by mistake - an additional portion of halloumi. When we told the waiter we'd already had some, he just shrugged and left it with us - so that turned into my lunch for the next day. I'd definitely go back - just one warning, it can be quite loud, so make sure you go with someone who has decent hearing!