[REVIEW] Al Hallab

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Being married to my beautiful Lebanese husband it was inevitable that Lebanon would eventually be checked off my bucket list. And of course like any good Lebanese family it turned from an intimate getaway for two, to an almighty holiday for 17. Naturally the first discussion point prior to leaving was “where shall we take Phoebe to eat?” Al Hallab was top of the list but unlike most chain or franchise restaurants this maintained it’s amazing reputation and is renowned for dishing up some of the most delicious desserts and pastries throughout Lebanon. A Lebanese establishment, it draws in locals and tourists alike and out of the four times we visited, it did not let us down once.

The first thing that hit me as I entered through the beautiful glass stained doors was the smell, oh my goodness, the smell. It’s as if the shear volume of roasting nuts, crispy pastry and sweet honey have turned the air heavy and thick with sugar. It really was the real life Willy Wonka Factory. Trays among trays among trays of baklava lined up behind the counter all being carefully cut and assembled ready to be plated up for the eagerly awaiting diners or stacked high on decorative glass plates to be wrapped and sold as gifts.

The second thing you’ll notice is the hospitality. The unwavering, all encompassing, genuine smiles and greetings when you walk into Al Hallab (or any Lebanese restaurant for that matter) fills you with a sense of belonging. I immediately felt at ease, like I was meant to be there. People greeted me like we were life long friends, that my happiness and satisfaction was the sole purpose of their day, it was truely remarkable.

Upon entering Al Hallab you’d be forgiven for thinking that all they served were sweets, when in actual fact their savoury menu is just as mouthwatering. Take for example the photo below. A puffed up Lebanese bread roll. Let me tell you, you’ve never eaten a piece of bread quite like it. Fresh as fresh can be, straight out of the oven, still warm inside and the softest, fluffiest texture you can image. Not only does it look like a little could it honestly tasted like one too…..if clouds tasted like melt in the mouth dough.

Now no Lebanese table is complete without yoghurt or labne and as you can see we demolished that with ease. Creamy and pure in flavour it was the perfect dipping accompaniment to the bread….and my finger. Continuing our surrender to the savoury we couldn’t go past the little mince pastries. Moreish little morsels of perfectly spiced mince encased in a bed of crispy, flaky pastry. Once we had well and truly sucked up every last little crumb on the table it was time to satisfy our dessert tummies.

Now this gorgeous thing below (no, I’m not talking about my handsome father in law) had been spoken about, drooled over, dreamed of for months leading up to our trip. There’s a dessert that Georges mum Mona makes called Knafeh. It’s a gooey semolina and cheese baked dish with a hint of rosewater, orange blossom and finished with a crunchy, sugary crust. It is my all time favourite Arabic sweet and I happily request it every year as my birthday cake of choice. Or any other celebratory occasion for that matter. Heck, I’d eat it just because it’s Wednesday. It really is that good. But this isn’t what we waited months to eat. Imagine taking that Knafeh and smoothing it between two slices of sweet, sesame covered, crunchy bread. Essentially a sweet within a sweet. A dessert sandwich. Holy Mary what an experience, that alone was worth the 21 hour flight. Not for the faint hearted, this will test even the most sweet tooth of people.

This here is the Knafeh in all it’s soft, sticky, sumptuous glory!

Ah, Baklava. A lifelong love affair of mine. Little pastries filled with nuts and drenched in honey are something I’ve enjoyed since my first holiday to Turkey (don’t repeat that to my mother-in-law). However, the interesting thing about these ones in particular was that they were completely dairy free. Being that it was Easter they essentially did a Lent version of Baklava and switched out the butter for oil. However, even without the butter I still continued to eat my body weight in them.

And finally, as if all that wasn’t enough, we still managed to squeeze in these delicate little butter biscuits. Short, crumbly pastry and filled with either dates, walnuts or pistachios they were the perfect accompaniment to a cup of strong, black Lebanese coffee and that was that. We pretty much rolled out of the restaurant, vowing never to eat that much food again……I think we went back the following week and not only ate our words but ate double the amount of food. Worth every calorie.