Match of the week

Mezze and apple, mint and ginger lemonade

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on April 11 2011 at 07:40

It must be the unseasonally hot weather but I've been drinking a lot of soft drinks lately. There seems to be much more choice on the market, especially more sophisticated drinks that are full of flavour but not too sweet. And which go well with food.

A good example is this combination of apple mint and ginger lemonade and mezze at the new branch of Yalla Yalla just off Oxford Street. Mint and apple is a really refreshing combination and went well with our diverse selection of mezze which included some very good, light felafel, tabbouleh (parsley salad), batata harra (a Lebanese take on patatas bravas) and - I think I remember rightly - Samboussek Lahmé, a delicious pizza-like dish of flatbread stuffed with spiced lamb.

I must confess to a feeling of slight regret to seeing Yalla Yalla roll out as a successful brand. The new branch, which is at the top of Winsley Street, just opposite the oddly named Pantheon branch of Marks and Spencer, isn't as cute and café-like as the original in Green's Court in Soho but you stand a much better chance of getting a seat and the food is still great.

They also have an interesting list of Lebanese wines should you feel like drinking something stronger.

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