A huge chunk of Bristol’s new restaurant openings centre the menu around small plates. COR, Lucky Strike, A.B.O.E and Picole are just a few new arrivals who focus on grazing and sharing during their services.
Diners, from my experience, have a love/hate relationship with sharing plates. It always reminds me of that scene in Friends when Joey yells that he “doesn’t share food” when his date leans over the take a chip. It’s not for everyone.
I’d say I sit firmly in the ‘for’ camp, especially when it comes to mezze in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. Not only for trying lots of different dishes but it reinforces that communal feeling around the dinner table. My only qualm is that it becomes easier to rack up a bill you weren't expecting, deceived by the marginally lower prices.
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Bristol’s newest Lebanese restaurant, Lamaya, is bringing mezze to a whole new tier. The restaurant relocated to Finzels Reach from Swindon after closing its operation in Regent Circus last year.
Plans for the Bristol site first emerged in May 2022, but the restaurant only opened this spring, and it is not clear what has stalled the opening. The family-run restaurant focuses on focus on spices, herbs and vegetables to put “the best ingredients centre stage”, its website reads.
Run by Mike and Maya (with Mike also in the kitchen), the chic interiors match the mood that has been bubbling along the Floating Harbour for the past few years. This new atmosphere has mostly been driven by Left Handed Giant, Bocca Bar and most recently with the arrival of chocolate cafe, Ruby Hue.
Called ‘mezza’ in Lebanese, the long list sharing plates is divided into cold and hot dishes and showcase the exquisite flavours of Lebanon. Calamari, chicken wings, spicy sausage and hummus, of course, are some of the dishes you can expect.
Lamaya’s Beruit hummus was spicy and satisfyingly smooth, with just the right tinge of garlic and made fresh with generous amounts of parsley (£6.50). The falafel, as expected, was perfectly crisp on the outside with a soft centre (£6.95) served with a homemade tahini sauce that was a touch too thick.
I loved the sumac flavour from the fatayer spinach, a small triangular pie filled with pine nuts and a touch of citrus. Although the pastry was flaky and crisp, I felt it had been rolled too thick, but it was good value at £6.95 for four pies.
All the mezza dishes are served with pitta bread, hand-stretched very thin which in turn had made it a little dry, but was robust enough to mop up the hummus and moussaka.
The main course menu has an impressive selection of shawarma, stews and mixed grilled options, including a four-person platter for £99.95. The marinated grilled chicken (shish taouk) was moist and smoky from the charcoal at £16.50 per plate and the traditional Lebanese moussaka (£14.50) was smoky and sweet from the peppers, albeit a tad oily.
All of the main dishes come with a choice of rice, cous cous, salad or fries, the latter of which were a little anaemic and just needed a little longer in the fryer. I love the ability to choose your side dish, reinforcing the home-cooked style of the kitchen.
It was an impassioned effort from a kitchen juggling an enormous menu. It’s clear to me the food at Lamaya is made with a lot of heart with an intention of elevating Lebanese cuisine into Bristol’s eclectic food scene. With some small tweaks, it certainly could do such in the same way as Beruit Mezze on Small Street.
Alongside an excellent list of wines from around the world, Lamaya has a great cocktail deal of two for £13.95, including a signature Prosecco drink and a fig margarita (individually £8.95).
On reflection, I wished I had stuck to the small plates, but if you’re into meat from the grill then the main dishes are imperative. The mezza plates range from £6.50 to £8.25 while you could expect to pay £18.95 for the shawarma or lamb skewers.
Unit 2 Fermentation, Ground floor, Fermentation Building, Hawkins Lane, Finzels Reach, Bristol BS1 6JQ. Tel: 01179 297 815
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