Ceru
Ceru
Levantine 7-9 Bute Street, Kensington, SW7 3EY £
Serving food and drink inspired by the Levant, Ceru has now got a permanent establishment on the streets of South Kensington. A welcome addition if you ask me, due to a surprising shortage of good grub around one of London’s most affluent areas. If you’re as confused as I was as to which countries make up the Levant, let me enlighten you: based around the Middle East, the Levant broadly encompasses Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Egypt and Cyprus. Ceru describes this area as “home to one of the healthiest, freshest, most delicious and ancient cuisines on the planet”. Whilst I can’t say I’ve tasted all the above cuisines, I know I am a major fan of both Turkish and Cyprian food, therefore leaving me inclined to agree with them.
Having just been to the 13:15 intake of the new Frida Kahlo exhibition at the V&A, Mum and I emerged around an hour later with hungry eyes (and bellies). After a quick google beforehand, we decided Ceru sounded right up our street, and avoided the chains, crowds and children positioned just around the tube station. The restaurant itself is small but spacious and manages to seat a fair few people considering. Décor is minimal but revolves around warm colours and patterned tiles, evoking images of Istanbul, where the idea of Ceru was initially born.
We immediately ordered some homemade lemonades: a watermelon mix and an apple, ginger and mint mix (£3.50 each). These were both bursting with flavour and delicious, if a little on the sweet side. We followed these with a trio of dips: Fadi, Pancar and Hammara, which were accompanied by a basket of pita for £5.50. The helpings were plentiful and pita lovely and crisp while still holding a doughy element, making this a great starter and value for money. The Fadi was composed of roasted zucchini, garlic, lemon and tahini, the Pancar roasted beetroot, yoghurt, garlic and crushed pistachio, and the Hammara red pepper with walnuts and pomegranate molasses. All three dips were very interesting and bursting with flavour, however, were a bit too tangy, especially the Hammara which seemed to have a gratuitous helping of pomegranate molasses. The Pancar also contained a tad too much cinnamon and the Fadi was overly bitter from the lemon.
For mains, we each had an express lunch platter. Mum ordered the Street Platter: pulled slow roasted lamb with pomegranate molasses and mint, fadi dip, spiced cauliflower, the sultan salad and pita bread. I went for the Market Platter: zucchini and feta fritters, houmous, white bean and vine tomato salad, grilled red pepper and harissa, roasted aubergine and pita bread (£9 each). We shared both, naturally, so got a little bit of everything. I had recently gone off lamb, but Ceru has put me firmly back on as it was lovely and moist but not fatty, although like the hammara dip it did have slightly too much molasses. The cauliflower, however, was well seasoned and the sultan salad (dried fruits, wholegrain rice, toasted almonds and olives) went well with the accompaniments.
The Market Platter was also flavour filled, I was a fan of the white bean and vine tomato salad, which tasted incredibly fresh. Less impressive were the zucchini and feta fritters which, again, were over seasoned and tasted bitter. Ceru has just gone one step too far with its flavour, and rather than being a mouth wateringly sensational explosion that you want to indulge in, it’s more like an explosion you want to run away from. At the end of the meal my tongue genuinely hurt, like that feeling you get when you’ve had too many sour sweets. Areas which shone were the freshly baked pita’s and salads, which contained the least seasoning and dressings. The dips, fritters and meats (aka the ‘main events’) were just a tad too much, which is a shame because if there was just a little toning down on the flavour these would be delicious.
OVERALL RATING: ***
http://www.cerurestaurants.com/
