Today we’re heading into South Kensington to Ceru, a short stroll from the tube station. Ceru was born from a love of food, drink and sunshine – three of my favourite things so that’s a good start. The menu is inspired by the flavours of the Levant region. Think Eastern Mediterranean – Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel – so that’s a wide array of tasty ingredients that are then all sourced fresh from London’s markets. This is my kind of food.
The all-day menu is neatly organised into categories, all food designed for sharing. My latest restaurant strategy is to pick a dish from each category…makes life easier. As you’d expect from this cuisine, there are a range of dips to start. And as luck would have it, you can try them all. So we did – a spoonful of each making up Three in One.
Houmous with chickpeas and green chilli. Fade – roasted zucchini with garlic, yoghurt and tahini and Ceru Hamara – tangy red pepper dip with walnuts and pomegranate molasses. All delicious served with the freshest of warm Greek pitta bread and crudités. And that red pepper dip – such depth of flavours – I need some of that in my fridge for snacking on at all times.
From the salads section we chose a warm salad of artichokes, green peas and baby onions. What a great mix of vegetables – served with a zingy preserved lemon, ginger and turmeric dressing. Seriously sunshine on a plate.
On to the seafood. This is Karides – the plumpest of sautéed king prawns with tomato, dill and fenugreek. The sort of dish that transports you somewhere sun-soaked (in your mind anyway).
On to meat and it’s time for lamb shoulder. This is slow roasted for five hours in a secret blend of 12 Shawarma spices, served with a pomegranate sauce, fresh mint and pistachio. What an exotic set of ingredients which again evokes the spirit of the exotic lands they come from.
There’s a separate poultry section where we went for Merguez cornfed chicken breast, grilled and served with a preserved lemon, mint and lentil salad. The harissa-based marinade gives the chicken a beautiful bite and that lentil salad! Loving the use of preserved lemon running through the dishes.
We couldn’t resist temptation and had to have a plate of spiced polenta and feta fries served with a mint and dill yogurt from the Side Orders section. Polenta fries should never be resisted – genius to put feta in them.
There’s a small dessert selection which all sounds incredible like this dark chocolate and tahini mousse made with chickpea water. Light and rich at the same time, and isn’t it beautifully served?
I’m not much of a pudding eater but have been known to nibble on an ice-cream. As a result, I had to try this fabulous flavours of baklava ice cream. Made with one of my favourite spices – cardamom – and served with a nut brittle and burnt honey caramel. So delightfully refreshing and satisfying.
What a fabulous feast. We finished off with some Turkish apple tea – something I drank regularly on my travels around Turkey and it was just as delightful as I remember. A great reminder of how much I enjoy the Levant flavours – and should eat more of them. Therefore I may just have to take on the challenge to taste everything on the Ceru menu, now there’s a challenge I could embrace.
Today’s price point
And finally…the bill.
So our food came to £63 – and it was quite a feast.
We had a lovely carafe of rose from Lebanon for £20.
And finished with a Turkish Apple tea at £2.50 a glass.
Ceru is at 7-9 Bute Street, South Kensington SW7
