We keep going back to Maroush V because the staff are excellent. The food is very good value. We had the set Mezze for 4 (we were a party of 5 but actually enough food 6) . As usual we had a very enjoyable evening. I Can't praise the staff too highly. Very attentive service and extremely polite.
Un bellissimo ristorante libanese (vero!), molto scenografico, in zona centralissima, vicino ad Oxford Circus. Il locale è su due livelli, io son stato al superiore, una sorta di balaustra molto ampia, che si affaccia sul piano inferiore. I tavoli son ben distanziati e, sebbene fosse affollato, nonc'era particolare confusione. Il locale è pulitissimo e "lussuosamente" arredato.
Il persoanle è molto cortese e gentile. Ho mangiato un antipasto di hummus che mi è piaciuto tantissimo e un piatto di carne di agnello molto saporito. Ottimo anche il dessert (una specie di risolatte con sciroppo alla rosa).
Temevo il conto fosse piuttosto alto, invece è stato una piacevole sorpresa.
Consigliato.
Maroush is a big name on the London Lebanese restaurant scene. With numerous offshoots around town, its formula of traditional food and smart surroundings has certainly proved a success.
High-quality food is an integral aspect of the Maroush brand. Almost every imaginable meze dish is available: from dips (houmous and baba ganoush) to pastries (fatayer and arayes - a baked pastry with lamb) and hot dishes (fuul, sujuk and beid ghanem - lambs' testicles with lemon and olive oil). More unusual are the 'Maroush specialties': five dishes of raw lamb in various guises, all served with little piles of variously colored, powdered spices - a rare pleasure for those who have acquired the taste. At most other Maroush outposts, you'll find the same traditional, well-prepared food, but more sedat surroundings.
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Maroush V
Orange walls, yellow ceilings, pink marble, and belly-dancers - if you love kitsch, this Lebanese hotspot is the place for you. Just don't arrive before 9.30 - it's dreary without a crowd of back slapping, oil-rich businessmen.
Who goes: Lennox Lewis, Tina Turner. The Duchess of York was turned away without a reservation.
Celebrity order: Mezze
If all of Lebanon eats and parties the way they do at Maroush, then we're on the next plane out. Part of the continually-growing Maroush empire founded by Abouzki Marouf, this Maroush is a bright, fun, very smart place to eat, schmooze and be entertained. The space is divided into the upper mezzanine - or should that be mezze-nine - that looks onto the larger dining room below. The looong menu includes the Lebanese top ten and then some. We like to start with araks all around, munch on the huge platter of complimentary veggies, then choose a million starters and share them - hoummous both shawarama and awarma, falafel, moutabal, tabouleh, fattoush and kibbeh nayeh for the raw lamb devotees. If you still have room for main courses, try one of the simply-roasted lamb dishes with rice or explore the fish. For pudding have the mouhallabia
Quite possibly the busiest restaurant in the borough (barring, perhaps, McDonald's on High St Ken) Maroush keeps the crowds coming from midday until early morning. Fans find any excuse - picking up a picnic, preventing the next day's hangover - to pop by for a quick chicken sandwich from the take-away downstairs, while the more formal dining room upstairs is an 'excellent' place for dinner, serving 'stacks of high quality food', of which the mezze is particularly recommended
Maroush dominates the Edgware Road area with outlets on most corners & you're sure to find a branch buzzing with activity until well beyond midnight on any given night of the week . . .'tasty food' is generally matched with 'excellent service.' Maroush I offers extra value in that belly dancers are included in the cover charge, & although most branches close around 1am, you can still get an excellent kebab at Ranoush Juice until 3am, perfect for refuelling for the journey home.
Londons Top Ten Cheap Eats- Ranoush Even hardened restaurant commentators may be forgiven for getting tangled in the Ranoush /Maroush web of branches. Call it what you will, this group has various Lebanese restaurants all over London, plenty of them at the south end of the Edgware Road. Those that bear the Ranoush name (as opposed to Maroush, Beirut Express, Randa or whatever) have a simple and successful formula, very fresh juices, simple kebabs, a selection of meze. Ranoush does stay open until 3am which makes it a good place to rehydrate and take on board some much needed vitamins after a fierce night out.
Recommended dish: top-rated lamb schwarma, good meze, excellent yoghurt, fresh bread.
This is a lovely little restaurant, literally right opposite Debenhams on Oxford St. It's so handy to go to after an intense shopping round. Service is great, and the food is very tasty. Recommend their lamb schwarma wraps! They give lovely fresh fruit at the end of a meal which was complimentary. I'm sure this place will stay around for years as it has a great location and right mix of what makes Middle Eastern food great.
My Paddington
All through the seventies the handful of Lebanese eateries that were in London were clustered together on Edgware Road. These catered for the locals in the area and to the guests of the nearby Intercontinental and Park Lane Hilton Hotels, but then Europeans started to change their palate…
As the population of London diversified and tourism became more accessible, people started to discover the delights of Lebanese and Arabic food, and the number of specialised restaurants grew. Now you can experience this gorgeous cuisine everywhere, for all sorts of prices! Momo's in the West End springs to mind, where you pay exuberant prices for cous cous with the rich and famous! But to taste the original and some would say the best, you will have to come to Edgware Road.
Maroush and Ranoush restaurants on Edgware Road are synonymous with Lebanese food and Maroush Beauchamp Place is a hugely popular place to hang out, known for its late opening hours as well as the gorgeous fruit juice bar. Marouf Abouzaki is the man behind Maroush, and he claims that the secret to his success is "Good food, good service and full attention to customers" - something his restaurants seem to take pride in, as whenever I have been there the food has been great and the waiters very attentive. . .
A part of the Maroush chain of restaurants and cafes, this branch of Maroush is one of the best places to go for fine Lebanese food in London.
The Venue
The restaurant is well located just off Edgware Road behind Marble Arch and near to the main shops of Oxford Street, such as Selfridges and Marks and Spencer. It has recently been redecorated in colours such as orange and yellow, so the new look is a bit too bright. The dining room of the restaurant is divided into three sections and each section is a different colour.
The Atmosphere
Maroush is nearly always busy but not too noisy or overcrowded and attracts an international set of people who wish to dine after work. The waiters are friendly and the service efficient and there is lively Middle Eastern music playing in the background.
The Food
When you arrive at Maroush a dish of crudites is placed on the table so that you can crunch on fresh vegetables whilst deciding what to order. By the same token at the end of the meal a complimentary platter of Middle Eastern sweets such as baklava arrive on the table. As for what to eat in between, the choice is extremely wide with over 60 starters or meze on offer and another 30 main courses.
In some ways it is preferable to choose a number of different starters instead of a main course, because the hot and cold meze are the pearl of Lebanese cusine and the main courses are very filling.
Starters that are particularly recommended include houmous and bab ghanouj (aubergine dip), jawaneh - or charcoal grilled marinated chicken wings served with garlic sauce, falafel, which are deepfried bean and herb croquettes served with a tahine sauce and kibbeh shameyieh, which is deep fried lamb meatballs mixed with cracked wheat and onions, filled with sauteed minced meat and onions. Also worth trying are the fatayer, which are mini triangles of pastry filled with spinach, and the charcoal grilled sweetbreads are also very good. All food is accompanied by complimentary hot unleavened bread.
The Drink
Maroush specialises in fresh fruit juices. The melon juice comes highly recommended although it is a little sweet. Mint tea is also recommended at the end of your meal. There is also a good wine list which includes Lebanese red, white and rose wines such as Kefraya from the Bequa'a Valley.
The Last Word
Whichever branch of Maroush that you choose to go to, it is guaranteed to be a luxurious dining experience and, if you can't get enough of the Maroush magic, outside catering for private parties in your home is available.
Maroush is a chain of unmarket Lebanese restaurants with authentic atmospheres that serve traditional dishes. They also offer a takeaway and delivery service.
Excellent Lebanese restaurant in all aspects - food, service, & decor! One of the best places to eat in London. Best chicken cube sandwich. How do they make that grilled halloumi cheese on pita. Wow!
Hidden away from the bustle of Oxford St, Maroush is a smart, fun and lively restaurant perfect for cosy dinners or big groups alike. On my first visit, I had never tried Lebanese food before but there are definitely things that you will recognise - namely falafel (which are soooo much better than supermarket versions), shawarma (chicken or lamb kebabs but with actual meat) and Tabbouleh.
The menu is vast, which is the perfect excuse to keep going back to try everything, you will discover favourites each time (Moutabal, Kibbeh and Baklawa for dessert - mmmm!) Service is friendly and efficient, prices are standard London.
You might even be able to spot a good old D-lister, I once saw Uri Geller eating in here (just after his stint in I'm a Celebrity) and apparently Paris Hilton has been to the Knightsbridge branch! On top of all this, they sometimes also have live entertainment in the form of a singer or a belly dancer...
“The later you eat, the better the ambience”, at London’s leading Lebanese chain, be it in the “bustling” café take-away (at I, II and V) or the restaurants; all branches serve an “excellent” range of “super-fresh” mezze, and “succulent” charcoal-grills.
Maroush is the home of Lebanese cooking in London and there are 14 restaurants dotted around the city. While Maroush has yet to expand beyond the capital.