Lebanese food in South Kensington, London UK

On the way home from the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington I stumbled across a Lebanese canteen called "Le Comptoir Libanais" (the "Lebanese counter", I believe, in French).

It is in a pedestrian square along with many other eateries. This place has a huge outdoor seating area and a medium size inside seating area. 

This location is 1-5 Exhibition Road. There are other branches in London and beyond.

I ordered the mezze platter that consisted of hummus, falafel (with added sesame seeds), lentil rice salad (with onion and a lemon vinaigrette), baba ghanuj (smoked eggplant, tahini and lemon juice with pomegranate seeds), salad and halloumi cheese ( a firm cheese that was grilled and spiced with thyme). It was delicious. I really liked the baba ghanuj because of its smoky flavor. I had never tried that halloumi cheese before. It would be bland without the grilling and spices added. It was tasty.

For a drink I ordered the apple, ginger, spearmint homemade "lemonade" called "toufaha". The term "lemonade" is misleading, especially to Americans. There was no lemon in the drink. It was a great blend of flavors and very green in color.

For dessert I had to get the baklava. I was served 5 different kinds. One had ground cashew nuts. I think another had pistachios. I did not find a walnut kind (very common in the U.S.). The round baklava was more of a pastry and not phyllo dough. It had figs inside. That was different. It all was very tasty, but I really did not need 5 pieces. Would have been good to share with a friend.

Overall I would recommend this place. The food was great. I wish I could have tried their tagine (stews) and kofta. The service was slow tonight (Sunday), but it was packed. I give them that excuse.

Maybe the key is get takeaway. Service might be quicker. I will come back here.