Chez Marcelle

I stumbled upon this restaurant and it definately is a diamond in the rough. From the outside it looks as if the place is closed, due to the sun bleached awning, I was desperate and wasn't expecting much. However, once inside the restaurant I was very plesantly suprised with a wonderfully buzzy warm atmosphere and an eclectic mix of locals all tucking into the most wonderful tabbouleh, fattoush and lamb dishes all served with delicious warm flat bread.

The house red wine was also suprisingly good and went really well with all the tomato and lamb based dishes. The batata harra was also amazing and I took some home, ate it the next day and it was still good.

The service is a bit mad as the lady who runs the place (Marcelle) is the service and serves all the tables herself, which adds to the restaurant's charm. It really is a fun place to go and the food is amazing. I would say it is definately on of the best restaurants in the Olympia/ Brook Green area.
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Diana
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, September 26, 2011

Had a wonderful meal here with five others - we enjoyed the most delicious freshly cooked Lebanese food with the best moutabah I have ever tasted. This is an unpretentious restaurant, relaxed, informal and a very easy place to have a lovely evening. Good place if you are coming with a mixed group of people as there is a huge selection of food for vegetarians as well as meat-eaters. This is our favourite Lebanese restaurant in London. Service can be sometimes a little slow but everything is being prepared freshly and it tastes much bettter for it.

Our meal for five with starter, main courses and baclava - and Lebanese beer, delcisous mint tea was just under £95.00. Great value.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, June 17, 2011

Excellent in all respects.

The food was the best Lebanese we have had in London, with good specials and with all dishes freshly prepared. The service from the charming owner was friendly, and there was no sign of the slow delivery that other reviewers have commented on. The other customers seemed sophisticated and interesting.The wine suggested was good, although not to my taste - but there were plenty of other choices.

Will be back ASAP.
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Dom
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, March 19, 2011

What an amazing restaurant! I really can’t understand where the other reviewers are coming from. We went on Saturday night and had one of the best meals! My friend had recommended the place to me and Hardens rates it as one of the best restaurants in London for quality of food so I figured it was worth a try.

The place was almost full, and the atmosphere was great. Service was fantastic, I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like but it was brilliant, very friendly and attentive. I felt like I was in someone’s home! The owner was serving the tables and did a great job recommending some dishes and making sure we had a balanced meal. There was no delay between courses at all and we could have asked for more time between our starters and main if we had wanted (we were surprisingly full after our mains).

We had a range of mezze dishes, each was delicious including a fantastic fatoush, and the best falafel I have had since visiting Egypt a few years ago. We went for the dish of the day for main to share between us which was more than enough food. We had a Lebanese beer and a bottle of reserve Lebanese Heritage wine – one of the best wines I have ever had!!

I really wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this place, the meal was stunning value and we will definitely be back.
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Annie - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, January 14, 2011

this restaurant is so old fashioned and certainely needs an update not just on looks but food and certainly the staff, very bad attitude and no respect to customers, i wouldn't ever go there again.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, September 29, 2010

I went there on saturday night we were 4 peoples, we had to wait for couple of minutes to be seated even though there was no one.

The waitress did not speak any english, we asked for the food, starter arrived after 40 minutes, main course was late for 45 minutes, it was a disaster.

This place is run by 2 peoples I can hear the woman shouting and screaming at the waitress and she had no respect to anyone sitting. I tried to talk to her about delay and she was rude.
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COLETTE
0 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, September 27, 2010

I love ther ability to pre-order delicious speciality like my mother used to prepare with no compromise to taste or quality

Marcelle is a treasure
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Fawzi Germanus
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Saturday, August 28, 2010

I agree with the comments below re the food - very good and well priced, especially the meze. Personally, I think that the much talked about special stuffed lamb dish was too salty, dry and bland.

The good value of the tasty food is completely negated by the slowness of the service. I don't care if you consider yourself to be the most chilled out person in London, waiting for as long as you have to here is a joke. Nearly one hour for four meze to arrive, another 45 mins to an hour for the main course. We were one of three tables who were visibly exasperated by the experience. I should make it clear that the lone waitress was not at fault - she was doing her best and with a smile. It is Marcelle (presumably) who should employ another waiter/waitress.
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Rick Brown
4 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 5
Monday, November 16, 2009

We fancied Lebanese, but away from the hubub of the Edgware Road. This is certainly tucked away, quite hard to find in a small parade of shops in the shadow of Olympia. But the search is really worthwhile. Marcelle is the Patronne and is all over everything -- serving, in the kitchen, chatting to guests. She makes everything apart from the sweet pastries. Four of us each had the £18 set menu -- a table full of starters including houmous, tahini, aubergine, sambusek -- cheese pastries -- a tart with ground lamb, wonderfully fresh salads, unlimited flatbread, spicy fried potatoes -- in fact a meal. But this was followed by a roast lamb dish with nuts, raisins and rice, and some fantastic grilled marinated chicken kebabs. And that was followed by a generous tray of baklavas and dried fruits, and whatever hot drinks you wanted. And we were given packets of baklavas to take home. Jugs of water brought without asking, no bottled nonsense, and the only extras were a bottle and a half of excellent Lebanese reds at £16 and £8. Total for four was £105 including a tip. Food was top quality, wonderfully fresh, served in relaxed, plain-modern suroundings, as good as I've had in Beirut. Easy street parking after 6pm. A great value delight.
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Laurie Margolis
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 20, 2009