Liz O’Reilly headed to Mercure Grand Hotel Seef to check out the Shami Maghrebi Business Lunch at Neyran restaurant.

It’s been quite some time since I’ve visited Neyran, so I was keen to refresh my memory with a weekday lunch with a colleague.

The interior is warm and inviting with Moroccan plates adorning the walls and traditional Arabic lamps both hanging from the ceiling and tucked into wall niches giving a cosy feel to the daytime interior where dark wood shutters filter the outside light.

Bench seating and chairs are plushly padded and comfortable enough for a quick business lunch to turn into an hours-long affair as you chat over coffee and traditional mint tea.

Neyran is the hotel’s international restaurant but at lunchtime it serves a selection of Shami Magrebi (Moroccan-Levantine) dishes. Dinner is à la carte or set menu. And Lebanese Night, where you can enjoy food and music in a lively atmosphere, begins at 9.30pm and runs right through to the small hours. We arrived for our lunchtime feast and were immediately served a selection of cold mezzes, tucking into fattoush, hummus, vine leaves, moutabel and tabbouleh. I loved the freshness of the salads. If I could move in and eat these every day, my waning New Year’s Resolution to get in shape might just stand a chance.

The crunchy fried pitta bread topping made the multiple vegetables in the fattoush feel both refreshing and luxurious while the tabbouleh, for once, had just enough lemon dressing rather than drowning in it. I also particularly enjoyed the moutabel, the smoky taste of the eggplant shining through to give a great flavour combination alongside the salads.

Next came hot mezzes consisting of kibbe, falafel, spring rolls, flavourful dip or sauce made from eggplant, grilled capsicum, garlic, onions and tomatoes with a healthy dose of paprika. I dipped both tasty kibbe and crunchy, fluffy falafel in it and fell a little bit in love. The texture is kind of chunky and the flavour was a triumph bringing both heat and strong taste to the table. Before selecting our mains, we indulged in bowls of Harira soup and when I say indulged, I really do mean it. The soup was, for me, one of the highlights of the lunch. Chickpeas and lentils with spices such as cumin and coriander, and chunky vegetables all served up in a delicious tomato-based broth. So warming and filling. The spices give a feeling of adventure and you get the sense that each version of this traditional Moroccan dish will be different but each will be flavourful and comforting. This could actually be a meal by itself.

The mains are displayed safely behind a glass buffet. You make your choice and it is served to your table. We tried both lamb and chicken tagine and both were excellent with the flesh melt-in-the-mouth soft and infused with the herbs, spices and vegetables used in the traditional tagine cooking method. For me though, the highlight was the lamb kofta served, unusually, with tahini sauce with scalloped potatoes and fried onions. The meat was tender, beautifully seasoned with the perfect mix of spices and superbly complemented by the potatoes which were liberally coated in the tahini to give a delightful combination of sweet and sour derived from the tahini and the browned onion topping. Definitely a hit for which I would happily return.

A generous display of traditional desserts, such as mouhalabia and the deliciously creamy Um Ali, was on display but we decided to finish our lunch with mint tea for me and Moroccan espresso-style coffee for my dining companion and, in true business-lunch style, we whiled away another hour over chat and refills. It’s the perfect weekday lunch whether you have limited time and want a quick and easy, in and out or if, like us, you have a little time to spare and just want to enjoy the atmosphere over a cup or two of your favourite hot drink. ✤

GO: CALL 1753 4400 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO MAKE A RESERVATION.