Almedina – restaurant review

The smell of burning charcoal hits as you step off Stokes Croft and into the double-front of Almedina, a Middle Eastern grill restaurant and juice bar. A man sings soulful Arabic pop over the speakers as the friendly staff motion to a table in the corner, one of a handful occupied one lunchtime during their first week of opening.

The wooden tables are laid with red napkins, silver cutlery and candles, with a big drinks menu offering a massive choice of fresh fruit juices, the fruit sitting next to huge cakes in chilled display cabinets. The equally-extensive food menu runs to almost a dozen pages, written in both English and Arabic.

Hot and cold meze starters and sharing platters, including stuffed vine leaves (£4.50), grilled halloumi (£3.50) and falafel (£3.95), chart cuisines from Cypriot to Persian, while the Jordanian and Lebanese mains are meat-heavy, with pages of chicken and lamb dishes on offer. Kebabs, ribs, chops, wings and shanks (from £9.95) can all be barbecued on the white-hot coals of the charcoal grill, and steaks and grilled seafood is also available.

The lunchtime special is a series of wraps (most £5.95) with fillings including falafel, toasted vegetable and halloumi, chicken kebab and lamb shish, served with either chips or rice. I opt for the lamb shawarma, and a pot of fresh Moroccan mint tea arrives in a beautiful silver pot as I wait for my food. The mint is fresh and strong: enough to make you want to shun stale teabags forever.

The shawarma arrives quickly, though unexpectedly with chips rather than rice. It’s fairly uninspiring to look at: in comparison with the bright Moroccan tiles and fabrics of the restaurant, the colourful dishes illustrated on the menu and the freshness promised by the tea, it’s distinctly beige. The wrap itself is quite thin, more like a Costa Coffee panini with an apportioned amount of filling and edges neatly pressed, rather than a thick, satisfying bit of street food, bulging with meat and salad.

However, the filling is tasty. The lamb is flavourful and tender, somewhere a little shy of the melt-in-the-mouth experience but good nonetheless. It’s accompanied by a salad of cucumber, lettuce and tomato that is crisp, if a little meagre, but better when the small assortment of pickles and olives garnishing the plate are added in. The lafah is toasted on top and tastes fresh and smoky, picking up the flavours of the grill, though the side that has been on the plate has become soggy from the greasy chips and meat.

It might be a fair bus journey down Gloucester Road from gargantuan Lona, experts at the grill-and-juice combo, but it’s hard to escape the comparison. However, Bristol is a big place, and there should be room in the city for both – where, if the queues for Eat A Pitta are anything to go by, our love for falafel knows no bounds. Certainly, it’s a boost for Stokes Croft, and a relief to see two shops, formerly empty for years, filled once again with life, and food.

Almedina, 35 Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3PY
0117 440 4485

www.almedina.co.uk