Al Bader (Lebanese & Moroccan) – Birmingham

With Al-Bader’s first branch having opened on the lively stretch of Coventry Road way back in 2007, its flag ship store opened a little while later on Ladypool Road in 2012.

The restaurant takes its food inspiration from the hills of Lebanon and the streets of Syria, to the hustle and bustle of Morocco’s colourful Marrakesh.

This inspiration is also behind the design of its Moroccan-themed interior decor too, with all the quinessential features of the region accounted for, including lantern lights and comfortable cushioned-seating.

In fact, Al-Bader’s efforts were only this year rewarded after being recognised as the ‘Best Themed Restaurant, Midlands – Food, Drink & Hospitality Awards 2018’.

The 120-cover venue serves both Moroccan and English breakfast from 9am-midday.

It was also a former-HMC certified establishment.

You might want to also note that, while it continues to offer a fully Halal food menu, nutmeg is used in some dishes (inquire with a member of staff beforhand).

(Left-right) Lemonade with Mint, Cloudy Apple Juice – £3.20 each

These large cups of freshly squeezed beverages were pretty darn good. It was the freshness of the mint that made the zesty lemonade such a deliciously refreshing one.

In comparison, the peculiarly orange apple juice was also good, with a weird grainy consistency to it. It might also be an idea to ask them to mix and match the flavour combos.

Shakshuka Omelette – Moroccan-spiced minced meat oven cooked in roasted tomatos, peppers, onions, and topped with eggs, £6.50

From the breakfast menu came this Shakshuka, and one which we were looking forward to. This was a traditional Tunisian-style one with far more happening in it when compared to some simpler versions we’ve had in the past.

Unfortunately, the tomato base was overly spiced, with large slices of red pepper therein. And while the eggs helped damped the heat a tad, this was far too spicy as a breakfast even for our collective palates (and we love our spices).

Turkish Bakery Pasties – 4 for £3.49

Cheese Sambosa Pastery

Spinach Pastery

Mince Meat Pastery

Halloumi Pastery

The biggest shortcoming with this selection of minimally filled pastries from their Turkish bakery was the thickness of the crumbly pastry itself.

They did, nevertheless, have a good taste to ’em, with the best being perhaps the spinach-filled one.

Mix Medium Mezza (Vegan) – Hummus, moutabal, muhamara, warak enab, tabbouleh, falafel, olives & salad. Served with bread. Large £13.49, Medium £7.49

Gotta love Birmingham! This attractively presented mezza platter (believe it or not, this is their medium-sized one) would certainly cost far more in London.

Mixed Grill (3 Skewers) - Lamb cubes, lamb kofta, shish taouk grilled on skewer. Served with rice or fries £12.99 (Additional chicken wings added)

The Shish taouk was the highlight of this mixed grill being larger in size, moist, tender and soft, with some gentle charring.

The lamb cubes were a touch over culminating in a tough texture in spite of their rather large size.

While we appreciate the fact that some prefer their lamb kofta on the soft side, we would have preferred ours slightly more charred than they were so as to impart both some smokiness and a little texture too. These were decent enough in terms of flavour.

As for the subtly spiced and one dimensional flamed grilled chicken wings, then we enjoyed their moistness and charring more than anything else.

Mixed Shawarma - Roasted thin slices of marinated lamb & chicken. Served with choice of salad & bread or rice or fries. £10.49

It was essentially déjà vu with the hummus. As for the lamb, then it turned out a little dry. By default, therefore, the chicken was the best part of this Mixed Shawarma, with the dressed salad being a good foil to all that meat.

Of the two, we'd pay that extra £2.50 and opt for the above mixed grill. It offers a better selection, and comes across as being more healthily prepared.

Lamb Tagine - slow cooked lamb with carrots & seasoned vegetables & dry fruit in our savoury Moroccan sauce served with bread. £11.99

This slow cooked dish tasted more like a curry than a lamb tagine, if we're being honest but regardless tasted very good.

While the lamb was beautifully tender, what we enjoyed the most was the sweetness of the prunes, and the way in which they combined with the overly caramelised topping of onions to counter the gentle heat of the watery broth.

But, given how the entire pot erred on the soft textural-side, we felt that the addition of more crunchier nuts would have worked as a much needed foil.

Basbousa £2.99

All the desserts had on the evening were premade. As such, this Basbousa had a staleness to it which, we suspect, was down to this, and the rest of the desserts, being left uncovered.

Having said that though, it was well saturated in a mildly sweet syrup, which made this the best of the bunch.

Kunafa £2.99

How this qualified as a kunafa we have no idea whatsoever! Pretty much a red splodge on a plate!

Assorted Baklava £2.99

This assortment of baklava was brought in and left out in the open; ergo, not only were they dry, but rather poor in quality too.

Chai Latte & Adani Tea, £2 each

Large glasses of soothingly satisfying hot drinks, which one might want to consider with one's meals. Of the two, the chai latte hit the spot!