Review of 'Leon'

A young and refreshing eatery chain with locations across London. The prices are reasonable as well…

We visited the Strand branch of Leon late on a Friday evening and the place was still quite busy. The bright colours and relaxed atmosphere was immediately inviting. As is typical in this type of restaurant there are bits of memorabilia around the interior with jars and tins of food, etc. We were shown to our table and given the evening menu (they have separate breakfast and lunch menus as well). To order we had to decide what we wanted and place the order at the counter giving them our table number.

We started with several non-alcoholic “quenchers” - A “Blackcurrant quencher” (£1.50) - A bit sweet but quite nice - and a “Lemon, ginger & mint quencher” (£1.50) - Tangy and very refreshing. We were very surprised with the prices of the drinks and this carried onto the main menu which had a good selection of “tapas-style” (“Grazing Dishes” - £3.45 to £4.50 each) as well as wraps (£3.70 to £4.50) and salads (£4.95 to £6.25). We decided that faced with all of the choices we would go with “The Feasting Menu” (£25 for two people) which turned out to be very good indeed. The dishes, each served in small sharing bowls, arrived leisurely over the next fifteen minutes.

“Chilli con Carne” - A bit bland but an excellent texture on the beans - “Moroccan Meatballs” - Very tasty and meaty - “Hummus & Flatbread” - Our highlight, delightfully tasty and lovely, crispy, flatbread - “Chilli Chicken” - A bit of heat but lovely and juicy - “Grilled Chorizo” - Fantastically seasoned chorizo served in large hunks - “Brown Rice” - Bland, again, but quite a good accompaniment for the rest - “Leon Mash” - Very tasty indeed with lashes of butter - “Garlic & Chilli Broccoli” - Did not even know they had chili and garlic so subtly spiced were these.

Between the two of us this really was quite filling but pleasantly so. Everything was fresh and served (as appropriate) piping hot as soon as it was ready. We did not try any of the desserts as we were pretty much done eating though the options looked quite tasty but will have to wait for a future visit (perhaps for their tasty looking breakfasts or lunches).

The service as expected in this type of restaurant. The staff were certainly very pleasant and helpful - Just difficult to find on occasion.

I will definitely be back - Join their club to enjoy discounts (including 40% off your first meal).

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2010-09-25


Cuisine: American/British

Address: 73-76 Strand, London, England WC2R 0DE

Public Transport: TUBE Charing Cross

Location: London (England) - Covent Garden

Map:

 

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Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7240 3070/3071

URL: http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/