Sands

Wednesday 1st July 2009

This is a Crackerjack review of Sands. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.

Food and drink: 7 / 10.
Service: 7 / 10.
Atmosphere: 8 / 10.
Value for money: 8 / 10.

It wasn’t until I sat down and looked at the menu in Sands that I realised it must be six years since I last visited the place.
I remember it well, not just for the food, but more for the fact it was the first time I had enjoyed a proper shisha smoking session.

Actually, my friend and I got a bit carried away and after drinking a few bottles of Lebanese red wine we attacked the shisha (smoking water pipes) with gusto. So much so that the foyer of the restaurant was a haze of sweet-smelling smoke and we could barely see each other through the eye-watering fug.

Of course, that was in the pre-smoking ban days and if you want to indulge in the honey and fruit-flavoured tobacco shishas at Sands now, you have to puff away in the garden, complete with Arabic-style tent.

Sands opened eight years ago on a site that was once a very popular Berni Inn opposite the Queen’s Court art deco block of flats.

It was the first Lebanese restaurant to open in Bristol and it is still regarded by many as the best (although Mazati in Small Street gave it a run for its money until it closed after a fire last year).

The restaurant is deceptively Tardis-like and minimalist in style. The sandblasted walls are white and the ceilings low and arched. Candles flicker in gold lanterns and ambient and traditional music wafts through the restaurant, which has a relaxed and calm feel to it.

There are fresh flowers in alcoves, tables are covered with white linen and the high-backed olive green chairs are sumptuous and comfortable.

I’m a big fan of Lebanese food. I love its simplicity and its use of herbs and spices.

I also love Lebanese wine, which is one of the most underrated wines in the world but as production is quite low it rarely appears on menus in this country.

At Sands, there are eight Lebanese wines on the list from three of the country’s top chateaux – Musar, Kefraya and Massaya. I went with the Chateau Massaya White (£16.95) which is a crisp, slightly floral blend of sauvignon blanc and two indigenous varieties, obeidi and clairette. A cracking wine for the price.

Although I was dining alone, Sands is very much a place for large groups and the selections of mezze dishes are tailored for two people or more.

The restaurant is also very popular with vegetarians because there are several meat-free dishes –  it must be refreshing for them to see so many veggie dishes rather than yet another goat’s cheese and red onion tart on the menu.

I limbered up with the hummus (£3.75) which is always a good test of the kitchen in a Lebanese restaurant.

Served in a large brown bowl that looked like earthenware but was actually plastic, it was a creamy swirl of puréed chick peas, sesame extract, lemon juice and olive oil. OK, it lacked the garlicky punch I expected, but it was very moreish and I ordered more warm flatbreads to mop it up. As a second starter, I went for the sujiq (£4.75) – five little finger-sized Armenian sausages which really packed a spicy punch.

Although the shish taouk (boneless chicken marinated in garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, grilled on skewers) and the kafta (minced lamb, onions and parsley grilled on skewers) both caught my eye, I plumped for the mixed grill (£12.50) which basically included both of those dishes, as well as grilled cubes of lamb, with grilled onions, tomatoes and green peppers.

The chicken and lamb cubes were tender and moist and the minced lamb kafta was spicy and flavoured with cumin for that genuine taste of the Middle East. It arrived with a dome of fluffy couscous.

Lebanese cooking is as much about aromas as it is flavours and exotic ingredients such as rose water, orange blossom water and saffron make me go weak at the knees.

I’ve always adored Lebanese desserts and muhalabia (£3.75) is one of my favourites. It may look like a wobbly silicon breast implant and have the floral qualities of a plug-in air freshener, but this firm white mousse delicately flavoured with rose water and sprinkled with chopped pistachios was exquisite and it made me rush home and dig out the recipe.

But that’s the thing about Lebanese cooking – it’s not the sort of cuisine you can knock up at home after work. It’s just not the same.

You need the searing heat of the char grill and the armoury of exotic ingredients, as well as the Middle Eastern ambience.

And that’s why Sands ticks all the right boxes when it comes to an authentic Lebanese experience, right down to the belly dancers that appear at the special Arabian Nights on the last Thursday of the month.

MARK TAYLOR

Wheelchair access: No
Prices: starters from £3.75; main courses from £9.95; desserts from £3.75

This is a Crackerjack review of Sands. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.