feasting at phoenicia
element recently visited Phoenicia — Finikiya in Russian — the newest addition to Middle Eastern dining in the capital, and found that the Lebanese fare is fresh and authentic, though the mixed European and Arabian menu is dispensible.
PHOTO GEORGY IVANOV / TEXT STEVE ROBERTS feedback
Located near Ulitsa 1905 Goda, Phoenicia opened in mid-March, and is housed in a long underground hall beginning with a bar area and ending with a curtained-off zone for large groups. The restaurant is decked out in masses of stone, tiles and wood. Colored glass and low lighting bring some warmth to the interior. Ornamentation is minimal, and the place is quite unpretentiously straightforward: good food, low prices and a wiggling torso every half hour or so, when the music — like the food, a mix of popular Lebanese and European — is turned up to signal the entrance of the evening’s stimulating entertainment. A few thousand years ago, modern-day Lebanon was part of Phoenicia. Hence the name of this new restaurant, which features a Lebanese chef sticking to his culinary roots. His sidekick in the kitchen also dishes up a range of European grub but I saw little point in trying it when there’s an Arabic alternative. In fact, I was a little bit annoyed by the digressions from the Lebanese — about half the menu, which has a decent English translation, is made up of ‘international’ dishes, and the bread basket contains Russian bread and only a bit of pita. Now, I can see the point of variety in life, but don’t understand why anyone would consciously go to a Lebanese restaurant to sample borsch. It rather undermines the Phoenicia brand too, which is being built up by belly-dancing, leaflets on the history of the Phoenicians and a hookah chillout room where guests can puff in comfort (from 300 rubles). Turning to our own bellies, we started filling them with a selection of excellent Lebanese starters. Beginning with labni (110 rubles), thick yogurt with mint and olive oil, we then tried hummus (ö140 rubles), baba ganoush (160 rubles) — an eggplant and tomato paste — and muttabal (150 rubles), another eggplant-based offering, with sesame seed oil. In addition, we split the fattush (160 rubles), a wonderful mixed salad made from chopped vegetables and fried bread, and had a portion of the Dolma (190 rubles) — warmed vine leaves stuffed with minced lamb and rice, which was the only real disappointment, as it was on the shriveled side, possibly re-heated. This prolonged opening put paid to my wife’s appetite, and she abstained from a main course, while making inroads into the red wine, courtesy of Chevalier Monteval, Moelleux (825 rubles a bottle). Meanwhile, I continued my Phoenician voyage with succulent pieces of mashawi lamb (450 rubles), which had been coal-grilled with vegetables. This stands out as one of the most expensive options at Phoenicia and was generally a fine entree, though the fries that came with it were undercooked and truly awful. For desserts we shared a superb plate of assorted Lebanese sweets (140 rubles) and a bowl of creamy vanilla ice-cream (170 rubles). I also indulged in the Lebanese liqueur, Nectar de Kefraya (220 rubles for 50 ml), a chilled grape and herb concoction which went down well as a digestif. Finally, we worked through a complimentary pot of Lebanese coffee with cardamom, which was not only exquisitely presented in authentic- looking Arabic crockery, but beautifully brewed as well. We left the restaurant fairly pleased with our evening’s edible entertainment. Phoenicia creates Lebanese dishes rather than adopting a mixture of Arabic cooking, and so differs from most of its competitors in the capital. What’s more, the venue itself is simple and relaxed. If only it pandered less to European or Russian tastes and traveled the full route to Beirut. I don’t understand why anyone would consciously go to a Lebanese restaurant to sample borsch. |
