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Safi Dining

Safi Dining
Safi DiningSupplied

13/20

Middle Eastern$$

Safi means 'pure' in Arabic, and there is little in the way of embellishment in the modest front dining room with its whitewashed walls and brown wooden tables. Only the Middle Eastern ouds and tablas in the window give any hint of what is to come. Dips are a good way to start; big, generous serves of thick labna (yoghurt dip), smoky eggplant babaghanoush or rich oil-drizzled hummus. Vegetarians actually have choices here - from soft, puffy, spinach-filled pastry pockets to plump kibbeh made with potato instead of lamb, or sweet, spice-dusted cauliflower florets with tahini. The food is straightforward and largely unadorned - order ma-aneh, spicy Lebanese lamb sausages, and that's exactly what you get, although a comfort-food bowl of mujadara (rice and lentil pilaf) comes with its traditional frizz of fried onions on top. This is comfortable, good value, family-style dining, right down to your last sip of cinnamon tea and nibble of Turkish delight.

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