In the heart of picturesque Reigate (less than an hour’s train from London), Lebnani is bringing the food, warmth and generosity of Beirut to Surrey. The restaurant’s name means “Lebanese” in Arabic. Awarded two AA Rosettes, it is a neighbourhood restaurant with a clear purpose: to preserve the dishes chef and founder Jad Youssef grew up eating in Beirut, and to share the depth and range of Lebanese cooking with a wider audience.
The menu is built around traditional hot and cold mezze, generous sharing plates, and meat and vegetables cooked over the restaurant’s Al Mashwa charcoal grill. Hummus, labné, falafel, tabbouleh, fattoush and smoky aubergine dishes sit alongside shawarma and charcoal-grilled meats. They arrive in the middle of the table with pickles, sauces and warm khobez bread. Sumac, tahini, pomegranate molasses, baharat, garlic, lemon, fresh herbs and olive oil run through the menu, and there are plenty of vegetarian and plant-based dishes. Lebanese wines complete the table.
Jad isn’t trying to reinvent Lebanese food. He cooks these dishes with respect for where they come from, using time-honoured techniques and bold, familiar flavours. Spices, herbs and grains are sourced from Lebanon, and meat comes from responsible farms in Surrey and Sussex.
Many of the dishes come directly from Jad’s memories of his mother, aunts and grandparents, and of the meals eaten around the family table in Lebanon. The result is a menu that reflects how Lebanese food is really eaten: together, generously, with dish after dish arriving at the table.
Born in Beirut, Jad grew up surrounded by food. He helped his mother cook family meals and spent time in his father’s pastry shop, before training as a chef in Beirut. His career took him through kitchens in Europe and beyond, including the celebrated Lebanese restaurant Fakhreldine in London. In 2009 he founded the much-loved Yalla Yalla restaurants in London, introducing a new generation of diners to Lebanese street food and home cooking. In 2017 he moved to Hong Kong to oversee the kitchen at Maison Libanaise, sharing the recipes and traditions of his homeland with a new audience, before returning to the UK to open Lebnani with his wife Aga in 2020. He has also appeared as an expert judge on Celebrity MasterChef.
Jad’s debut cookbook, Lebnani, collects 84 recipes from his childhood, his family and the restaurant, alongside the stories behind them. Lebnani’s Lebanese food hampers are available for nationwide UK delivery or collection from Reigate. They include pantry staples and sweet treats, and selected boxes come with a signed copy of the cookbook or Lebanese wine.
Lebnani
11 Church Street
Reigate
Surrey RH2 0AA