Ceru Levantine Restaurant Fitzrovia

Set in the heart of Fitzrovia, one a one minute detour off of Oxford street stands Ceru. Ceru offers a menu that would cater to not only meat lovers and vegetarians, but also vegans. Most central London restaurants offer a specific dining experience and each new restaurant seems to grow in complexity, Ceru has countered this tend. There’s a real feel of authenticity in not only the mood but the environment and the staff.

When dining we tend to overlook the quality of the food if our surroundings don’t offer us comfort, Ceru to me last night was the complete package. I’m known for being fairly critical at teams and this instance I left pleased, energised and happy. I have found a new favourite.

So now we’ve established the environment is a great one, let’s get to the menu. Fitzrovia boasts an abundance of dining possibilities and caters to all audiences, Ceru’s menu meets such a broad demographic, so whatever your preference there’s something there that you’re certain to love.

To begin with I opted for a starter, choosing the Four in one;

Starter: Spoonful of four Dips
-Fadi
-Pancar
-Spicy red pepper dip
-Homus

To the regular dinner this may appear simple, but there’s something so unique to each Dip, the tastes are original and authentic. There was no excessive spice and the flavouring was subtle. Not only a healthy option but a very enjoyable one too.

To follow on from the starter, I thought it would be a wise decision to opt for a salad to compliment what is a popular main, the slow roast lamb shoulder with sharwarma spices.

Salad: Fresh salads Crisp apple
Main: Slow roast lamb shoulder with sharwarma spices

Now on appearance this look exceptionally appealing and kudos because it tasted how it looked, I was sceptical initially about the combination, but the risk paid off. As with most things in life, we take our time with what we love and this meal was one of those things. I was very much in the moment and would urge any of onin’s readers to try the lamb shoulder.

To conclude every great meal you need to follow up with a dessert, this is where your second stomach comes into play. Dessert menus don’t have to be huge, but they do have to offer quality and Ceru have met that expectation in Chocolate pudding and apricot. The consistency of the menu has left me questioning whether I can survive a couple days without revisiting.

Sadly Ceru won’t be on Rivington place past April 2015 as at the minute it’s a pop up, however the great news is that they’ll be setting up permanent camp in central London which now gives us a guarantee that it’s a dining experience that can be enjoyed by all, hopefully they won’t turn too cosmopolitan and have a long waiting list as I’m pretty certain there’s going to be a high demand for a seat in Ceru over the coming months.

Having only opened at the beginning of December the layout has a very natural feel and it seems like they’ve been present much longer. So if you’re in and around Soho or Fitzrovia seriously head to Ceru, even the cocktails and teas are impressive. A few pointers to take away on the drinks front;

-Cocktail happy hour 5-7 (all cocktails £5)
-Fresh juices and veg squished daily.
-Homemade lemonade
-Turkish Apple tea with squirt of honey is like no other (the best)

So to conclude, it’s actually a pretty cool discovery! All hail Ceru!

Ceru

29 Rathbone Pl

London W1T

Website: www.cerurestaurants.com

Twitter: @CeruLondon