Comptoir Libanais Leedsremains a bright and cheerful presence under the Everyman Cinema in Leeds’ Trinity Centre. On our last visit, there was a slightly incongruous soundtrack leaking into the restaurant from the cinema, film soundtracks overwhelming the vibe a little. When we arrived I noted that was no longer the case as we were quickly seated, not taking much time to order everything from the “Vegan Flavours of the Month” menu. This consisted of three dishes that weighed in around £20 to enjoy the triumvirate. We chose to supplement these with a spinach fatayer to make sure we had plenty for the two of us and that Baby Fork would have ample opportunity to pick at our meals. In retrospect, this isn’t the greatest editorial decision I’ve ever made, having already enjoyed this dish on our previous visit. That said, the repeat order speaks of how much we enjoyed it.

Our food arrived quickly along with a glass of their Lebanese house wine, vegetable tagine, falafel with hummus & harissa sauce and coriander dressed baked aubergine all present and correct. The aubergine threw a good punch of heat that didn’t overwhelm the coriander or distract from the vegetable and the falafel was far from the powdery, dry examples sadly too common. Hummus is generally a good thing, remaining so here and the vegetable tagine was a delight that packed in depth of flavour against a backdrop of varieties of rice that broadened its texture and flavour. The spinach Fatayer was probably a step toward over indulgence in a light meal for two, and took us a step away from the vegan theme thanks to its inclusion of feta, but thematic misstep or otherwise was as enjoyable as last time.

Including a glass of wine and a soft drink, all this attracted a bill of less than £40, more than fair for a decent lunch in the middle of a good sized city with or without meat. Whatever your thoughts and the motivations behind veganism and Veganuary, menus like this broaden the offering and could be argued to inspire people to try something different. After a recent breakfast at Gatwick, this is my third time at Comptoir Libanais and I’m sure it won’t be my last.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for this visit, opinions are impartial.

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The Trinity Centre is just a stone’s throw from Leeds station and sprawls across several levels, counting a bunch of places to eat amongst its occupants along with the Trinity Kitchen street food hall. Comptoir Libanais Leeds nestles next to the Everyman Cinema, with a deceptively small but happily colourful frontage.

The menu hits all the notes you’d expect, being broad enough to offer a good deal of choice but never going far from its Lebanese roots. We decided to grab a selection of things to share rather than worrying about starters and mains, though assuming a mezze platter would arrive quickly and give us something to pick at. The selection of dips and bread came with slightly different accompaniments to that advertised, thanks to an issue with the restaurant’s gas supply, but the server dealt with it just fine and we didn’t feel like we received anything inferior, indeed the halloumi, tomato and olive bites that replaced the falafel were delicious.

The baba ganoush and hummus were satisfying and delicious, putting the labné slightly in their shade, but they all pulled their weight alongside flatbreads that were offered with apparently limitless abandon. Bringing freshness to this selection was a tabbouleh with quinoa, shot through with plenty of fresh herbs.

The more substantial dishes we chose were a Lamb Kofta Tagine and a Spinach Fatayer. These added up to plenty of variety for us to get stuck into. I’d have preferred the tagine to come with the couscous that I’d ordered but rice was good enough to stop me bothering to ask for a replacement and it packed in a good hit of flavour. The Spinach Fatayer was one of the prettiest things I’ve been served in a chain restaurant and showed a good deal of skill with a light pastry being filled with spinach, feta, sumac, pomegranate and molasses then shaped prettily and served alongside a fattoush salad. Tearing chunks from this was a delight and added depth to the tagine and dips when paired up.

Our plan had been for an extended lunch with much in the way of dessert, but sadly circumstance intervened and we had to make tracks back to York. At this point we had a decent whack of food left that it would have been a shame to waste. Happily our server showed off the skills that one presumes Deliveroo have engendered in expertly packing our leftovers in such a way as they comfortably survived the trip back to York.

This feels like a concept with plenty of potential for the mass-market casual dining scene: there’s good food surrounded by plenty of character which marks it out from the crowd. The Leeds branch would benefit from toilets that feature baby changing and a touch better shielding from Everyman cinema, with whom it shares an entrance. This resulted in a slightly disjointed soundtrack that featured out-of-character movie themes.

There are multitudinous options for dining in Leeds, but Comptoir can hold its head up as a highlight in Trinity. The service and food exceeded our expectations, even more so given the limitations the kitchen was apparently suffering from. The location is a little odd given that shared foyer, but we had a thoroughly enjoyable visit.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for our visit, opinions are impartial.

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