Until this review, I've yet to try a good Lebanese place in Leeds.
I've walked past Lebanese Bites, opposite the University of Leeds library more time than I can count, but never actually tried it. However, it has great reviews, so one evening I decided to finally sample the food there.
I ordered the Arayes Kofta, Fattoush, and the Arabic Shawarma Lamb. It arrived via Deliveroo within half an hour.
Read more: Leeds' Barburrito dish that tastes like a modern day Christmas dinner in a wrap
The first thing I was struck by was how much more food I'd ordered than expected. You certainly get a lot for your money at Lebanese Bites.
We started with the Arabic Shawarma Lamb. This consists of lamb served wrapped with parsley, onions, tahini sauce, tomato and pickles, and a good helping of chips.
This was one of the main meals - and came in a huge box. We barely made a dent on this with trying everything else - but the lamb was very tender and full of flavour from the tahini sauce.
The chips were pretty good - a little lukewarm from their journey over but that was easily rectified. But they were thin and went very well with the shawarma.
The Fattoush was a great accompaniment to the Shawarma. It consisted of cucumber, lettuce, mint, sumac and tomato all with a lemon dressing and served with a toasted bread.
This was wonderful paired with all the lamb. It was vibrantly coloured, light, and sharp against the heavier lamb dishes.
And finally, the Arayes Kofta. This is grilled Lebanese bread, served with lamb, onion and parsley.
Again, Lebanese Bites serves you so much food. I lifted up this one and found a whole other side salad the same size as the Fattoush under here that was just as good.
The salad was bursting with flavour as if it was a side dish of its own. The actual Kofta itself was probably the weakest part of the takeaway, probably because I was comparing it to the main meal Shawarma.
The lamb in the Kofta was lovely but I missed out on it having a sauce to really give it that kick of flavour. Overall, this was a great takeaway and I'd definitely recommend, but for me, I would order a lot less food next time because the portions are very generous.
Bill breakdown:
Arayes Kofta: £5.99
Fattoush: £5.99
Arabic Shawarma Lamb: £11.99
Total including delivery and service fees: £27.66
Read next:
- Leeds Rollette Cafe review: I ordered a breakfast delivery and was filled with regret
Nomi Katsu review: We tried the Leeds takeaway that specialises in only Katsu curry
Franco's in Leeds review: Italian restaurant owner tells us to 'shut up' when we queried bill
Three Leeds restaurants shortlisted in the Asian curry awards
