Meejana

We only had the budget for a cheapish lunch. With our unwillingness to sacrifice quality we headed to an old standby, Meejana in Weybridge, for some authentic Lebanese food. Located on Church Street in central Weybridge (the same street as the Majestic Wine Warehouse.) Street parking.

Lunchtime here offers incredible value. £5 gets us a “solo” (ie no sides) falafel wrap, enough to fill us up – and that’s for table service in nice surroundings for freshly prepared food.

Which leaves us scratching out heads, why isn’t the place always packed at lunch? Is this the best kept lunching secret in town?

We suspect people think of Meejana only as the night time version. The dinners here are delicious, but it ain’t cheap (as you’d expect for an independent restaurant that makes everything fresh to order.) The price has placed it in the ‘special night out’ category.

People don’t seem to realise that daytime Meejana is a different place. You still get the same good quality, authentic Lebanese food, but you only need lunch size portions. Which means it’s a fraction the price of dining here in the evening.

When you first enter Meejana you walk into a charming front room. There’s an intriguing deli counter full of yummy baklava and other treats to tempt you. Most of the tables have mosaic tops and the centrepiece is a big glass table for eight under a chandelier.

There’s also a back room. It’s the bigger, more formal dining space but it’s still a smallish, intimate space. It’s nice enough but lacks the character of the front room. A wall of windows makes it nice and bright and a vaulted ceiling with a chandelier gives it some personality.

In nice weather there are tables out front and along the side of the restaurant. You can sit here with a shisha and pretend you’re on Edgeware Road.

Service can sometimes feel disorganised when it’s busy but is generally helpful.

We love the fresh mint tea served with authentic Middle Eastern little glass tea cups.

The falafels are not the least bit dry and have nice flavours. The pita is nice and warm. The chilli sauce (be sure to ask for it) has a depth of flavour beyond just being hot.

The lunch menu is more extensive than just wraps, there’s chawarma platters, lots of salads and of course mezze, but they all offer good value.

The food here is delicious, and has been consistently good for all the years we’ve been coming. One bite and you can tell the food is made fresh. Some of the evening menu is a mystery to us but neither of us have ever been disappointed by the food. They are also very good at making dishes “kid friendly.”

Meejana is really impressive as a lunch place and good as a dinner place. We’ve based our scoring on daytime Meejana.

49 Church Street Weybridge Surrey KT13 8DG www.meejana.co.uk

UPDATE: We’ve been back (November 2014) as we needed a falafel hit. Meejana has revamped their deli counter into a bar. They’ve also hugely improved their service. And they’re busy working on opening a London location, very exciting.

The new bar: