Tamara’s special sohour menu keeps it simple. For 100LE per person, the table d’hôte consists of a choice of eggs, four sides, a bread basket, yoghurt and mahalabeya—no drinks included. Midnight shoppers at Citystars or fans of Tamara’s main menu should reconsider.
For eggs, we went with both the vegetable and sausage omelettes and found them decent and sizable for a light sohour. Julienned red pepper, onion and mushroom folded nicely into a well-balanced omelette that maintained form and flavour and the seasoned Lebanese sausages gave the dish a kick.
The sides comprised of Lebanese dips, falafel, and foul. There was lebna with mint; mixing the light, yoghurt-like cheese with a coarse chiffonade of mint, and white cheese with tomato; the thicker, soft cheese strewn with chopped tomatoes and spices. Both were appetising.
The falafel, however, was a disappointment. Presentation aside, what should have been a crisp, mouth-watering mound was rather doughy through and through, leaving our palates churning paste.
The only nuance that was distinctly Lebanese was Tamara’s take on foul; a deep tangy bowl of cooked beans mingled with chickpeas and doused in lemon juice and olive oil. The hearty staple heightened the twilight experience; and to scoop it up, two variations of freshly baked breads - classic shamy bread and a Persian sesame bread that tasted like foccacia - were the menu’s saving grace.
At the end, a cup of Activia yoghurt and a generous helping of mahalabeya pudding were served but the latter was faint in flavour. A dash of rose water would do the trick.
All in all, Tamara’s sohour offering was just fine. Touted as fine Lebanese cuisine, Tamara set our expectations high and left much room for creativity, even only for a sohour meal.
Arriving an hour before sohour, we took in the modern fixtures, the white-washed walls and grey modular mashrabeya, and enjoyed a watermelon sheesha (arguably the smoothest drag in town), a game of backgammon, and a round of sobia and lemon mint that could quench - this was more worthy of a visit.
Tamara claims that it’s almost fully booked into the end of Ramadan, but tables at the time of review were noticeably empty. It’s best to call in advance. Sohour starts around 10PM and lasts until 1.30AM.
