Bedouin Review

From Moscowiki

Bedouin

Cuisine: African Address: Leninsky prosp., 57 (opposite "Moskva" Dept Store), 15 mins walk from the metro, exit from front carriage as from centre
Metro: Leninskiy Prospect
Tel: 135-5071
Open from 11:00 until 23:00.
All major credit cards accepted.

Restaurant is closed.

By Neil McGowan

Don't mistake this for any kind of mystic or new-age attempt to conjure-up the exotic lifestyles of Bedouin nomads - it isn't. This is a happy place that serves the food you ate on your beach holiday to North Africa, and induces the feeling that you're still there.

The menu (only in Russian) is short, and without long pretentious descriptions of how the village women gather in ancient rituals to pummel the sesame seeds to make the tahini - they just give you the names of the dishes, the prices, and the rest is up to you. But you'll have no difficulty, because all your beach restaurant favourites are here side-by-side- hummus, tahini, salads, kebabs, flat breads. Tarkan's on the music system, and to make the holiday atmosphere complete, they have one room (nearest the entrance) with patio-style furniture and terracotta flooring - you'l have to bring your own sun-hat, though.

To assess the succulent authenticity of the cuisine I took my PR-manager, Olga, with me - an Arabic-language graduate who was, in fact, just 3 days back from the Middle East when we visited, and still enviably sun-tanned.

The hummus, we should warn you, is a gigantic portion that would happily feed 2-3 people as part of a meze of different starters and salads. We boobed, and got one each - to try the different serving options on the menu. Hummus with Mushrooms (180Rbs) is a huge amount of classic and extra-creamy hummus (creamed chick-pea pate seasoned with spices, olive oil, sesame and garlic), served with marinated mushrooms in a dip in the middle. The mushrooms are really more in the line of a decoration than anything else, but they're extremely tasty. Hummus with Aubergine (200Rbs) is exactly the same thing - but with some lightly fried aubergine strips, served in a creamy yoghurty sauce, also in the dip in the middle of the hummus. A substantial basket of different flat-breads (included in the price) kept all this hummus company, and the giant portions meant we could have happily stopped at just this, and not wanted more. But then it wouldn't be a proper review, so.

If you need a drink with enough character to cut through the rich oily tastes of North African food - I found a glass of white wine (from a short and practical list of a few wines only) did the job nicely. Sauvignon Blanc with a bit of body and some bite to it too, for only 165Rbs for a large glass. Olga, in demure deference to N African traditions stuck with juice - but this was no hardship with a wide range of nice juices on the menu, all for 45Rbs a glass.

Although we'd shilly-shallied with the bright, sunlight-painted room that greets you when you enter, Olga felt it had a slightly chilly feel to it on a dark Moscow night in early spring, so we opted for the more cosy room further on - a strange kind of mixture of middle-eastern artefacts and furniture that seemed more suited for a pub called The Barley Mow, but it all somehow fits very well together-and the furniture's charmingly comfortable. The bathrooms are spotless, and once again have the happy nostalgic feel of a sunny hotel resort, with mosaic tiles and a charmingly spare feel.

Our cooked-to-order main courses now emerged - nicely presented on large pure-white porcelain platters. Olga had gone for a Lamb Kebab (270Rbs), which came garnished with some substantial portions of spiced fried onions and saute potatoes. The Kebab was delicious, four huge pieces (served off the skewer) - but Olga was not so enthusiastic about the potato, which was tasty enough, but a bit heavy. Salad (which is an option) might have been a better choice here, on reflection. My choice was more diet-oriented - a delicious Char-Grilled Trout (370Rbs), served whole, with a garnish of rice with almonds. Light, appetising and grilled to a tasty crunch on the outside, this all went down remarkably easily.

We were, however, pleasantly full - the portions are generous, and so we passed on the entire range of exotic middle-eastern sweets. If you'd wanted, kadaiffi, pakhlava and all your favourites are here. Instead, however, we had Turkish coffee, and it came deliciously aromatised with cardomom.

The staff are extremely cheerful, helpful, and can answer almost any question about how the food is prepared, what is a good combination of dishes etc, and the service is everything you could want. They are also very happy, in real Middle Eastern tradition, to leave you to chat relaxedly over more coffee after your meal - but bear in mind they close at 11pm. The only downside is something the restaurant itself can't really improve on - it's a sizeable hoof to Leninsky Prospekt Metro, if you've come carless with an intention of enjoying the drinks menu. By happy coincidence, the chastnik we flagged down was an Azeri, with Tarkan once again on the car stereo as we headed towards Oktyabrskaya.

Bedouin is a super value evening - the quality of the food is excellent, the service is great, and it all comes in for around half the price of similar middle-eastern places in the centre. Well worth the journey even if you don't live in southern Moscow anyhow -but if you do, it's destined to become a regular.

15.04.05.