REVIEW: Ceru, Cannon Street

Following on from Ceru's success at their Fitzrovia location, the restaurant has gone on to explore new locations in London and even Australia, taking their message on Levantine food across the world. Luckily for me, I have stayed in touch with the Ceru team and it has been a joy to see the restaurant continue to grow. I was invited to visit the new Cannon Street location last week and was delighted with the experience. Enjoy the review. 

Where
Ceru, Cannon Street
When
Tuesday evening, from 7:30pm
What we ate

• To start: Three dips of beetroot pancar, chickpea hummus and courgette fadi with bread

• Salads: Crushed white beans with parsley and tomatoes; Crisp apple, pomegranate and mint salad

• Mains: Herbed courgette and feta cheese fritters; Seared fillet of sea bream with oregano and chilli; Slow roast lamb shoulder with shawarma spices; Roasted chicken marinated with lemon and paprika.

Note: My guests enjoyed the meat based dishes while I ate the vegetarian and fish options. 


What we drank
Honey and Basil Lemonade, Passionfruit lemonade, Pomegranate margarita

Highlights

• The variety of flavours and textures available on the menu continues to be delicious, and the addition of home-made, flavoured lemonades was really enjoyable. I found the honey and basil combination really refreshing and surprisingly tasty. 
• The three-dips starter is still amazing. I love the earthiness of the beetroot pancar compared to the meatier, sweeter flavour of the courgette fadi - if you live baba ghanouj then you'll love fadi. The chickpea hummus is rich with olive oil giving it a beautifully soft, smooth texture. 

The crushed white bean salad with mint and tomatoes has become a real favourite for me. This isn't a dish I would normally go for, but the freshness of the flavours makes it a real winner for me. The tomatoes bring sweetness to the beans whilst the mint just freshens everything up!

• The sea bream was absolutely delicious; even the skin was perfectly cooked. The combination of oregano and chilli is pretty well known, but with the sweet fish the flavours are beautifully elevated. The fish's texture is beautifully soft and flaky. If you can't work it out, this dish was my favourite of the night.
• Although I personally did not eat the meat courses, the guests informed me of their bold, strong flavours - especially on the lamb. I could see the meat's texture was really well cooked and the chicken maintained it's moisture despite being cooked on the grill.

Lowlights

• Sadly my previous favourite salad of apple, pomegranate and mint was a little disappointing and had a really sharp flavour that I didn't enjoy. When I last visited it was spring time so perhaps it is the difference in seasonal apples, but sadly this dish didn't work for me this time. 
• I was also really sad that the halloumi dish was not available upon my visit. The courgette fritters, despite being very tasty, were quite small and I would have loved to add the halloumi dish to complete my meal.

Overall I enjoyed my time at Ceru; the environment remains warming and welcoming and the food just sings of flavour. Until next time!

Thank you Ceru for hosting us at this meal. 
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