Fresco - Bayswater

Visits to Bayswater usually end with a meal at a Chinese restaurant with a large plate of roasted duck as the centrepiece. I love Chinese and I like duck but after awhile it does get little … well, boring. So, it’s ‘hurrah’ for an ex-colleague of mine, Rosa, who lives in the area and has absolutely no interest in eating anything Chinese (I should really dislike her :) but with the sort of food that comes out of most Chinese restaurants, I don’t blame her). Hanging out with Rosa usually starts with a drink (or more) before heading off to Fresco - with their made to order fresh juices, wraps and Lebanese maze.

I’m a fan of the mix plate – where I get to choose 3 dishes from a selection of maze with a side of warm pita and pickles for about a fiver. Bargainous! If I really wanted I could actually construct my very own (very large) maze sandwich. It’s thoughts like that that really gets me excited. Two staples on my plate are the moussaka and tabouleh. The oil drenched aubergine in garlicky tomato sauce with the stray chickpea is SO good. I have been known to get a takeaway portion of this for lunch the next day. Let’s just say whoever gets the seat next to me on the bus home will have wondrous smells wafting their way at some point in their journey. For harmonious balancing, I order the tabouleh – the aubergine to make me all tingly happy and the tartness of the salad to make me feel less guilty for consuming the whole portion of oily aubergine. I do actually like tabouleh – honestly! The third item on my plate usually varies depending on my mood. On this visit I got the falafel, which had probably been heated up in the microwave. I like my falafels piping hot, straight out of the deep fat fryer – so these weren’t great (unless it's the falafel, spinach and tomato sandwich from Pret A Manger - something about the tomato chutney that they use ... do they actually use tomato chutney or am I just going a little crazy?).

It would be rude to all that way and not get juice. Unfortunately I am frequently rude – big mix plate + big glass of juice = unhappy tummy. On the odd occasion I’ll be reckless and go for the full whack - papaya, mango and mint mix.

Fresco
25 Westbourne Grove, Westbourne Grove, London, W2 4UA