The search for an authentic, exclusive Lebanese restaurant in the city can leave you exasperated. At most, you’ll find the cuisine veiled away in a small, ambiguous corner of a multi-cuisine menu. So, when Zizo, a new restaurant, promising bona fide Lebanese food opened in Connaught Place a little over a month ago, many dismissed it, believing it to be exactly like the rest—Lebanese with little or no semblance to the true character of the cuisine. However, judging too quickly in this case wasn’t a good idea, as this two-floored restaurant in the heart of the city has been surprising almost all its guests with true Lebanese flavours. “We knew it was risky business to stick to our stand of offering only authentic Lebanese food in a city that loves its chillies and spices. Our food is exactly like you’ll find in restaurants back in Lebanon, with absolutely no improvisations to accommodate the local palette here,” says Executive Chef Dany Elsoury, who believes that in the longer run, the restaurant will be much appreciated for the same.
Such is their dedication to presenting unfeigned preparations that they decided to import a few pita bread ovens from Lebanon. “The pita you get here in the market doesn’t even match half way to what it’s supposed to taste like. The freshly-baked, puffed-up pita that comes out from the oven tastes divine. You tear it apart, smell the air trapped inside and dip it into a bowl of freshly made hummus,” says Elsoury.
The chef who came to India a few months ago is still trying to find his foot in the noisy, crowded and dusty Delhi, he tells us. “It’s been quite an adjustment, I must say. The distances are too much and I see no fellow
Lebanese around,” says Elsoury, who nevertheless heads out and keeps trying new places, especially food joints. The food in the country, he says, is quite good, especially the butter naan. Besides that, he finds everything too spicy for his liking. ‘‘My neighbour was kind enough to share some food he had prepared. Oh my God... it was the spiciest thing I ever had. I quietly passed it on to my house help the next day,” he says, letting out a laugh.
The food at Zizo, he says, is a far cry from being anything Indians are used to. It’s well flavoured and depicts the nature of true Lebanese fare, but it hasn’t been Indianised.
We second that. Whether you try the moutabal, fattoush salad, falafel, shawarmas, mulberry juice or the host of other items on offer, each is well defined with regional spices from Lebanon like sumac, dried mint, zaatar, a kind of thyme mix, mistika and others. ‘‘We import 40 per cent of our produce from Lebanon. It does affect our price points adversely, but right now we’re focused on introducing this kind of food and see how the market responds. Next we go to Spain and Dubai, if all works out well,’’ says Elsoury with a reassured smile.