It’s a common complaint among foodie expats that too few of the city’s Lebanese-owned businesses are restaurants. They usually follow that with a ‘but’, and the ‘but’ is usually Le Bouquet.
Situated on Labadi Road near Jokers, it’s a nice, spacious room with a surprisingly Mediterranean feel. Once staff got over having to start the evening’s service – arriving at around 7pm, we were the first party there – they were very attentive, and as time went on some Lebanese parties joined the tables of British and German diners, which speaks for the grub.
Stuffed vine leaves came up beautifully moist with a touch of cinnamon, and baba ghanoush was an unctuous, smoky mess we couldn’t put down. Makanek and spinach fatayer were also good, even if the latter were a shade under-filled. The crucial bread, hummus and salad were on point.
Of some eight or nine dishes only sauteed mushrooms let us down, looking, feeling and tasting very much like the tinned variety – not wholly surprising given the cost of sourcing fresh ones here.
House red was a bottle of Cabernet from the ubiquitous Tall Horse; not exciting, but reliable. Consistency is a quality to be prized when ordering affordable wine in Accra, and in my experience South African wines stick the journey better than similarly priced ones from the US or South America.
Findability: Fine. Le Bouquet is on the westbound side of Labadi Road, part of the big arterial route that runs east-west across the coast. You’ll find the restaurant just east of the junction with Ring Road.
The landmarks are Jokers, which is more or less next door, and La Polyclinic, which is directly opposite the Ring Road junction. Taxi drivers should know one or the other. Tro-tros stop near the Polyclinic.
If you’re coming down Ring Road or travelling from Accra central you’ll be on the wrong side of Labadi, so once you’ve spied Jokers over the road look out for one of the regular U-turn points. To park, take the first right after Jokers and turn left into the car park. [map]
Posted on May 17, 2012
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