Restaurant review:
Shifting exteriors
For the vegetarian and meat-eater alike, Yasmine El-Rashidi finds, L'aubergine's recently reopened doors offer the same good taste in slightly altered form
photo: Youssef Rakha
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A façade is seldom telling, the old adage of a book and its cover holding repeatedly true in today's surface-driven world. L'aubergine has always been one of those ambiguous places -- a faded exterior of wrought iron and glass, cooped in a self-created alcove on a narrow side-street, serving as the gateway to a world of its own. When L'aubergine -- the country's singular vegetarian restaurant -- closed its doors late last year, there was commotion among the relevant circle of dedicated clientele. When it reopened to them last month, by which time they were no longer the same doors, the commotion only escalated.
Yet the place is bustling on a typically quiet Tuesday night. The new minimalist interior of silver-gray walls, mirrors and the bare essentials of furniture has its own appeal, distinctly different from the cozy, somewhat grungy atmosphere of days gone by. Downstairs -- once a booth-ridden space -- are wooden tables and chairs, a dinner menu. Upstairs, instead of the stream-lined look and hip sofas and arm-chairs, is an "in" lounge-style setting. Both floors are pleasing to the eye -- soothing in colours and uncluttered in style. Dinner downstairs followed by drinks in the lounge comes across as the ideal evening treat.
Yet beneath the surface things remain very much the same. The menu continues to offer a wide variety of vegetarian and non- vegetarian cuisine, though the options have expanded to include new "in" items -- Ethiopian, for example. The cheese platter of grilled goat cheese and tomatoes arrives promptly, followed in seconds by the a dish of fried, sautéed and sauce-covered mushrooms. Both are delicious -- the goat cheese is never something you can go wrong with, and the mushroom selection scrumptious if slightly lacking in salt.
Our main dishes were, at first sight, the image of perfection -- the stylish plate tastefully decorated with colours and textures to make the palette salivate. The mustard steak with its mashed potatoes and sautéed herbed vegetables appeared, to my own herbivorous eyes, remarkably tempting. "Very tasty," my friend mmm-ed. The mustard -- she says it was Dijon -- was perfectly spiced with added pepper and mayonnaise (it seemed), heated to perfection over the meat. The vegetables were likewise steamed just right and seasoned to counter the usual blandness of the sautéed. "I'd have preferred rice to mashed potatoes though," my friend went on. "They're not creamy enough -- slightly tasteless."
My Thai-style shrimp with rice was not quite what I had envisioned. The shrimp was cooked in a mild sauce with mushrooms and peppers. The shrimps were distinctly big and juicy. The sauce, however, proved lacking, whether in flavour or salt -- little overall zest. I added salt, and then pepper, meticulously mixing the rice with the rest of the concoction. That still did not do the trick. It was, I concluded, lacking in spice -- but perhaps this is what Thai-style is all about?
The engaging atmosphere made up for the lack of culinary zeal -- the steady stream of people trekking to the drinking area upstairs affording an interesting people-watching platform. By the time we had finished our meals, however, the crowd was becoming oppressive -- the pleasant dinner area now too noisy for our liking, our voices being drowned by the drone of youngsters. By 11pm drinks on the upper floor are no longer an option, since the crowd will have turned the lounge into a rowdy, smoky arena where you cannot hear your own voice.
L'aubergine remains a pleasant place with good food -- and plenty of options for vegetarians. Make sure you choose the right time, though: generally speaking, the earlier the better. Perhaps the daily swarm will fade once the new-look excitement dies down.
Our bill: LE175 (wine included)
L'aubergine, 5 Sayed El-Bakri Street, (off Brazil street)
Tel: 738 0080
