Ihad heard of Lebanese cuisine and considered visiting restaurants but I have never been adventurous enough to take the plunge and book a table.

However after one visit to Elnomad in the High Street, Ruislip, I have become completely converted and will definitely be visiting again.

After entering the restaurant with some trepidation I was immediately met by the owner who, with his warm and courteous greeting, made us all feel instantly welcome.

The decor inside Elnomad is stunning. You feel as if you have been transported to the Middle East as you look over the decorations on the wall and the beautiful light fittings.

After we had taken our seats we were greeted by our waiter who gave us our menus.

The menu was vast and inviting, it is clearly laid out with descriptions of the dishes. There is also extra help with the vegetarian dishes in a green font and the meat dishes in a red font.

The wine list was also brought over with the menu and we chose a bottle of traditional red Lebanese wine. We were surprised by how smooth it was and with a hint of a sweet aftertaste.

As we were enjoying our wine we studied the menu and were overwhelmed by the choice on offer. Sensing our bemusement the waiter suggested we try the set meze and we gratefully accepted.

Suddenly the table was full of starter size portions. In total there were nine dishes to sample. I started by trying the tabouleh which is a salad made with parsley, finely chopped onions, tomatoes, lemon juice and olive oil, a great way to start our meal.

We then dipped into the rest of the meze which included chilli potatoes, humus with lamb, falafel which is chick peas ground down with mild spices, hallumi in pastry, mildly spiced Armenian lamb sausages, muhanmra which is crushed nuts with onions, red pepper and chilli sauce and finally mousaka which is aubergine cooked with chick peas and peppers in a tomato sauce.

We were particularly impressed by the humus especially with the Lebanese bread baked freshly on the premises that very day.

After we had finished the meze we were brought a platter of charcoal grilled lamb and chicken and a platter of lamb shanks served with rice and vegetables cooked in a tomato sauce.

All of this left us completely satisfied, but we still managed to find room for a baklava each which is filo pastry stuffed with nuts which topped off the meal perfectly.

As we sat there and finished off the wine we decided we would definitely be going again soon to discover even more of the cuisine especially as the bill came to a very reasonable £18 per person for a group of four.

Elnomad: 136 High Street, Ruislip 01895 624700