Layla - Elmbridge

My partner and I both ordered the muscles to start- different than expected- and we're absolutely amazing. Very tender and came with a lovely chilli and garlic sauce, I've never tasted anything like it, it was so so good! For my main I order fish of the day- which was talapia- this came on a bed of Mediterranean mixed veg rice. The talapia I felt was over cooked and dry as anything, the only thing that made it edible was the sauce on top of it. The rice however was my favourite, the saving grace! The reason I didn't send the dish back! My partner ordered the chicken skewers which he said were tender and very well flavoured. I also ordered a pineapple sunrise (non alcoholic cocktail) which was to die for too! Service for drinks were a little slow, we were often sat with empty drinks while the waitress was bringing/ taking away our plates which I thought was a bit annoying. The desert menu is very minimal, nothing took my fancy, which was a shame as I really fancied having something sweet! Our bill was £82 altogether, the average amount that we'd spend on a meal out. I don't feel it was worth £82 in all honesty I would expect a slightly higher standard of food and service for the amount we paid.

The decor was fantastic and we have wanted to try the restaurant for some time. However it was utterly disappointing. The menu is limited in comparison to normal Lebanese restaurants. The food wasn't particularly tasty and was very overpriced for the portion size. We went on a day where there must have been something happening at the race course nearby as it was very busy in the lounge/bar. But that meant that the service in the restaurant was almost non existent. We had to ask for our drinks 3 times and the salad arrived a while after the rest do the food, again because we had to ask. Had high hopes for this restaurant but won't be visiting again.

We used to go here quite a lot a few years back and it was great, however, when we went on Saturday evening it was awful. The service was poor even though there were only 2 other tables seated at this point. We asked for further drinks but they never arrived and we had to ask for the bill 3 times before they eventually handed us the bill with a 12.5% service charge on. Yes it was discretionary but I didn't want to cause a scene and our waitress was no older than 16 so I didn't feel it was fair on her. Conviently all other staff had disappeared at the time we paid. A total waste of money!! Food was poor also.

Staff not very accommodating when asking for a 4 Meze meal for 3 of us as 4th person a vegetarian was told manager said no and gave no alternative, apart from paying for the 4th person. More money driven then customer satisfaction I suppose as they are always busy it doesn't matter! We voiced our view to another waitress who did offer to swap one of the Meze dishes for a vegetarian option which we did. Everyone's a winner then, that was all it took......!

Although the layout and decor of restaraunt itself is pretty decent everything else about the evening was distinctly average. Food was massively overpriced. And while it was certainly 'edible ' and 'nice ' it certainly wasnt anything special to justify £20 for a lamb shank etc. Service likewise: Passable but nothing more. No recommendations, no real interactions. There was no live music or belly dancing as advertised online. Overall it was a pleasant birthday evening but lacked any real 'oomph ' and at £45 per head I was a little disappointed. (service charge is added to the bill beware!