Baba Ganoush- exploring Moroccan food

HAVING always wanted to try Baba Ganoush my dream came true (!) when I went to Ayoush in Bourne End. This Moroccan restaurant has two other restaurants in London and Eton and is worth a visit.
Lara and I had a Travelzoo voucher so it was £29 for a mezze and a cocktail each, which normally comes to about £60.
The cocktail was amazing. We both had Arabesque, which is Absolut citron vodka, creme de fraise, champagne and strawberries. It was deliciously sweet and far too easy too drink. It is normally £10 which seems a bit overpriced though!

Then onto the food. It is served on two large platters with naan bread. I was worried it wouldn't be enough to satisfy my hunger but it certainly was.
So to the Baba Ganoush. it is roughly chopped grilled aubergine mixed with tahina, garlic,
fresh lemon juice and olive oil. If you like aubergine you will love this and is very moreish with the bread as was the home made hummus.
We also had vine leaves, which were stuffed with rice, lemon juice and olive oil. They were ok but I am not a massive fan as I am not keen on the slimey texture. There was also something called Labna which is tangy soft cheese made from yoghurt with finely chopped cucumber, fresh mint and olive oil. I am not a massive cheese fan but this sauce did not taste cheesy.

There was also fatoush which is a

Lebanese speciality - crispy salad and toasted pieces of bread,

lettuce, radish, mint, tomatoes, spring onion in sommak herb, olive oiland lemon dressing. This was really fresh and went well with some of the heavier items as did the

Foul Akhdar which are green broad beans in tomato sauce, garlic, cumin, coriander and olive oil.

On the hot board there was good ol' Falafel, which is always a winner, Lamb Samboussek, which is like a samosa and really tasty, chicken wings which weren't that great- the meat tasted a bit cheap!

The mini mergueze was amazing- this is grilled North African spicy sausage and tasted like kofta.

There were two cheese items, which I was not a massive fan of as I don't like cheese A LOT. The Cheese Samboussek, were pastry parcels filled with feta and were edible but the Cheese Balls were not good! They were made from goats cheese and were so strong. I left that.

But on the whole the food was great and I love have a good selection so this really suited me. The service was also excellent so I would definitely recommend this chain- just avoid the cheese balls.