Café Mozaic, Ashton-under-Lyne

Alongside Lily's vegetarian Indian restaurant which I've yet to visit, Café Mozaic has been one of two places in Ashton-under-Lyne on my 'to do' list for absolutely ages. I'm so glad I finally got round to visiting, because this place is a real gem.

The café, run by a husband and wife team who hail from Morocco and Stockport respectively, serves Moroccan and Lebanese food. Kebabs, tagines and salads are all pre-cooked on the premises then displayed in a large glass fronted chiller cabinet for you to choose from.

It all looked pretty good so I couldn't resist the offer of 'a bit of everything' for the daily special price of just £4.80.

What arrived was an enormous plate weighed down with exceptionally good food. Lamb and chicken keftas were moist and delicately spiced, two different tagines were subtly different, one tomatoey and the other darker and fragrant with cinnamon.

The salads were no afterthought, proper zesty tabbouleh (proper in that it was a parsley salad flecked with bulgur wheat, not the other way round) and pickled chillies were an excellent counterpoint to all the meat. Cumin spiked carrots and a creamy potato salad were also spot on.

Even the carbs were a cut above, two types of rice were hidden beneath the meat dishes, one of which was a lovely plump, nutty short grain variety I don't think I've had before.

None of the food suffered from its microwave reheating, so I really couldn't fault anything about it. It would compare favourably with what's served in some restaurants for well over twice the price. Excellent.

9/10

19 Warrington Street
Ashton-under-Lyne
OL6 6AZ

http://www.cafemozaic.co.uk/

Rowsha, Walkley, Sheffield

I haven't eaten out much over the last few weeks, at least not in the evenings in a restaurant with a bottle of wine sense. A few takeaways and a few quick lunches has been about it, but that's not to say I haven't eaten any good food.

A randomly chosen takeaway last weekend was a really pleasant surprise. Rowsha is a little Lebanese restaurant in Walkley with a very reasonably priced takeaway menu. All sorts of mezzes, hot and cold, can be had for less than four quid and kebab wraps are just three pounds each.

The fattoush was a match for those I ate in the Middle East last year, bright and fresh, the veggies tart with sumac and the bread properly crisped. An absolute bargain at three quid for a large container full.

Falafel and shish taouk (grilled chicken) wraps were both well-made, with more fresh salad and thin, lemony hummous. The chicken was particularly good, beautifully moist with lovely smokey barbecued edges. The only down-side was slightly thick, dry bread.

An unexpected delight, simple food cooked really well. I'd love to return to dine in the restaurant at some point.


8/10

288 South Road
Walkley
Sheffield
S6 3TE