On an otherwise quiet stretch of Maddox Street in Mayfair on a rainy Wednesday evening, there’s a soft glow and unmistakable buzz of conversation emanating from TOUM, a new venture from Aline’s Tarek and Monika Farah.
The rotisserie, reimagined: chicken at its juiciest
TOUM’s menu focuses on Lebanese classics, taking inspiration from French influence in the region in the 1920s — the result is an extensive wine list and a menu that features both hummus and house pickles alongside chicken liver paté and œufs mimosa, what TOUM refers to as ‘a tale of two terroirs’.
This is, of course, all to complement the crown jewel of TOUM’s menu, the rotisserie chicken. The chickens at TOUM are cooked to a meticulous regime, researched and developed by owner Tarek Farah, which ensures they are everything a great rotisserie chicken should be; juicy, succulent, and full of flavour. Brined for up to 12 hours in Farah’s own blend of herbs, including rosemary, thyme, and tarragon, lemon, garlic, honey, peppers. They are then air-dried for at least 24 hours before heading to TOUM’s state of the art Rotisol rotisserie for 50-55 minutes and served straight from the rotisserie to the customer.
Interiors that speak Paris and Beirut
It’s clear that a great deal of thought has been put into every aspect of TOUM, not just its menu. The interiors are the work of design studio Gundry + Ducker, featuring an on-trend mix of pink tiles, red marble, dark timber, and chrome within pale yellow walls, all wrapping around an open kitchen and distinctive yellow bar.
Drawing inspiration from the overlapping histories of France and Lebanon, the space is a blend of 1920s Art-Deco and Modernism — tanned leather stools at the central bar adorned by individual counter lamps, lighting up the space with a warm glow, and burgundy banquets and bistrot chairs framing the restaurant around it.
Cocktails with character
When we visit TOUM, we’re seated outside under their striped yellow awning, the table laid with midcentury glassware and pink Sabré cutlery. We’re immediately presented with a drinks menu — their cocktail choices are the perfect blend of classic and zeitgeist-y, whilst also staying true to TOUM’s own influences and created by award-winning Lebanese mixologist Jad Ballout.
There’s a selection of ‘Negroni Session Minis’ — my friend tries the Sumac Negroni, which features tequila, Dubonnet, Campari (of course), pomegranate, and sumac, a tangy, almost lemony spice distinct to Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. If there’s one on offer, I will always opt for a martini for my first cocktail of an evening, and go for the Tomatillo Martini, where the sweetness of tomatillos is cut with the slight bitterness of extra virgin olive oil, vodka, and black pepper.
Small plates with big personality
To start, we go for the hummus, which is topped with crispy chickpeas and a bright green, herb-y olive oil, alongside their house-baked flatbread, encrusted with sumac and sesame seeds, alongside their house pickles. The hummus is delightfully creamy — I build perfect bites of this with the crunchy chickpeas, the fresh olive oil, and the tangy, crisp pickles, all atop of the warm, fluffy flatbread.
For our mains, I go for a sea bass fillet, which has been pan fried to a perfectly crisp skin, encasing the delicate, flaky fish. Topped with green beans, crunchy flaked almonds, sweet golden sultanas, and a rich meuniére sauce, this is a truly decadent dish — and a portion far too generous to finish! My friend opts for half a rotisserie chicken with the eponymous toum sauce (also on offer are a chimichurri, a café-Paris sauce and a chicken jus).
The chicken has a golden-crisp skin, with white and dark meat that falls effortlessly away from the bone, and the toum (a type of garlic emulsion distinct to the Middle-East) is exactly what it should be — light and airy with a garlicky bite to it. People are quick to compare toum to an aioli, but whilst the preparation is similar, toum is totally different — lighter, sharper, and tangier — if you get the chance, you must try it.
The side offerings at TOUM are just as impressive as the mains, designed for sharing. We go for the spicy corn, charred with Lebanese spices and served on the cob, the green salad, which is tossed in vinaigrette and piled high with mild lettuce alongside bitterleaf and radicchio. For me, the fries are a real highlight — deep fried to a deep-golden, crispy perfection on the outside, fluffy and piping hot on the inside, and with the perfect amount of salt.
Service that speaks volumes
Attentive staff make all the difference at a restaurant — our waiter refilled our glasses without a word, pre-empted when we might need new napkins or more drinks, and joined an extra table to ours to make room for all the dishes we’d ordered without overcrowding us. I love when a waiter knows the menu inside out and can make their own recommendations — when they have been given the opportunity to actually try the food they are serving.
For every section of the food and drinks menu, our waiter was able to tell us exactly what was in each dish, what would go best with what, and which he thought we’d prefer based on our other ordered dishes when we were torn, even reciting the dessert menu to us off by heart whilst clearing our mains. Well-briefed staff are what turn a good experience into a great one.
The desserts are the perfect round-off to a decadent meal — we share two, the dark chocolate mousse which is topped with a chantilly cream and dark cherry compote, served in a silver coupe, as well as TOUM’s take on a tarte tatin, warm, caramelised apple in a treacle-like sauce atop of a disk of choux pastry and adorned with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Chic, comforting, and completely moreish
TOUM is versatile, cosy, and above all, delicious. From the initial bread to the final bite of tarte tatin, the red banquettes and buzzy atmosphere lend themselves to chic, romantic date nights and large groups to work your way through the huge array of small plates and snacks. The next time you’re looking for a table in Mayfair to take the weight off after a long day perusing the shops of New Bond Street, give TOUM a shot — it won’t disappoint.
TOUM, 18a Maddox Street, London, W1S 1PL. To book a table or view the menu, visit toumrotisserie.com
