Test Driving Kinz in Notting Hill, a Lebanese restaurant in a real stunner of a building

Looking into Kinz - it really is a very impressive-looking space. 

What can you tell us about Kinz?

Kinz is a new Lebanese restaurant in Notting Hill. It's led by the trio of Rasha Khouri and two brothers, Jad and Karim Lahoud. And the brothers in particular say they were inspired by their parents, who were both chefs, to open their own restaurant. Outside of the food, the location is also of real note, with Kinz having taken over what used to be an old Lloyds bank on Notting Hill Gate, and transformed it into a very impressive-looking restaurant. 

Where is it?

Directly on Notting Hill Gate, you'll find it a couple of minutes' walk from the station of the same name, so it's very easy to get to. 

We've seen quite a few banks being changed into restaurants of late (like Aki London) and like those, Kinz really makes the most of the building they've taken over. The old bank was apparently designed by architect Sir Edward Maufe in the 1930s (he also designed part of Heal's) and its most striking feature is the triple-height entrance space when you walk into the restaurant. It's an immediately striking room and, thanks to a huge window in the front, is bathed with light during the day. 

Where should we sit?

There are multiple areas, from that entrance space which you can see above (nice, but we wouldn't be keen on a stool for dinner, no matter how comfortable looking) to a dining room on the first floor:

The first-floor dining room still gets light from the front thanks to the large window. 

But the best seats in the house are just outside that first-floor dining space, on the balcony, looking down at the room below. There are about four tables on that section - grab one if you can.

Looking down towards the entrance of Kinz, with that huge window just too big to fit in the shot. This is (more or less) what you'll see if you manage to grab a table on the balcony.

What about the food?

The Lebanese food here is based on classic dishes, with some of those given contemporary takes. As one of the brothers, Jad, says: "Growing up in London, Karim and I were surrounded by a strong Lebanese community and the food that defines it. With parents who were both chefs, those flavours shaped how we eat and cook today."

It's an all-day menu, with a few sandwiches or wraps only available at lunchtimes. Otherwise it's a combination of small plates, larger dishes and skewers. There's no real guide on the ordering here and dishes will definitely come out when they're ready. Even on a relatively busy day, the kitchen was quite speedy, so we'd definitely recommend ordering in batches just to make sure too much food doesn't arrive in one hit.

For starters, order at least one of the dips while you're checking out the rest of the menu:

An excellent hummus with lamb and pitta and pine nuts (£15), you can also have this without the lamb. There's also a babaganoush on the dip side of things.

After that, it's really dealer's choice, but to give you a guide, here's a selection of what we went for:

Pumpkin and bulgar kibbeh, stuffed with spinach, onions and walnuts (£9), with a minced lamb & beef version available too. These were great, so we'll recommend them too. 

Mixed skewers, with chicken taouk and halloumi (£23) - decent skewers, with lamb versions available. 

Samke Harra - cod fillets with a chopped walnut and tahini sauce (£12.50)

Slow-cooked chicken on spiced rice with minced lamb mixed nuts (£27), which comes with a jus for pouring all over it... 

... which results in this absolute delight of a dish, elevated by the rich chicken jus. Highly recommended, this was our favourite dish of the night. 

We did also have the Warak Enab, but some crossed wires/delays in getting that one to the table meant it's not one we're able to recommend. That said, we can see how the combo of lamb cutlets and vine leaves stuffed with rice and lamb on a good day would be worth a try. 

What about dessert? 

Like the main dishes, the desserts are all very generous, and you could 100% get away with ordering only one. We tried two this time around, all for research, you understand...

Osmalieyeh - kataifi pastry with ashta cream and syrup (£8) - a light dessert, perfect for sharing, so this would be our first recommendation on the dessert front. 

Elene’s chocolate cake (£8) - Although if you're after something richer, this is a great slab of chocolate cake

What about drinks?

On the cocktail side, they're predominantly classics with a little twist thanks to Lebanese and Middle Eastern ingredients, like the Bloody Mariam that's built around Arak and the martini below. There's also a good selection of mocktails and a 0% Laziza Lebanese beer. For wines, the list is, impressively all Lebanese, starting at a very reasonable £35 for the house white from Bekaa Valley. 

On the left, the non-alcoholic MishMash Fiozz (Apricot, spiced syrup, Fever-Tree Ginger Beer, £8) and the Sumac Martini (Sumac, Respirited Vodka, Dry Vermouth, olive oil, £14). 

Anything else to mention?

Hidden away in the back, there are also two private rooms and yes, one of them is in the old bank vault:

This is the private room in the vault.

And you'll find this at the very top of the building. We're not quite sure about the small table, though - maybe that's the children's table? It's certainly giving us flashbacks of large family meals when we were young. 

Overall thoughts

Kinz brings a good Lebanese menu into an absolutely stunning space. There were a few hits and misses on the menu when we visited, but with the emphasis on the hits and combined with the whole scene, it's well worth trying out.