Our egg partners, Laila, famous for their brunch, have just released their brand new Laila at Night menu. I was very kindly offered an opportunity to sample it on the first night of release. The menu has been a labour of love taking months to perfect and celebrates Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours and cultures. The menu features two new cocktails, a wide selection of sharing plates, side dishes and sweets.
On arrival, we started off with one of the new cocktails, the Margarita Rose, a delicious pomegranate and rose flavoured margarita served in a coarse salt and rose petal-dipped glass. With so many options on offer, we really didn’t know what to go for, luckily for us Sabrina, the co-founder of Laila and creator of the menu was on hand to make some suggestions.
The first sharing plates to arrive were the Pulled Beef Borek, the Nduja Crostini and the Cacio E Pepe Fritters. The Borek, had the perfect balance of heat and sweetness due to the hot honey and the yoghurt, which was without a doubt my partners favourite dish of the night, with him commenting on the tenderness of the meat. The Cacio E Pepe Fritters were crispy and cheesy with the perfect cheese pull. The star of the show for me was the Nduja Crostini, fresh sourdough topped with nduja and pickled red onions with whipped mascarpone. This dish had a little heat but was absolutely delicious!
You could tell quickly how much thought had gone into the menu, the presentation of each and every dish was fabulous and picture-perfect. With this, you could also tell that there had been no compromise on the quality of ingredients or portion sizes.
The next dishes we tried were Fresh Gnocchi, Crab Scotch Egg and Broccolini. My partner was apprehensive to try the fresh gnocchi as he believed he didn’t like gnocchi having only ever had shop bought but this completely changed his perception of it, it was unlike anything you could buy, so fresh! And the truffle slices completely made the dish for me! The crab scotch egg was something I wasn’t sure I would like until it arrived with a perfectly runny yolk and bright saffron mayo, even as someone who avoids seafood this is definitely a dish I'd have again. The broccolini came in crispy tempura batter with aleppo aioli that I couldn't get enough of, even though by this point I was almost completely stuffed, I just couldn't stop going back for more!
It was then time for me to try the other new cocktail on the menu, the Pisco Sour, this is a super smooth cocktail which was both sweet and tart and even though it has very little non alcohol ingredients it isn't too strong tasting. Lastly, we both filled the last little bit of space we had with the tiramisu, unlike your traditional bog standard tiramisu this was served on a bed of raspberries and topped with chopped pistachios this added both sweetness and texture and we were both shocked at how much we loved this new spin on one of our favourite desserts.
The Laila at Night menu is perfect for a group, there really was something for almost everyone. We wished we could have had space to try everything but it gives us an excuse to go back very soon! I can’t wait to try the Corn Ribs and the Buckhead Tatertots and to have more Pisco Sours! Thank you very much to the Laila team for inviting us and looking after us so well throughout the evening. For more information on the new Laila at Night menu visit the Laila Instagram and to book your Laila at Night table visit their website.
egg members can enjoy 25% off food and drinks Monday to Friday, simply show your egg redemption email on arrival.