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Dining review: Lebanese café goes big and bold with flavor
Staff photo by JIM REED
Hummus and beef filet kebabs from Soho Oasis Cafe in Hyde Park.
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Published: September 29, 2009
TAMPA - Recent decades haven't been kind to Beirut, a city once known as the Paris of the Middle East, an oasis of cosmopolitan culture.
It's on the rise again, but through its ups and downs one core value was never lost: its food, a richly diverse mix of gourmet influences from Greek to Eastern European to French, Spanish and Arabian. Lebanese menus are so diverse with such powerful personalities they'd rival a speakers lineup at a G-20 conference.
Tampa has an outpost of that mix, tucked in a small spot in Hyde Park called Soho Oasis Café. Prepare yourself for bold, unexpected flavors.
Now that the weather is turning slightly cooler than thermonuclear, we highly recommend the outdoor patio with its luxurious curtains, fans and dim lighting with soft Middle Eastern music.
And bring on the meza, little appetizer dishes akin to tapas from Spain. There's baba ghanoush (spiced, pureed, roasted eggplant), stuffed grape leaves and luscious halloumi cheese (a rare cheese that can grill without melting).
We chose the sujuk, spicy Armenian-style sausage, sliced thin and roasted, almost like salami, served with pita, tomatoes and pickles. Yes, pickles, but these aren't Vlasic — they're seasoned much more powerfully, and provide a simultaneously cool and sharp contrast to the salty heat of the sausage. Note the theme — strong flavors contrasting and complementing each other.
Also as a starter, we picked the surprisingly huge spinach pizza appetizer, and almost felt transported to Italy, with rich and velvety feta, olive oil and smoky spinach.
For one entree we selected a Lebanese standard, the lamb shish kebab, which came with tender grilled meat, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and mango pickles, a plate easily large enough to share. The accompanying basmati rice was richly aromatic.
Another entree was the shawarma chicken, which came with spiced, shredded chicken, pickles and garlic mayo sauce.
For the indecisive, there's a combination kebab plate ($19.95) to share among a few people. For the braver, we'd point out the baby quail marinated with olive oil, spices and served on basmati rice.
For wine, there are several blends, including Chateau Kefraya Les Breteches from Lebanon, with a deep fruitiness (almost like a Port) and a cedar/tea tone to balance the spicy entrees.
Several desserts can cool off the flavor party.
The mellowest is the banana crepe. There's no over-the-top drizzle of caramel or pile of berries. Rather this dish is all about warm and creamy banana and light crepe dough — an ambassador from the nation of Mellowpotamia.
On the more exotic side, we picked the ismalieh, which is something like a Middle Eastern version of tiramisu. The kitchen finely shreds phyllo dough, crisps it up into a kind of fuzz, then adds a layer of ricotta and ashta cream, then tops it with pistachio and syrup. Take a deep breath, because this dessert exudes richness.
Besides the listed menu items, we suggest asking about specials, because owner Richard Azar often creates a special dish and lets regular diners know it's coming. More than half of his customers appear to be regulars who come in weekly, if not daily.
Hookah smokers have options, too, with more than a dozen of the traditional water pipes available for smoking on the patio and tobacco mixes for $15.
After taking such a culinary tour of the Mediterranean, we decided Soho Oasis isn't so much a fusion restaurant as it is an embassy row — each dish fiercely authentic to its own place of origin.
Pickles, meet pizza, meet kebabs, and say hello to crepes. Everyone getting along?
DINING REVIEW
Soho Oasis Café
BOTTOM LINE: Lebanese and other Mediterranean dishes in an inviting atmosphere.
WHERE: 410 S. Howard Ave., Tampa
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to midnight Thursday and Friday, 4 p.m. to midnight Saturday, and 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday
CREDIT CARDS: All major
RESERVATIONS: Recommended for large parties on weekends
CHILDREN'S MENU: Can accommodate
ALCOHOL: Beer, wine, sangria
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
PRICE: Entrees range from $11.95 to $19.95
CALL: (813) 849-7482
Tribune reviewers eat anonymously. Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.
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