Laraz

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

One of two Kurdish restaurants to emerge in the Tollcross area over the past couple of years, Laraz serves lunch, dinner and a pre-theatre option aimed at patrons of the King's Theatre across the road. They have gone to great lengths to stick with a traditional Kurdish interior design in the restaurant, with various scattered artefacts and an oven within the eating area baking fresh flatbreads. Unfortunately, the exterior of the building isn't nearly as attractive, and fails to communicate what you might expect within. The extensive menu offers an array of authentic dishes that are more often than not geared towards carnivores, such as a slow cooked lamb speciality, kozi, traditional Kurdish stews and kebabs with all the trimmings. Seating 100 people in the main restaurant area, Laraz is keen to attract a variety of large groups including those celebrating special occasions, office parties and even stag and hen nights, in an attempt to fill the often sparse eating area. [Not recently visited.]