The results of the mini refurb that’s been going on behind the scenes at 49 Moorland Road have been revealed and Aradaella (previously A N Other rather prosaic Mediterranean restaurant that somehow never managed to establish itself on the lovely, lively Moorland Road scene) is open for business.
Fast, fresh, friendly and unselfconsciously funky, Aradaella has bought a blast of Mediterranean sunshine to a cornerstone of a high street neighbourhood that, despite all manner of ongoing struggles to contend with (traffic regulation/parking zone controversies; dodgy bus timetables; chain invasion attempts; etc) continues to thrive and boldly fly the flag for independent businesses and traditional high street charms… and Aradaella is a perfect, effortless fit.
On the evening we visited, a laid-back mixture of families, post-sports field student groups and loved-up couples (there’s clearly no such thing as a slow Sunday on Aradaella island) created a mellow thrum of activity without being overwhelmingly kinetic.
Banks of gleaming ovens firing up against the walls behind a massive front of house counter that flaunts all manner of vibrant, fresh mise en place; booth seating vaguely reminiscent of classic American diners; cool radio station toons wafting through the speakers: we’re on clearly on downhome casual rather than upmarket fine dining territory here, and service is fast on its feet with both eat-in and takeaway orders.
From the massive roll call of made-on-site hot and cold mezze dishes (y’know: hummus, fattoush, falafel, moutabal, arayes, sambousek et al – seriously, you could feast on the mezze alone here and still not get through the whole array, let alone make much of an indentation in the bank balance), we shared a plate of silky, garlic-laden, depth-charge smoky baba ganoush and, from the half-dozen pastries that enjoy their own little section of the menu (all rather remarkably priced at £2.99), a lamb incarnation: a flatbread, really, rather than a filo-wrapped/borek affair, topped with soft, herb-laden minced lamb.
For our main courses, two chargrilled skewers of chunky, herb-marinated succulence (one lamb; one chicken) and a whole half-chicken blowout as lusciously juicy as the skewers. Both carnivorous centrepieces came resting on featherlight flatbreads to soak up all those glorious juices and laden – and I mean, laden – with glossy rice (our preference over chips) and a super-generous fresh vegetable/pickled this-and-that salad; classic Mediterranean/Middle Eastern comfort food in all its vibrant, harmoniously herbaceous, plentiful, satisfying glory.
It’s not only the aforementioned booths that bought the classic American diner to mind in Aradaella – all told, there’s something New York neighbourhood-ish about the whole affair: it’s the kind of place you can decide (and easily afford) to ditch your at-home kitchen for on a whim, a deux, solo, or with friends; the kind of place you’ll return to again and again because it’s straightforward in its “we can feed you really well without any fuss” intention… the kind of place that’s pretty rare in Bath, but now exists on Moorland Road.
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