Le Comptoir restaurant and The Lexi Cinema create exotic Casablanca pop-up film and food event

It’s 75 years since the beloved film Casablanca was first shown. It was the height of sophistication then, sweeping the decks at the 1942 Oscar awards, and its lustre hasn’t dimmed down the years. In honour of this anniversary, Le Comptoir restaurant has teamed up with The Lexi Cinema to provide an exotic pop-up film and food event.

On arrival guests will find the Lexi - an elegant independent cinema which regularly appears on “Best of” cinema lists - magically transformed. Flickering lanterns, andalous music and a live belly dancer will set the mood. Guests will be offered a range of tagine-inspired mezze, followed by variations on Moroccan mixed grill as entrée. Vegetarian and vegan alternatives will be available, and the meal will finish with a variety of North African biscuits and sweet treats.

The theme carries through to the bar, with distinguished Moroccan wine and popular Casablanca beer available. We will also be offering gin and Rosehip cocktails, using London produced Sacred Gin.

After the meal is finished, the Lexi returns to what it does best – being a bijoux cinema, with the screening of Casablanca. The LA Times recently suggested that its enduring popularity is down to the fact that “it has a near-perfect entertainment balance of comedy, romance, and suspense.”

Food for the evening will be provided on site by popular Kensal Rise restaurant, Le Comptoir. Le Comptoir (formerly Comptoir Mezze) has been serving authentic Moroccan and Lebanese food to happy Kensal Rise locals for six years, and has recently expanded to a second site, Comptoir V, specialising in international vegan cuisine.