IT NEVER rains but it pours Lebanese, falafel falling out of the skies over Oxford like a biblical storm.

Cowley Road is now awash with wonderful Middle Eastern restaurants, Tim Hughes checking out the wonderful Du Liban on this page recently to rave reviews.

Not wanting to be left out, Elham’s has joined the party, positioning itself nicely on Little Clarendon Street, which is fast becoming a mecca for foodies.

The takeaway and cafe is a classy joint. Owned by a Lebanese family, all the food on offer is made freshly every day, it also does a roaring trade in lunch boxes – four choices for £5 if you choose veggie, £6.50 if mixed, or £9 for the bigger box which fits six different Lebanese dishes, hot and cold, £11.50 for an eat in plate.

I went to town, going large, and then packing things like hummus and baklava into separate bags when I ran out of options. But then I love Lebanese food and would eat it every day if I could. It’s healthy, fresh, tasty and exotic, what’s not to like? All laid out in the counter, I picked kouchery – lentils with rice, topped with crispy onions, two kinds of tabbouleh – the traditional parsley salad with tomatoes, spring onion, mint and bulghar wheat and then the Elham’s version with sliced cabbage, tomato paste and mixed peppers.

Adding some loubiya bel zeit – beans slow cooked in a rich tomato sauce with chunks of whole garlic, some falafel – fatayer pastries stuffed with spinach or minced lamb and some kibbeh, crispy shells stuffed with chick peas or lamb, there was also slow-roasted chicken stuffed with apple, orange, rosemary and ginger. All of which was packed up neatly, accompanied by complementary flatbreads and pickles, to take home, where we dined like kings. If you don’t have fledglings waiting in the nest with their mouths open, you can also eat in.

Even the kids joined in, initially prodding the dishes suspiciously, before wading in. They didn’t like the hummus, but all-in-all Elham’s is a great addition to Oxford and it’s ever-growing, ever-shifting food scene. If this is the future of fast food, I’m right there.

* Elham’s, 3 Little Clarendon Street, Oxford. elhamslebanesedeli.com