Jad and Aga expanded their Beirut street food concept to Reigate when they left the capital [THE STANDARD]
Published 22nd November 2025
When Jad Youssef and his wife Aga Ilska decided to offer Beirut’s street food to Londoners he could be fairly confident they would relish the chance to try out unfamiliar dishes like batata harra, spiced fried potato, or local beef rump marinated in spices and yoghurt.
But how might the residents of leafy commuter belt Surrey respond?
The answer has been with a resounding “yum”. When the couple left London in search of a larger home and more open space for their young family they also opened a new restaurant in Reigate.
Lebnani was awarded its first AA Rosette this year, confirming that the couple’s decision to relocate for the sake of their young family has been a sound one.
Jad, 48, and Aga, 42, both moved to London in the early noughties. They met while working at upscale, and now closed, Lebanese restaurant Fakhreldine on Green Park.
In 2009 they opened Yalla Yalla in Soho. But while the tiny restaurant was critically-acclaimed, keeping it going for 14 years was not always easy.
“The reality of running restaurants in London was becoming impossible,” says Jad.
“Landlords kept raising rents to the point where staying felt like a battle against numbers rather than a joy of cooking.
“For someone who lives and breathes authentic Lebanese food, that was heartbreaking. Food is about love, family, and connection not survival against property prices.”
Property prices were also a problem on the home front. Between them, Aga and Jad have three children. Rany, 22, Julie, 14, and Tillie, five.
The family home was a two-bedroom flat in Dollis Hill, north west London. Aga longed for more space, both inside and outside, and eventually they agreed to move to Reigate.
“London had given us so much but it had also taken its toll,” she says. “Life became too busy, too noisy, too rushed.
“We wanted something better for our kids: the freedom to grow up with the countryside on the doorstep, fresh air instead of fumes, hills to climb instead of pavements.”
In 2019 they sold their London flat for £480,000 and opted to rent for a while so they could get to know the town.
By 2023 they knew enough, and bought a five-bedroom house with a large garden for £750,000.
Lebnani opened in 2020 (lebnani.co.uk/) and Jad taking care of the cooking and Aga managing the front of house.