Promising myself a quiet weekend I decided to go for brunch - after all that's what quiet weekends are for isn't it?

I stumbled upon a charming Mediterranean restaurant, CERU in South Kensington just off Old Brompton Road near the tube station in Bute Street.

Promising "contemporary Levantine cuisine" I was intrigued.

The Levant being a region of the middle east, incorporating Iraq, Syria, Palestine and portions of other nations - I decided to give it a try.

Not wanting my quiet weekend to be too quiet, me and my fellow guest, photographer Levi Hinds, thought we might start with a cocktail.

Low and behold the waiter suggested a Too Hot To Handle, a spicy whisky and egg white creation that came adorned with its very own devil horns (chillies).

The weekend grew louder with every sip.

Too Hot To Handle cocktail - Famous Grouse, Disaronno, chilli, lemon, sugar, egg white

Stomach sufficiently lubricated, we ordered fresh pita bread and a selection of dips; Fadi, named after one of the chef's, consisted of roasted zucchini, garlic, lemon and tahini.

We also had houmous with green chilli, a classic, and CERU's own Hammara, a fantastic terracotta coloured red pepper - the owner's favourite no less.

A Three In One of Fadi, Houmous and CERU Hammara

The waiting staff were attentive and quick to fill our bread basket and our drinks, leading us further astray, teasing at the volume settings of this hallowed quiet weekend, more cocktails were ordered - I would blame the staff, but it was all me.

This time I had a Trouble In Paradise - Beefeater gin, Campari, lemon, elderflower, sugar.

My compatriot ordered a Turkish Delight, compiled of Russian Standard, strawberry liquor, rose water and cranberry juice - complete with actual Turkish delight garnish.

Turkish Delight - Russian Standard, strawberry liquor, rose water, cranberry juice

Now it was becoming a good idea to eat something more substantial and substance was certainly delivered.

Mr Hinds ordered the Kahvalti, I was jealous as I had been surveying it since I first set eyes on the menu.

Nevertheless, we compromised and decided to split it and order the Spicy Lamb Hash - this way we'd cover some serious menu-ground.

CERU Kahvalti - Merguez sausages, grilled Halloumi and baked eggs

The Kahvalti is a sort of one-pan show, merguez sausages - divine - grilled halloumi, baked eggs, spicy tomato sauce and pita bread.

I would eat this everyday if only I knew where to buy merguez sausages.

It was so satisfying that a strange part of me felt I should have been hungover to truly benefit from its rich protein goodness.

'There's always tomorrow,' I thought to myself as the second round of drinks took hold in my bloodstream.

I ordered the lamb dish as I was curious to see how it would be plated and I was pleasantly surprised to see a sort of lamb-cake fritter with fresh coriander, edamame, peppers and chillies - a proud fried egg glistening atop it.

It was delicious and moreish.

Spicy Lamb Hash

Both main dishes seemed to be regular sized portions when they arrived, hot and fragrant too - but I remember struggling to finish every last morsel as we both became pleasantly full quite soon.

My weekend had now become loud, rich with the sounds and tastes of the Levant, and gin, can't forget the gin.

The restaurant, unlike my weekend was peaceful, with an airy atmosphere, the hubbub tolerable and quaint, families and older couples made up the majority of the crowd, the open kitchen providing plenty to marvel at.

CERU is the kind of place to catch up with your more important friends, the ones you actually like talking to, you know who they are, invite them here.

Trouble In Paradise - Beefeater, Campari, lemon, elderflower, sugar

Dessert arrived, who knows why we ordered dessert, probably something to do with the volume settings, or the booze, either way we were carried away and dessert most definitely occured.

Dark Chocolate Mousse - Sour cherry and pistachio (to die for)

Mr Hinds drew for the dark chocolate mousse with sour cherry and pistachio, it was remarkably well presented in a little pewter urn, pistachio crumbs liberally applied to the top.

It was frightfully good and I at once hated Mr Hinds, my eyes greener than the pistachio as I dutifully scoffed my lemon sorbet, manufactured by The Ice Cream Union of Bermondsey - delicious but not quite chocolate mousse...

How to book at CERU South Kensington:

Telephone: 020 3674 1783

Website: cerurestaurants.com/south-kensington

Address: Bute Street, Kensington, SW7 3EY

Dress code: Smart casual

Brunch served: Sat and Sun 11am - 5pm

Opening hours: Mon - Fri 12 - 11pm, Sat 11am - 11pm , Sun 11am - 10pm

We finished the quiet one and began the loud journey home after two of CERU's in-house craft beers, a pale ale and pilsner, outside in the sun - so much for a quiet weekend.

CERU's own beer

Maybe I'll try again for tranquility here soon.