Renowned all around the world, our Lebanese cuisine has won several awards for its fine taste, colorful plates and superb taste. It's all about love poured in every plate spread on that long Mezze table. Lebanese feasts can take up to 5 hours gathering people around happiness. Below is a list of my favorite Lebanese restaurants in Lebanon.
Lebanese cuisine, famous all around the world includes an abundance of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, starches, fresh fish and seafood; animal fats are consumed sparingly. Poultry is eaten more often than red meat. When red meat is eaten it is usually lamb on the coast, and goat meat in the mountain regions. It also includes copious amounts of garlic and olive oil, often seasoned by lemon juice. Olive oil, chickpeas, herbs, garlic and lemon are typical flavors found in the Lebanese diet. Arak, an anise-flavored liqueur, is the Lebanese national drink and usually served with a traditional convivial Lebanese meal. Another historic and traditional drink in Lebanon is wine. In Lebanon some desserts are specifically prepared on special occasions: the meghli, for instance, is served to celebrate a newborn baby in the family. Lebanese cuisine is known for its rich Mezze, a selection of small dishes served to accompany alcoholic drinks in Lebanon.
Restaurant Fawzi: Back for Some Good Lebanese Food
It has been two years since I last visited Fawzi up in Faqra... I remember the food as being good and most importantly full of life and passion. During the week we were filming "48 hours in winter around Lebanon", I made sure to visit Fawzi again. Food is better than great now and I could see improvements on all fronts, generosity of service, and plates full of delicious Lebanese offerings.
Kahwet el Mandaloun: A New Favorite Place
Close your eyes and travel back in time to when old Mercedes taxis used to glide round Beirut, to when Martyr's Square was the heart of the Middle East and to when Abou Salim used to entertain our grandparents on television. Kahwet el Mandaloun is your new place for such time travelling: located on Dbayeh's seaside road next to the beach club, where music and great food blend together in an upscale Lebanese cafe.
Al Halabi: New Decor, New Staff and The Same Great Taste!
After undergoing a couple months of renovation the iconic restaurant Al Halabi, located in Antelias, welcomes you back for the same great taste but in a more modern and spacious set up! Now with a blue logo, valet service, and new staff members in new uniforms … I was excited to go and see the rejuvinated place and enjoy one of my Coup de Coeur restaurants.
Abou Jihad: Enjoy a Delicious Lebanese Lunch
I have been here before and every time I enjoy Abou Jihad's food in Jal el Dib. A must try! I love this restaurant. I appreciate its cleanliness, how tables are set, the placemats, the table napkins, the bread baskets, the smoking and non smoking areas, the arabesque decor, the purple colors and the relaxing chairs.
Fouad: An Enjoyable Lebanese Gathering
I would call it a my Coup de Coeur, a dream place, a home away from home… Fouad is a small restaurant nestled on top of the river in Hrajel and serves some of Lebanon’s tastiest traditional bites prepared with love and dedication by the owner Fouad and his passionate team. I've been here more than 30 times and still enjoy it like if it was my first time.
Al Falamanki: It's Where I Am Transported...
Falamanki is about the old sofas, the smells ofarguile, the open kitchens, the bar, smiling staff and food... Traditional food revisited to serve you the ultimate pleasure. Updated and improved, Al Falamanki welcomes you in its large garden, surrounded by soothing greenery while the inner space is air-conditioned, pushing away the summer’s heat. Enchanted by the old tunes of our grandparents, early mornings are the best to enjoy the calm of this space before it gets crowded by card players and smokers in the afternoon.
Al Sultan Brahim: Lebanese Seafood at its Finest
It's a restaurant with a rich history, a restaurant I used to visit on Jal el Dib highway before it opened its iconic location in Maameltein. Al Sultan Brahim has taken it even further by opening its latest baby in downtown Beirut.
Al Chalouf: My Favorite Restaurant in Jezzine
My wife being from Jezzine, we regularly visit this beautiful village up south which the locals call a city. Surrounded by mountains of green trees, the lady of the south is indeed a gem nestled over the famous waterfall. I love coming here every other month.
Burj El Hamam Broumana: Where Everything was Just Good
When you say Lebanese food, a few choices come to mind. Places, I believe, have been serving real authentic Lebanese mezze for the last twenty years include Al Halabi, Mounir, Al Sultan Brahim, Mhanna and Karam, and of course let’s not forget the famous Burj El Hamam, the ambassador of Lebanese food in almost all Arab capitals.
Liza: A Guaranteed Sense of Amazement As You Walk In
As I walked into Liza. Do they serve Lebanese food? Lebanese with a twist? Lebanese the way French people see it? I was not sure... Some people I know like it, others less so, so accompanied with two of my friends, I decided to give this place a try. Amazement: Was the feeling I had as I walked into this magnificent piece of art. Liza, the renowned name behind the Lebanese restaurant in Paris also has an address in Beirut up on the first floor of the Metropolitan Club in Ashrafieh.
Babel Dbayeh: Fourth Review, Same Great Experience
I'm not sure if you’ll appreciate another review of Babel, the fortress of Dbayeh... I've been here more than a dozen times and I wish I could find a single mistake. What I do find every time I go is delicious food, professional staff and a pleasant ambiance.
Mhanna Sur Mer: Repeated Perfection by the Mediterranean Seashore
Mhanna Sur Mer is one of my favorite Lebanese/Seafood restaurants for as long as I can remember. It has been an address I head down to year after year to enjoy some good and tasty local cuisine by the Mediterranean seashore . I have given it a 91/100 the first time and a 94/100 on another occasion... Let's see what they get this time round.
Al Mandaloun Sur Mer: An Excellent Lebanese Seafood Restaurant
Located on Beirut's waterfront with a clear view over Beirut's port and Jounieh on the far end, the restaurant is surprisingly grandiose from the inside out. Reach BIEL, leave your car with the valet parking and take the couple stairs to enter the huge space. An olive tree welcomes you, as well as an aquarium, the fish display that continue right to the dining area. The space is divided into many sections on two levels.
Em Sherif Restaurant: A New Vision of the Lebanese Cuisine
A restaurant located in an old house in Achrafieh has been making a buzz. Named Em Sherif, it is owned and run by Mireille Hayek, mother to young Sherif, entrepreneur and an inspiration to women across Lebanon. The same owner of another of my favorite restaurants, La Parillia, I got the chance to meet the woman during a photo shoot of the venue, who gave me the chance to sample the restaurant’s delicacies …
Mounir: A Beautiful Lebanese Restaurant
More than 22 years old, the restaurant is today managed by Mounir's son who looks into every detail personally. The head waiter, in a grey suit and a pink tie with a staff that knows the nitty gritty details of the job. Hassan, for example, is a waiter who has worked here since the hotel's first days.
Al Ferdaws: Ehden's Renowned Lebanese Restaurant is Recommended
During my childhood, I remember visiting Ehden with my parents every other weekend, a village my family loved for its people, scenery, calm and positive vibes... El Ferdaws was our favorite stopover for lunch at least once a month. The famous El Ferdaws, one of Lebanon's biggest restaurants serving a tasty traditional cuisine from Zgharta, a village famous for its superb culinary creations.
Check out the complete Top10 list.
