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Considered to be one of the high-end Lebanese restaurants in Lebanon and winner of the best restaurant in the Middle East, Al Sultan Brahim has been preserving the taste of our local heritage for years. A favorite for many, this upscale eatery is much more than a simple restaurant, it’s a journey and an experience.
Walk into a grandiose structure, designed to amaze. Decorated with white lights imitating seagulls, wooden tables, a floor made of concrete and walls of greenery overviewing the bay of Jounieh, the space is wide and relaxing. Choose between smoking and non-smoking seating.
You will love the view, enjoy the service and appreciate the food but pay attention to your order; almost everything contains garlic. Just ask! We were served by Hussein who knows the menu ingredients by heart.
Food is good but missing the "Naffas" today, known to be everywhere at Sultan Brahim: the tabbouleh mixed with shredded lettuce and pomegranate molasses sauce deserves a reward. The Kebbeh is so thin and so flaky, it feels like a croissant. Grilled cheese rolls like a Manouche up in the village. Good quality French fries. Acidic and intensely flavorful grapevine leaves... good food I enjoyed.
The journey continues: hummus with pieces of tender diced meat. Fish makanek that feel like normal makanek but taste like fish. The famous crab sticks salad with its spicy touch and lemony taste. Fried calamari with a side of tartar sauce and the raw salmon with its burgundy color that makes your mouth water.
The best is the “Rass Asfour Samak.” Cubes of fish, battered and fried, served in a lemon and spices sauce. So yummy and addictive.
I love the innovation yet the simplicity behind Al Sultan Brahim plates. Four gentle fingers of fish marinated in teriyaki sauce, the salmon sashimi, the fish tastes Asfour and shrimp among others. Very good food from start to end; I was happy and satisfied with my culinary experience. Try the ginger jumbo shrimp with a side of yellow rice; gourmet seafood I enjoyed.
Three minuses are easy to fix:
- The hummus was better I don’t remember that it ever contained garlic. Its tahini content is high. One of my top 3 hummus in Lebanon, this magical plate was better, way better; I’m sure there is a mistake today.
- Plates are old and broken; all of them including the hummus plate. It’s not appealing and surely not acceptable for a restaurant of this caliber.
- Please remove the spoons of the plates; the photos say it all. In the Instagram era of food, spoons make all photos look ugly and disrespect the chef who took all his time to decorate them.
What I felt today is that the "Nafas" or cooking passion was missing in all plates; good food, definitely better than many other Lebanese restaurants and the Sultan Brahim knowhow imported from the last generation can be felt with closed eye; Food was not perfect as it always was.
A glass of Arak Brun is the best-, freshly baked hot bread, chopsticks for the sashimi and a great view of the bay. I enjoyed my lunch as well as my kids who spent their time in the playground.
Sultan Brahim is kids friendly on a Sunday.
