Sometime you discover places you don't even know exist; just like this little piece of paradise we've been to today. Dofat el Naher is a restaurant by the shores of Naher el Joz, coming all the way from Tannourine.
Opened for the past five years, this restaurant is nestled in a small village called Basatin el Ossi. Toni Bou Nassar and his family welcome you for lunch and dinner all year long to the sound of chirping birds and symphonies of waterfalls.
After a long day visiting the region, we stopped at Dofat el Naher. How calm and serene… I could live here.
As we sat down, food landed on the table. Starting with hummus, labneh, local white cheese, fattouch, wild thyme, rocca and a main vegetable platter...
The restaurant is one of those simple places, a rectangular space following the river shores under a covered pergola. High trees and lots of greenery, a breathe of fresh air adds a touch of joy. The space is filled with dozens of rectangular tables surrounded with white plastic chairs.
Now for the food:
Cheese, labneh and chanklish are produced locally by the village cooperative and they are simply amazing. Hummus is tasty and well-equilibrated, eggplant batenjen is clearly cooked with a certain authentic touch and the wild thyme salad is fresh, which will make you proud to be a Lebanese. But the stuffed grapevine leaves were undercooked.
Now for the serious stuff. Raw meat that's tender and full of taste, lamb meat freshly cut the same day. Crispy fried cheese rolls and hand rolled meat stuffed sambousik better enjoyed with hummus.
Unfortunately, I couldn't try the fattouch as it contained garlic and the fried items were soaked with oil and were undercooked. And the eggs and kawarma was beautifully presented in a boiling pot.
Meat and kafta followed. Lamb meat with all its fat and kafta, which was rich and juicy prepared the traditional way... Not bad.
Anyway, good food or not, one should not come here just to eat. The restaurant offers a pleasant ambiance in a soothing setup where parents, kids and group of friends can come and enjoy.
I'm sorry but I have no phone number or address for the place. It is located in Kfarhalda, Bassatin el Ossi, on the road up to Tannourine.
