Zaitunay Bay's Transformation Continues

As your self-appointed reporter on happenings around Zaitunay Bay, today I bring you the latest on recent and forthcoming restaurant openings.

The beautiful seafront district, lined with over a dozen restaurants and coffee shops, has seen more than its fair share of changes in the three years since it debuted. In fact, only 10 of the original 17 venues have stood their ground. There’s Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Babel Bay, Cappuccino, Paul, Moti Mahal, Cozmo Café, Classic Burger Joint, Lina’s, St. Elmo’s Brasserie, and Karam al-Bahr. Others including Cro-Magnon Steakhouse, Salmontini Riva, Amarrès, Zabad, and Signor Sassi—all fine dining spots—shuttered.

The Alshaya Group, founded in Kuwait in 1890 and presently figuring as the largest retail group in the Middle East, introduced Zaitunay Bay to Starbucks and Pinkberry just a few months ago and will soon be launching the third branch of PF Changs where Amarrès used to be. Italian ristorante Al Forno is also slated to open by Alshaya.

I’ve heard some hush-hush talk about Cheesecake Factory coming to Zaitunay Bay, too, because the space initially reserved for it in Beirut City Centre was insufficient in size and capacity.

The Boubess Group freshly unveiled Coast: American Grill & Bar where CRO used to be. It doesn’t seem that the décor is much altered, and truth be told, the concept strikes me as unnaturally similar to its predecessor. Last Friday night saw Coast totally empty, while sister restaurants Pomodoro Pizzeria and Cozmo Café were abuzz with diners.

I rather like the altered face of Zaitunay Bay. I prefer the relaxed aura fostered by coffee shops and casual dining outlets to the stiffness of swanky five-star restaurants and their pricey fare. If you want Zaitunay Bay to be bustling with business, then make it accessible to more than just the top 5% wealth owners in the region. Looks like the Beirut Waterfront Development Company, which owns and operates the commercial center, is finally catching on.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6 Types of Patrons You’ll Encounter at a Coffee Shop in Lebanon

Image
You haven’t really adult-ed if you haven’t flocked to a coffee shop at least once in the past week, am I right? Admittedly, I was a little late to the game. I started sipping on caffeinated brew when my eldest was born, about six years ago. I’d place him in his stroller and lap around the mall for an hour or two, and when he drifted off to sleep, I’d slide into an armchair at Dunkin’ and order a donut, croissant-wich and coffee combo (yep, that was the ultimate trifecta.).  Fresh-brewed dark roast coffee, served piping hot with the steam blanketing my visage to deliver facial-like effects. Those few moments of uninterrupted peace formed my golden hour. I’d sit back, sip on my cup of joe, and quietly take in the scenes surrounding me. To this day, I love hanging out aimlessly at a coffee shop, merely to study the behavior of other patrons and try to deduce their craft. Here are the most common profiles I’ve encountered. My favorite indulgence at a coffee shop: donut and a cup of ...
Read more

A Crowning Iftar Experience at the Crowne Plaza Beirut

Image
It had been decidedly too long since my first visit to the Crowne Plaza Beirut, tucked in the heart of Hamra along the main drag. Standing tall – a formidable 21 floors to be exact – with sweeping panoramic views of the Lebanese capital city, the Crowne Plaza, an IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group) property, has so much going for it. To begin, the underground self-parking facility cannot be overlooked, as parking is typically nightmare-inducing elsewhere in Beirut. At just 200,000 LBP (USD 2.20) for up to four hours, this is a bargain. Alight the elevator at the ground floor, where a few steps westward will land you at the threshold of the Crowne Plaza. The hotel boasts 190 rooms, and I’m told that you can nab a room with complimentary breakfast buffet including VAT for about $100. You really can’t beat that in or outside of the city! Last Friday, we forayed into Hamra with the aim of trying the Iftar, a traditional Ramadan feast enjoyed at sunset, at Crowne Plaza’s Vivaldi restaurant...
Read more

7 Types of Lebanese Parents You’ll Encounter at School Pickup

Image
For the past three years, I’ve been shuttling my kids to and from school. It’s always a treat to greet them as their scholastic day draws to a close and they melt into your arms, eager to head home.  Right up there after that gratifying reunion is the entertainment value you derive from your encounters with other parents milling around the school building threshold in the minutes leading up to end of day. So amusing is the range of characters you’ll meet – whether they be grandparents filling in for parents tied up at work, or parents able to carve out time to pluck up their offspring – that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to blog about it. Here they are in no specific order. Can you relate?   1. The Haughty Mama : her favorite hand accessory is her smartphone, which she’s either holding to her lips transmitting nonstop nonsense voice notes, or scrolling furiously through her Instagram feed. Her hair is perfectly coiffed, with the essential extensions. She’s got those...
Read more