Every time I visit Byblos, purported to be the world's oldest continuously inhabited city, I discover some new shop, eatery, or museum I'd never noticed before.
The ancient seaport, located 40 kilometers north of Lebanon's capital, concentrates numerous al fresco restaurants in the town square. There are but a handful that lend shelter from inclement weather, complete with cozy ambiance
for chillier months.
One such godsend is Le Salon d’Adonai, the finer dining
counterpart to Le Petit Adonai occupying a corner of the old souks.
Salon is perched perpendicularly to its elder sibling, a stone’s throw from the
wax museum. Saunter in to the inviting space, and you’ll be welcomed by a bar,
wine racks on opposite walls, and comfortable seating with wooden furniture.
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| The path up to Le Salon d'Adonai |
The concept is rustic Lebanese mezza presented in terra cotta pots (or fokhar). Portions are generous and doused in extra virgin olive oil, in line with the homey feel of the
venue.
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| The welcome kit: olive tapenade with toasted corn chips |
Ask for a bottle of Chateau Nakad red and toast off to
the feast that beckons you.
I rarely crave tabbouleh outside the home, but honestly I had
a deep-seated curiosity about Le Salon d’Adonai’s, and wouldn’t that be the
ultimate test of the restaurant’s worth? Indeed, we were assured that all
salads – namely, the Lebanese staples of fattouch and tabbouleh – are prepared
to order and not in advance.
Sure enough, the tabbouleh emerged a forest of greens, with
perfectly manicured chopped parsley; plump, juicy tomato cubes; an inkling of
diced onions; and a pinch of borghol. A capacious bowl for four (15,000 LL) could in
actuality feed eight.
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| The essential tabbouleh |
The next marker of merit: warak enab (9,000 LL). I usually
wince at the tart acidity of vegetarian stuffed grape leaves, but Salon’s were
spot-on sensational. A perfect balance between lemon and pomegranate molasses,
these veggie rolls depleted in no time.
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| Stuffed grape leaves |
If you can resist rkekat in any Lebanese spread, you’re not
of this earth. Hands down, my favorite concession are these wands of dough, and
at Salon d’Adonai, fillings include molten cheese, basterma, and shawarma (6 for
10,000LL/12,000 LL). No need to even mention you prefer them grilled, because
the restaurant’s premise is built around healthy cuisine, so you can bet these
arrive fresh off the grill in a plain clay cup.
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| Rkekat, or pastry rolls stuffed with savory fillings |
The cheese edition is touched
with herbs; the basterma is piquant and salty as cured meat is wont to be; but
the shawarma is where the magic’s at. This baton of aromatic minced chicken with
delicate spices and onions evokes the flavors of msakhan.
Another must-have are the grilled kibbeh teardrops (8 for
16,000 LL). Their gustative glory lies in the fact that they’re grilled, which dons
them a hard shell you can only bite into rather than pierce with a knife.
Inside, a piping hot mélange of meet, onions and pine nuts. If you want to
elevate the euphoria, smear a glob of labneh bi toum (9,000 LL) on each
bite.
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| Grilled kibbeh teardrops |
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| Labneh (strained yogurt) with garlic and mint |
There really was no space for breakfast in our line-up, but
we succumbed to a fokharet bayd bi akkawi, or eggs scrambled with
white cheese (12,000 LL). Akkawi is characteristically very salty, so it may be
wise to pair this dish with ras asfour,
a sizzling sauté of cubed lean beef, onions, and pine nuts in tangy pomegranate
molasses (16,000 LL).
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| A boat of scrambled eggs with Akkawi cheese, sumac to taste |
At this stage, we were too timid to order dessert for fear
of being scorned as gluttons (guilty as charged). The waitstaff picked up on
our hesitation and without missing a beat, they offered us a duo of
their specialties.
The essmallieh
(12,000 LL) is a toasted vermicelli sandwich with silky clotted cream, topped
with crushed pistachios and syrup to taste. That crunch – never had fresher!
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| Esmallieh, or a vermicelli sandwich with clotted cream and pistachios |
Lastly, the ashtalieh
bi 3asal (12,000 LL), or what you
might recognize as milk pudding (mhallabieh)
smothered with raw walnuts, pistachios, and sultanas. Welcome to the land of
milk and honey!
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| Ashtalieh, or milk pudding, with honey, nuts, and sultanas |
Le Salon d’Adonai is a mesmerizing discovery in the heart of
Jbeil, and by 10 pm on a Saturday evening, it is abuzz with pleasant chatter
(nope, no tacky one man show here!). If you’re fortunate enough to find it, don’t
think twice.
Le Salon d'Adonai
Byblos - Old Souks
+961 70 236 778
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