Cantina Sociale: Beirut's Very Own Wine Bar-Cum-Café
For some time now, my friends and I have been searching high
and low for a wine bar-cum-café. You know the type: a casual space where you
can curl up with a book while sipping a cappuccino, or heck, a glass of
Bordeaux. A zen outfit where you can hammer out a paper for your Psych class
without a waiter constantly hovering over your shoulder, asking whether you’d
fancy dessert.
At long last, I'm happy to report, I've found the fit, and
its name is Cantina Sociale.
Located adjacent to Caribou Coffee a block from Sassine
Square in Achrafieh, Cantina is a self-service café that doubles as a wine
cellar housing over 300 available labels (and they start at rock bottom prices,
too!). There are about 20 local and international bottles on tap, and
with a single swipe of your Cantina membership card, you can opt for one of
three volumes of wine: a sample, a half glass, or a full glass.
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| Cantina boasts 300 international and local wine labels |
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| There are also numerous bottles of wine on tap |
Discover wines from Argentina, Chile, Australia, New
Zealand, California, Portugal, Spain, France and more at any budget. This is no
exaggeration: a bottle of Côtes du Rhône millésime 2012 from France can be had for as little
as 16,000 LL, with a trivial 15% markup for dine-in (that’s still less than
half of what you’d pay at any other venue in town).
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| A bottle of Côtes du Rhône for all of USD 12? Fancy that! |
Why, you ask, are prices of wine bottles so affordable? The owner
of Cantina, who is related to the Clos St. Thomas family,
has been importing wine in bulk far before she even conceived the idea of a
hangout. She passes on those savings to customers.
Settle inside at a wooden table or wall divan, or sit
al fresco on the terrace. Once you’ve homed in on a choice from the wine bible,
expect a stir of the appetite.
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| Feels just like home with shelves of knickknacks on display |
In the nibbles department, food is rather simple. There is a
selection of salads and sandwiches, as well as deli and cheese boards to
accompany your vino. Prosciutto with pesto in fresh white baguette (15,000 LL)
is a winning combination, but I found the tuna blend (14,000 LL) to be rather
bitter and couldn't make out if it were endive or green apple to blame.
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| The food spread |
The summer rolls (13,000 LL) bound in rice paper could use a
lift from coriander, though admittedly the mild peanut sauce is fantastic.
Complimentary crudités, Taralli, and popcorn are a wonderful touch and
immediately replenished once depleted.
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| Veggie summer rolls with peanut dip |
Dessert comprises inventive specialties like rum bread
pudding and caramel popcorn beer float. Bizarrely enough, both draw on alcohols besides wine -- rather curious for a wine bar. But that
doesn't undermine the fact that they're superb.
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| Foreground: rum bread pudding; background; caramel popcorn beer float |
In terms of authentic concept, laidback atmosphere, and
comfort, Cantina hits the mark. But I'd really like to see it up its game in
the gourmet department, even if its menu adheres to the basics of salads and
sandwiches (hint: draw inspiration from Bar Tartine!). Because really, it takes
two to tango – nothing like good food and sublime wine to get you in the groove.
Achrafieh
01-334714
Open 8 am - midnight
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