Al Beiruti Beckons Diners in the Heart of Downtown Beirut

April 28, 2025

Last week we enjoyed a mesmerizing meal at Al Beiruti in downtown Beirut. The attention to detail is enchanting, from the custom black shaffé coffee cup to the elaborate lighting fixtures juxtaposed by the vintage straw and wooden chairs evoking Lebanese heritage.

Here's the interior

Always make it a point to visit the restroom at a restaurant! Speaks volumes about how the kitchen might look and the restaurant's priority to hygiene.

End your meal with traditional Lebanese coffee

The cuisine is classically Lebanese with a few modern twists evidenced in the Al Beiruti specialties. Take for example the Aubergine, a delicately peeled roasted eggplant lying on a bed of labneh blended with tahini. Or the Shawarma which may have found inspiration in Armenian manti owing to a presence of zesty tomato sauce, cool laban yogurt, and pita squares to soak up all the goodness.

The quintessential labneh, zaatar and olives trifecta

This is quite a unique take on shawarma!

But don't overlook the hindbeh (chicory) with its essential crown of crispy onions. Nor the pine nut- and meat- studded hummus, arranged like a centrifuge as it hugs the sides of the bowl. Equally delightful are the mousakhan rolls zesty with sumac and beautifully paired with a yogurt dip.

The hot mezze dishes can easily fill you up!

Leave room for the knefeh dessert, baked to perfection with a layer of golden semolina yielding to molten white cheese beneath, all doused in fragrant orange blossom water.

If you have to choose one, let it be the knefeh!

The meal is only elevated by flawless service and hospitality, in great part to our knowledgeable waiter Mohammed. My advice is to order a few dishes at a time so that you can truly take them in at a leisurely pace as you weave your way through the menu. And don't forget to wash it all down with a cup of fresh squeezed juice (try the pomegranate or strawberry!).