Let’s be clear. My favorite places to eat in Lebanon are at my grandmother’s houses, at my aunt’s house, at my mom’s house. But it’s not that kind of post.

I could make an endless list of places that I’ve enjoyed going to since I was a kid, but instead of doing that I’m going to try to look at it from a tourist’s perspective and palette (and also keep it a bit local). Keep in mind the food in Beirut is not cheap – more in line with European prices.

Karam or Karam el ba7r (seaside): Downtown/Zaytoona Bay. Traditional Lebanese. This place is consistent, relatively inexpensive, and has my favorite dish (hummus) in the city. The bay version has yummy seafood and it’s in a touristy area that’s fun to walk around.

Em Sheriff: Kind of pretentious and pricey ($80 fixed menu) but it’s the perfect way to discover Lebanese food. You also get a live Arabic band to make it a really authentic and traditional Lebanese restaurant experience. They brought out so many dishes I lost count. Literally every Lebanese mezze dish (tapas) came out. They were all really good but make sure to be very hungry when you go, they bring out an outrageous amount of food. Make sure to get a reservation up front. Note: do not go to em sheriff cafe in downtown, it’s overpriced and nowhere near as good.

Liza: Achrafieh. Lebanese with a twist. Beautiful renovated villa setting with cool  interior deco. Star dish is the pumpkin kibbe. Make sure to book a little in advance, this place is popular during touristy seasons.

Feniqia: Jbeil. Lebanese. I recommend it not because the food is great – it isn’t. I recommend it because it’s literally in the center of Byblos and steps to all nearby attractions. They also have very cool food presentation and their chicken shish taouk is juicy.

Babel: Dbayeh/Byblos.I find that the setting makes this place. With high ceilings and an ancient decor, the bill still comes out reasonable considering nice presentation, decent service, and good quality food.

Tawlet: Gemazye. Lebanese buffet. The concept is cool. Home cooking using farm sourced ingredients prepared by a different housewife or cook every day. Since the chefs are always changing it can be a little inconsistent, but I love to go there especially for the desserts.

Meat the fish: Saifi village. Sandiwches and seafood. Casual and high end don’t always come in the same sentence. The food quality is high end and so are the prices. The seating situation is quite casual – sometimes at the doorstep. Had a delicious truffle and parm sandwich here and their seafood is delicious. Saifi village is a beautiful little artsy neighborhood to walk around when you’re done.

Sahyoun: Hamra. Falafel place. You’re in the Middle East so you probably want to try some Arabic fast food. The story behind this place is that it used to be owned by two brothers who fought and ended up each opening their own place side by side. Some people like to try both and choose a favorite. Funny enough a popular falafel chain called Arax also opened up right next to them. I’m not a big falafel fan but you can’t go wrong with either of the three.

Shawarmanji: Many locations. Shawarma place. Another local fast food favorite. I tend to prefer chicken over beef.

Batchig: Dbayeh. Armenian. There is a very large Armenian community in Lebanon so it makes a lot of sense to try it while there. Manti is one of my favorite dishes. If you’re in the Achrafieh area you can also try Mayass. If you’re near downtown Beirut, try Mayrig. All are more or less equally good.

Manouché: You can’t come to Lebanon without trying manouché – typically eaten for breakfast. There are many kinds to try from cheese to thyme to meat. Here’s a full list. The top one with Zaatar, cheese, and vegetables is also my favorite. I actually don’t have a recommended place to go as we tend to go to the closest bakery in sight. Faysal in hamra used to be really good back when I was a student. Tourists can probably easily find this at Wooden Bakery – a chain bakery.

Also try the saj version of the manouché. It’s a bit like Indian naan. Same toppings as the nonsaj version but thinner dough made on this very cool round oven.

Kababji: Many locations. Lebanese Grill. This is my go to place for a 3arous (Lebanese sandwich) filled wih  any meat, chicken, or kebab of your choice. Quality and service here shine.

Eat Sunshine: Monot. Healthy. If you’re looking for nutritious and high quality food, this is your place. Pricey due to the lack of similar places.

Leila/Urbanista: Malls. Leila: casual modern Lebanese. Urbanista: coffee shop. I lumped these two in together because if you find yourself shopping, you are likely to come across these two. Urbanista is my favorite local coffee shop and Leila or Roadster (Lebanese take on American diners) are good options for a casual meal. Give the fattoush (Lebanese salad) a try.

Another traditional Lebanese salad is Tabbouleh but I find that foreigners find it too sour and too minty.

Give makanek (Lebanese sausages) a try.

Desserts/Coffee/Tea

So we all know I’m a dessert person.

Fadel: Antelias. Patisserie. One of my top two deserts in Lebanon is ashta (cream/milk) flavored ice cream. Lebanese ice cream uses mastic gum which makes the texture a little stretchy and fun! Even though it’s quite sweet I love it with the pistachios it gets dipped in. Tip: Ask for extra pistachios in the center.

Safsouf: Beirut. Lebanese desserts. This is a hole in the wall place in a somewhat shady neighborhood but it’s my favorite place in Lebanon for Knefeh and Maamoul mad. Knefeh is a cheese, sesame seed bread, and syrup dessert. It’s very yummy but on the heavy side so go hungry. Now, listen o me and listen to me carefully because this will be the difference between ok and amazing. This place serves their knefeh in a French bun (which isn’t typical). It’s a terrible idea and ruins the amazing flavor of the cheese they have. So you will order it in a typical kaake if available or with no bread at all if not . You have been warned. Also makes sense to take it to go since it’s cheap and not a good place to eat at anyway. If you want to have it in a comfortable seated setting my recommendation is Douaihy.

As for their other specialty – “maamoul mad bil ashta”, a pistachio and cream filled desert. You must try this, it’s heavenly.

Souk el Tayeb: Downtown. Steeet food market. Many local and international options at this fresh market that opens every Thursday. My personal favorite and the reason I go everytime is this lychee popsicle at Popcity. This place makes fresh fruit popsicles using top notch ingredients. You can then get as naughty as you want and dip it in alcohol or chocolate. I don’t see the need.

Zaher el laymoun: Dbayeh. I like the coziness of this place for some tea or coffee or a snack.

Goutons voire: Dbayeh. Casual french. Home of one of my favorite deserts, pain perdue. Magic ingredient: the caramel sauce.

Abdel Rahman Hallab: Many locations. Regional Arabic Sweets. This place has been around for ages (100+ years). My issue with Arabic sweets is they’re too sweet. If you can handle your sugar this is the place to try everything. Baklava is a good start.

Eshmoon is my favorite local brand for dark chocolate. It’s 100% organic made from unprocessed cacao ponder and coconut oil then sweetened with locally sourced molasses.