Baron
I met Athanasios Kargatzidis, known to all as Tommy,
a decade ago. The Greek-born chef had moved
temporarily, or so he thought, from a job in China
to work for a restaurant group in Beirut. But then he
married a Lebanese and stayed. In 2016 he and local
business partner Etienne Sabbagh opened Baron,
a restaurant in boho Mar Mikhael with the aim of
celebrating distinctive Lebanese produce – daily catches
from Tripoli’s fishing boats, sea salt from Anfeh,
wine from Zahlé – in a relaxed space that harmonises
with the arty, creative character of the neighbourhood.
Choice seats are at the bar, close enough to eyeball the
kitchen team at work, and out on the back terrace.
At least half the menu is focused on vegetables and
seafood, and all of it is perfect for sharing. My standard
order is the spiced butter cauliflower, baked whole then
topped with crushed walnut, pomegranate seeds and
rose petals and drizzled with tahini yoghurt. Or soujouk
sausage and whole dates wrapped in pancetta, dressed
with roasted tomato sauce and pomegranate molasses
and sprinkled with pistachio nuts and herbs. The
kitchen smarts and an extensive list of Lebanese wine
by the glass makes Baron a great place to introduce
visitors to Beirut dining.Building 125, Pharaon
St, Mar Mikhael, +961 1 565 199, baronbeirut.comHanna Mitri
Widely regarded as one of the city’s finest booza
parlours, this tiny family-run shop has been making its
mastic-based ice-cream since 1949. Commonly referred
to in Beirut as “booza arabiye”, or Arabic ice-cream,
the sticky, elastic texture is created by adding mastic
resin and salep to milk and sugar. One of Mitri’s most
popular ice-cream flavours is “milk”, which simply
adds rosewater to the milk-sugar base. Other favourites,
served in a cup or wafer cone, are classic pistachio,
studded with crushed roasted nuts; almond croquant,
loaded with a crumble of dried caramel and house-
made ground almond praline; and amareddine, based
on the apricot fruit leather and topped with crunchy,
cold pine nuts. The most photographed detail in the
shop isn’t the ice-cream but the impressive 1960s
gas oven in which the praline is baked.Mar Mitr,
St Nicolas, Ashrafieh, +961 1 322 723Kalei Coffee Co
When master roaster and barista Dalia Jaffal returned
to her hometown after a stint working in agricultural
sustainability in Africa she wanted to make great
coffee and support farmers in the most direct way
possible. In 2016, she opened her specialty roastery
and café in an abandoned 1950s house in a backstreet
in Mar Mikhael, and has succeeded on both fronts.
In my view Jaffal and barista Shant Ghazar make
the finest coffee in Beirut, buying beans direct from
growers around the world and selling their roasts
online as well as in the café. They’ve also added
a bar offering local craft beer, a list of small-batch
Lebanese wines, and signature cocktails made with
freshly brewed coffee. The simple menu includes
playful takes on popular farmhouse dishes, such
as awarma, a lamb confit, and ambariz, rolled balls
of fermented goat’s cheese.
I met Jaffal in 2015 when she was scouting locations
for her café and roastery and I was looking for a place
to open The Carton Shop, a retail extension of my
print food journalThe Carton(artandthensome.com).
Now we share space; The Carton Shop’s range of
small-production Lebanese wines, our own arak and
olive-oil soap, and limited-edition prints fill what was
the original kitchen. A second branch of Kalei opened
earlier this year in the western suburb of Ras Beirut,
in a distinctive 1920s mansion. Above it is our first
guesthouse, The Carton Townhouse, overlooking
Beirut’s old lighthouse.Rue 54, Impasse 18,
Mar Mikhael/Rmeil, kaleicoffee.comAbove: Restaurant Varouj.
Opposite, clockwise from
left: Hanna Mitri’s pistachio
ice-cream; medjool dates
stuffed with soujouk and
wrapped in pancetta at
Baron; the owners of Molo
(from left) Raed Yassin, Sarah
Nohra and Bassem Breche;
Molo’s Aleppo pizza.136 GOURMET TRAVELLER