The Best Bites for Your Buck in Beirut

If you’re a foodie, you’ve probably discovered that gourmet habits can cut deeply into your monthly budget. Beirut offers a wealth of variety and deliciousness when it comes to dining-out options, but we’re not all millionaires, and splurging constantly on edibles could relegate you to a pretzel diet half way through the month.

So what are some of the top price-to-quality rapports I’ve seen in the city? I’m talking maximized value where the return on investment won’t only please your pocket but your insatiable paunch, too. Come along, and be enlightened!

1. Casper and Gambini’s

(Image via Beirutista)

Sunday morning brunches can be alarmingly expensive, and often they’re just standard menu fare posing as an elevated meal experience. Not at Casper and Gambini’s newly-launched brunch in Verdun Dunes, where for a measly 28,500 LL, you can fill your empty tummy (trust me, you’ll want to show up famished) with everything from made-to-order omelets and crepes, pancakes, msabba7a (foul with balila), a vast selection of Levantine cheeses, a couple savory quiches, a yogurt parfait bar, a fresh fruit salad, and four cake loaves. Did I mention the adorable mini viennoiserie and the iced cinnamon-raisin brioche gateau? Fresh juice, coffee, and water come included. You could easily knock out your three meals for the day with this lavish spread.

Casper and Gambini’s
Beirut Souks
Downtown
Tel.: +9611982983

*Other locations across Lebanon.

2. Memory Lane

(Image via strawberryplum.com)

There’s a new place in Mar Mikhael—surprise, surprise! No, but seriously, this one’s worth checking out. Housed in a massive space, which is rare for the congested quartier, Memory Lane straddles café, pub, eatery, and even gaming saloon with foosball and an antiquated pinball machine. The menu is neatly organized, pricing all entrées uniformly at 14,000LL, sandwiches & kaak at 9,500LL, pizzas at 19,500LL, and platters—meaty or meatless—at 24,000 LL. I’ve never seen a full-sized salmon tartare replete with guacamole, wasabi, uzu, and green apple for 14,000LL, which is a steal in my book. The delicious rosemary pita chips that accompany it are exquisite.

Memory Lane
Extending from Armenia Street to Madrid and Ibn El Rabih Streets
Mar Mikhael
Tel.: +9611562806

3. Morenito

(Image via Instagram)

At the crossroads of Rue d’Armenie and Rue Gouraud—in other words, where Gemmayzeh formally becomes Mar Mikhael—Morenito is dishing up Latin American nosh from Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. While the resto-pub figures in to an affordable night out, proposing gourmet dishes like ceviches to more street-food nosh like empanadas, their daily 5 – 9 PM happy hour is the real deal-maker. For only 7,500LL, you get a draft beer along with two soft-shell tacos with grilled caramelized onions, green peppers, cilantro, and your choice of protein filling. I challenge you to find a more rewarding happy hour special in Beirut!

Morenito
Gourard Street
Mar Mikhael
Tel.: +9611575010

4. L’Avenue du Parc

(Image via Beirutista)

Can’t tear yourself away from the fine dining options Beirut boasts? L’Avenue du Parc in Minet el Hosn definitely fits under that header, with mains running between 50,000LL and 100,000LL a plate! If you’re there on a budget—no shame in that!—order the calamari fritters, a generous bowl of lightly battered squid rings drizzled with a sweet-and-spicy Thai dressing and crushed peanuts. This dish is so ample, it could qualify as a main, and for 29,000LL, it’s perhaps the best value dish on the entire menu. Together with the starter bread kit, carrots, and kernels offered with your meal, you’ll be all set.

L’Avenue du Parc
Ahmad Chawki Street
Minet el-Hosn
Tel.: +9611999557
Mob.: +96171712712

5. [Grid]

(Photo by Danielle Issa)

At some places, declining dessert on account of its hefty price tag is a no-brainer. [Grid] is a self-described urban café that serves all kind of delectable treats, from croissants and chocolate fondant cake, to salads and sandwiches on the go. The cinnamon-raisin cookie is gourmet in every sense of the word, but its price will really do you over. For a thrifty 2,000 LL, it’s cheaper than most store-bought cookies piped with gunk and preservatives. Don’t think twice: order this chewy petit-gateau and thank your lucky stars Beirut can be had on a budget!

[Grid]
Beirut Souks
Downtown
Tel.: +9611999787

Map
Zaytuna Bay
Zaitunay Bay
Tel.: +9611999787