Tawlet

One of the incredible things about dining in Beirut is the sheer variety, but there’s something equally comforting in not having to choose.

Part of the problem with eating well – healthfully, deliciously and environmentally correctly – is that it’s expensive. Enter Tawlet by Souk el Tayeb, a cantine-style restaurant that serves locally-sourced meals at a set price of $25 for an ‘eat and drink till you’re full’ affair. Owner Kamal Mouzawak’s frequently- changing menu is based entirely on what’s in season, and is prepared by a different cook or producer from a different Lebanese village every day of the week. But an even more interesting Lebanese brunch deal on Saturdays is what got TOB running like lightning.
Rounding out the farm-to-table experience is a general store filled with more flowers than a flower shop, though this urban-rusti conceit is reaching critical mass – the unrefined wood and beat-up coffee shop chairs are by the books at this point. The food is pleasing and definitely nostalgic, sitting across two counters divided into sweet and savoury. You can help yourself to the comprehensive line-up of dishes that starts with foul and hummus, labneh and wild greens and goes up to skewers of grilled beef and sausages, oriental lamb rice and raw chicken liver. If you fancy some eggs with soujouk or some fatty awarma in a pottery pot, you can ask the waiter to serve them to you, hot and sizzling. Though the progression of dishes might have seemed a little odd for one serving, some dishes were too tasty to miss out on – the freekeh is undeniably one of those. You could tell the quality of the ingredients being used is outstanding from the succulence of the meat and the freshness of the produce. As for drinks and dessert, we felt obliged to try a glass of the lemonade on display (between shots of arak), plus a wedge of apple pie, packed with slices of al dente fruit. We preferred the knafeh –served with mini kaak breads. If this is eating well, we’ll take seconds.

(01 448129) Chalhoub Bldg, Naher Str, Mar Mikhael. Mon-Fri 1pm- 6pm; Sat 12pm-4pm. Meal for two with drinks: LL75,000.