• Appetizers for four persons: Vegetable plate, thyme, rocket, artichoke, olives, pickles, tabboule, goat cheese, labneh with garlic, labneh, eggplant with sesame paste, mashed potatoes, chickpeas purée, beans, chickpeas, French fries x2 = 290,000L.L
• Chickpeas with meat x2 = 36,000L.L
• Raw meat x2 = 50,000L.L
• Eggs and meat x2 = 36,000L.L
• Soujok x2 = 40,000L.L
• Makanek x2 = 40,000L.L
• Batrakh x2 = 63,000L.L
• Grilled kafta x4 skewers = 50,000L.L
• Grilled meat x4 skewers = 50,000L.L
• Grilled Tawouk x4 skewers = 50,000L.L

What! 4 skewers for 50,000L.L ! Appetizers for four? Each plate having not more than four bites for 47,500L.L/person? No way! Are the appetizers stuffed with caviar or what?

The last time I tried Batchig was just a few weeks ago, and since then I have been counting the minutes to come to this place again. I have been reliving the flavours and tastes of their various dishes – as you can tell, I seriously fell in love with this restaurant. I was so happy to know that a family reunion lunch was set to take place at Batchig.

We headed down to Batchig, where a new fully operational salad bar has been added to the overall place.

We were more than forty people and we decided to settle around the upper area of Batchig, where a celebration cake was awaiting on the Mandaloun. Mirrors surround this small room where one single table usually hosts a large group of people. There, an army of waiters was ready to attend to our every demand.

On the upper floor, tables of different colors decorate this beautiful space. Yellow, beige and pink square tables covered with glass showing the designs underneath. Around them, a number of colorful wooden chairs surround every table. High ceiling, perfectly lit space makes Batchig’ upper floor a perfect reception area for your private functions.

Each and every detail is unique, from the sofas next to the stairs, the beautiful porcelain plates decorating the walls, the bar, tables and wooden windows. I appreciated everything except those benches- they are too low for anyone to enjoy a pleasant lunch. They should be reconsidered.

My favorite design item: Playing on the art of light and shadows, the metallic sieve like wall scones reflect beautiful art work on the walls while adding warmth to the ambiance.

As soon as we reached, I went to the pizzaiolo and asked him for a small favour: I asked for a cheese pizza for my daughter. No questions asked, he prepared one with a smile. How nice it is to have a welcoming and responsive staff that seriously makes all the difference.

Our hosts preset the menu: Batchig’s main platters were served for us to enjoy. A unique cuisine, Levantine Armenian with a twist, truly one of its kind…

• Batchig Sticks: Long twists of fried stuffed pastry, each with a different

• Fattouch Salad

• Mouhammara: Traditional Armenian dip with a hot red pepper walnut and olive oil dip

• Vospov Keufteh: The traditional grandma recipe of the red lentil kebbeh, served with tomatoes and onion dip

• Sou Beureg: The delicious Armenian traditional layered pastry with three kinds of white cheese

• Batata Harra: Spicy fried potatoes

• Fishna: Grilled minced meat with yogurt and Mayrig’s wild cherries

• Mante: Crispy baked meat dumplings served with a hot tomato sauce and cold yogurt with garlic

• Eggplant Salad: Grilled eggplant with rocket, purslane, and tomatoes with a pomegranate dressing

• Hommos Batchig: Hummus with a special mix of lentils

• Ourfali: Grilled minced meat with tomato and pepper

• Anayis: Flat bread with tomato sauce and cheese, topped with fresh rocket, tomatoes and basterma slices

Everything was just great. The welcoming the service, the generosity and food quality which was consistent all over, even though we were a big group and mind you the restaurant was almost full. Drinks ordered were delivered within minutes and the dishes were fresh, tasty and hot.

The pluses:

• Waiters are very professional, always smiling and enjoying their job
• Choose between Pepsi or Coca-Cola
• All ingredients used in the different dishes were perfectly cooked
• The plates presentation is appetising and mouthwatering
• The cooks didn’t mind preparing all the dishes for me without garlic

Another visit to Batchig, same taste and flavour as I did the first time I was there. I would definitely recommend Batchig to all my friends especially for large family gatherings or events.

Batchig: Sealed with a Kiss of Flavours and Colours

Babel Bahr, a new name added to the family of Babel restaurants across Lebanon. I think by now many of you have already encountered my infatuation and appreciation towards Babel Restaurant. I have been to both Babel Dbayeh and Babel Bay, where I have enjoyed and tasted signature dishes unique to each… now it was time to try its new location. Luckily I was one of the first to try its new grand location in Amchit. I am so excited to share the experience I had in this impressive lighthouse.

The place is grandiose: A extremely unique architecture:

• Approaching Amchit, you will spot the lighthouse from the main road
• The lighthouse is so grandiose, even bigger than the famous one in Beirut: Maybe more than 40 meters long
• A huge and grandiose entrance makes you wonder what’s hidden inside
• The entrance is located to the right under the stone arcade
• On the left you can see the dining building above the sea
• The parking appears after the arcade with a yellow lighting and some impressive stones covering the walls
• Stones are everywhere, the same ones used in Dbayeh and Zaitunay Bay: A luxurious setup indeed
• A sculpture next to the entrance surrounded by a sofa
• Flowers delimitate the stairs
• And here starts the journey under the road to the main dining area next to the seashores
• Walk down two floors on stone stairs decorated with a ceiling of shining stars
• When you reach the wood floor, know that the journey has approached to an end
• An impressive long tunnel of stone arcade over a water passage
• At the end, to the right is the fish display before reaching the dining space
• A reflective stone flooring decorates the dining space
• The main building is close to Babel Zaitunay Bay with metal frame work and led stars shining from above
• To the right a long bar with a mirror which makes it look twice the size

Some interesting things to know:

My Latest Discovery: Daran or Hlaywet is a part of the oesophagus covering the (Me3la2). Looking like a cluster of grapes. Balls of fat embracing a white tender meat. Just imagine! (excuse the amateur description but this is what I could gather of the owner).

Simply Waw. Forget about your medical problems, erase the possibility of cholesterol and plunge into this unique piece of Heaven. I grabbed one, put in my mouth to feel the hot juicy piece of meat. A slight pleasant crunch of fat covering a white meat. The fat burns on the sides creating charcoal crunchy corners full of oil and juicy fat. Mmmmm… Simply awesome. Fat, crunchy, toasted, burned, soft, tender, juicy… many consistencies and flavours at once. Nothing, nothing compares to that. You have to close your eyes and go taste it. Simply awesome. The experience continues when you lick your lips afterwards and feel the salty fat around.

I’m being asked lately which is my favourite restaurant, or “what in my opinion is the best restaurant in Lebanon” but unfortunately I don’t have an answer to give. Each and every restaurant has a problem but mostly, the main problem seems to be bad staff, which equals to bad service, which equals to unhappy customers, which eventually of course leads to the closing down of the establishment. I am sure that some of you are already raising an eyebrow, saying, here he goes again. I am shedding the light here as a customer, as a concerned citizen and I know for a fact that most of you, if not all of you feel the same way… So please read, share your thoughts and be part in making a change.

And in my opinion, “Service” is 50% of the grade. If we can’t get good service we might as well just eat at home for 10 times less the price

And in my opinion, “Service” is 50% of the grade. If we can’t get good service we might as well just eat at home for 10 times less the price.

What do we expect from our country today? Nothing! Nothing seems to be running like it should be – starting from the top, right down to the bottom. Our castle of cards seems to be falling down like Olympus.

The only tiny little service we can still offer and live from is the restaurant industry, which is slowly boiling on low fire ready to roar like a volcano just waiting to be erupted.

If waiters and their service continue this way, a new crisis is going to hit our country in no time.

With more than 680 restaurants, from four corners of the globe, reviewed on NoGarlicNoOnions, I think I have seen and experienced enough to be able to compare, especially in our beloved country.

Tic Toc, the alarm is ticking – sounding on a huge problem, which will be hitting the country soon.

Despite the current situation and I know most of you will be saying, “what the hell is this guy talking about, especially now with everything that’s happening.” But this is exactly my point. With everything that’s happening, more than thirty new restaurants open monthly in Lebanon, each with an investment bigger than the other. Millions of dollars are being spent on amazing decorations that magazines compete to have the exclusivity to feature on their pages.

Buy Curve Magazine, Commerce Du Levant, or Deco Magazine among others and read the stories, ideas and investments behind each and every establishment where dozens of partners have joint forces together to realize their dreams. A dream for fame and wealth… A dream of doubling their capital in a year then buying a Porsche to impress their other friends… Don’t give me that look, because you know darn well that what I am saying is true. So let’s say things as they really are, emotions aside.

The restaurant opens its doors after millions of dollars spent, months of hard work on planning a big opening party, inviting all the media and friends to come discover the place and delicious food prepared for the big day… and that’s where it stops.

In our country, everyone wants to be a manager; every waiter wants to become wealthy even before reaching the age of 30

Reality doesn’t take too much time to see the light: Bad welcoming, bad service, untrained waiters and an unsustainable quality of food – a series of things that will drive any sane customer away.

Opening a restaurant and succeeding is a mix of inseparable things: The management, the place, the service and the food.  I believe that good service can compensate for a lot of things.  A professional waiter can make you smile, can cover adequately on mistakes, find solutions to let the customer leave happy and entertain guests making you want to come back for more.

Then… bad food will be swallowed unnoticed, unattractive architecture won’t be an issue but people will start talking about good service and a refreshing experience – something that has been missing for quiet a while now in Lebanon, and it’s only getting worse.

We all have accepted foreigners working in the industry. We all have accepted bad services in pubs and bars, burger shops and pizzerias… But the tolerance for bad service is being pushed further. Now bad service, rude waiters and unfriendly personnel exist everywhere all restaurants genres. Albergo, Table Fine, Yabani to name a few of the recent places I have visited, and have left in shock where you pay up to a $100/person to only be served by unprofessional repulsive and untrained waiters!

1. Restaurants in Lebanon have become way too expensive… for nothing
2. Value for money has become ridiculous
3. We are paying illogical amounts in places where even Michelin starred restaurants don’t charge in Europe
4. Quality and service offered are unsustainable

At a restaurant, the price you pay covers several things including the location, the decoration, the ambiance, the food and service.  And in my opinion, “Service” is 50% of the grade. If we can’t get good service we might as well just eat at home for 10 times less the price.

Let’s state the facts as is:

• Waiters lack manners and proper Savoir Vivre
• Almost all staff members speak little or no French and English
• How many times have you heard the waiter welcome you in a friendly way. “Good morning sir, welcome to …”!: Up until now, I only heard it at Marky’s
• A smile, a continuous smile? That’s a rare luxury
• Doesn’t it make you furious when your plates are thrown on the table and placed on top of each other? And I am not describing a situation at a Lebanese restaurant
• It’s great when wine glasses are filled to top as if it was water. No?
• I enjoy it when a waiter takes the order while looking elsewhere
• How many times has a waiter abruptly leave your table, while you’re in the middle of talking, to go welcome other guests?
• Weren’t you pushed by a waiter at least once in your lifetime without any apology?
• Don’t you feel that almost all waiters don’t even feel like working and hate their jobs?
• Did you ask to see the manager without him accepting to approach the table

Unfortunately in our country, everyone wants to be a manager; every waiter wants to become wealthy even before reaching the age of 30.

And the list doesn’t seem to have an end…Training, training, training… Training is needed on all fronts. We are proud of our culinary industry; the only thing left standing in this country. Please take care of it.

Are we turning into an “Arguile Nation”? Is this what restaurants are all about? Huge and quick profit in an unhealthy way?

Dear waiters, a simple effort can make you reach your goal quicker:

• Smile, customers will leave you more tips… Your goal will be closer than you think
• Leave your troubles at home. The friendlier you are the happier your customers will be and the more they will reward you
• Restaurant owners do visit other restaurants: You will very easily catch the attention of a headhunter and maybe get a better position elsewhere…
• Life is like a ladder, it should be climbed a step after the other… A small salary will increase quicker than you can imagine. Becoming a manager is an easy aim that only needs to mature
• Google has an answer for everything: If you don’t know, just research
• How hard is it to search for the pluses and minuses of the competition? It’s a great selling tool to have an answer to everything a customer asks for

Dear Restaurant owners:

• Please stop blaming the situation for your bad service. The situation is not the issue, training your staff and putting more efforts in recruiting professionals is essential to your business… You have invested a lot in opening this place – make sure you have people that truly represent your goals
• Reward your waiters with what they deserve
• Do not hire foreigners: Paying few dollars less will make you lose a handful of clients. Nothing can compare to a well trained Lebanese employee
• A minimal decent salary is to be considered. Life has become more and more expensive and again don’t blame the situation for their low salaries. Your staff is what makes or breaks your place
• Please put some efforts in training your personnel. You can’t expect them to give you something they don’t have a clue about

Visit Fouad, this restaurant up the mountain with no Internet, no research, no training and no ISO. Fouad has great service, a welcoming attitude and savoir-faire far better than many restaurants in Beirut. All staff members act like they own the place and welcome guests accordingly. Smiles, jokes and fun don’t seem to have limits. Hours pass like minutes at Fouad. Fouad has discovered the perfect recipe to make you come back for more at least twice a month.

Hundreds have called and messaged asking for this article! Yes! Lebanon’s customers are not happy… Wake up people!

If you’re thinking of other points like cleanliness, safety measures and others – each is worth an article on its own. So I’ll skip them for now.

So please, Lebanon is screaming and begging you to take measures: We, the consumers, are not happy.

Your comments can make a difference… The wake up call is on!

Today was the second day of opening and unfortunately nothing was ready. No ice, no food and no air conditioning. Staying here was more of a punishment.

Lebanese have been know to live as free birds…  I am not saying that this is often a good thing but this is how we are – call it chaos, but I like to call it ‘freedom’ – it makes any situation look fine and acceptable…

But the funny part is that in some simpler things in life, we don’t have much of choice (that is besides all the things we deserve from our government, from our leaders, from society…) but we’re here to talk about something simpler and a good example is, “Do I have a choice between Coca-Cola and Pepsi? A bottle of Almaza or a bottle of 961 Beer…” Nope, you don’t. You drink what they serve and that’s it. Either this or that and rarely both are offered in most restaurants in Lebanon.

Why should we accept to eat and drink what restaurant owners decide we should, just because it is more profitable for them! When, we, as consumers, have the right to choose?

Personally, at a restaurant I expect to drink Coca-Cola because I don’t like Pepsi. I would like to have a fresh bottle of San Pellegrino because it’s lighter and doesn’t contain as much sodium as Perrier. I expect to have the choice to choose my kind of beer since Lebanon has a wide choice of different kinds and not just obliged to drink one brand like Almaza most of the time. I expect to have a choice – freedom to choose.

Let us talk about things as they are:

Dear consumers, did you know that restaurants have exclusivity deals that generate more profit with any of the above brands and even others? A deal, that is twice as much more profitable considering that the exclusivity generates cash.

We have had enough of following the restaurants rules… We are the customers and customers are kings – and since we’re on the topic of freedom at a restaurant:

• We demand to park our own car in front of the restaurant’s door
• We demand to have free valet parking and not a minimum charge of 5,000L.L and sometimes 10,000L.L (considering that valet parking companies pay the restaurants a monthly commission)
• We demand to have nonsmoking closed environment where the law gets respected
• We demand to choose any brand we like, especially the local ones that can refresh our economy
• We demand to be free

Consumers have been following a trend where the bad follows the worse and has reached the worst to say the least: Bad waiters, mediocre service, average food, a valet parking empire that controls us, the Arguile trend, replacing the oxygen we breath… And no one is saying anything… and we are accepting it all.

Last week, having dinner at L’Oca Matta, the valet parking gives me a paper on which is written (10,000L.L). Considering that the street is full, I didn’t have another choice but pay to pay the 10,000L.L they are charging. What a scam! Let’s do the math: 15 tables/night. 3 cars/table. 450,000L.L/day. 13,500,000L.L/month. That’s a total of 9,000$ split between the valet company and the restaurant owner. “Is this a restaurant serving food or selling parking services?”

The Valet issue has become uncontrollable lately. These companies who rent the door of the restaurant, oblige you with a minimum fee of 5, 7 or 10,000L.L. Huge amounts of money where the restaurant owner gets his cut in style.

Food… What’s happening to the food quality and taste? We Lebanese are proud of our local creations, proud of the Turkish influence in almost all our plates that we improved to be better than Turkish food itself. We have created Pizzas better than Italians, burgers better than Americans and French culinary wonders up to the standard of Michelin starred restaurants. Many international names have dreamt of opening business in Lebanon making it the hub of different culture until Dubai erupted. All of this, and we accept to eat mediocre food… At incredibly high prices? It is time to say NO!

With the thousands of restaurants available in our tiny 10,452 sqkm, and with the harsh competition out there, it is time “we” the money spenders react and expect the pampering we deserve at any restaurant – big, small, rich, poor…

We simply have the right to choose.

Up in the mountains of Metn is a small hotel known to offer a rich homemade buffet every Sunday for lunch during the summer season. Hotel New Central, owned and managed by the Kiame family, is one of those authentic places where you feel at home the minute you walk in. Built more than a century ago in 1905, this simple place has been kept intact as is with no sophistication. Sunday lunches at New Central is something of a ritual for many… Since the summer has come to an end, this Sunday (October 13), the hotel will be hosting its last Sunday lunch buffet for the season… Let me tell you why you should go…

The reasons are many. As a family with kids, it’s often hard to find a nice place you can go, have lunch, spend some quality family time with the kids and still have space for your little ones to play. The large terrace of Hotel Centrale is where you will be seated indulge in Mrs. Julie Kiame’s rich Lebanese preparations, prepared freshly in her kitchen and served straight to the buffet. Yes, authentic homemade cuisine that includes a large choice of sumptuous bites that will satisfy different ages groups, taste buds and hunger needs.

When you reach Dhour Chouer, pass Khaymet El Sanyour, where a signboard will lead you straight to the hotel up on the hill.  Two buildings, one facing the other constitutes this simple and peaceful area that’s filled with an ambiance of serenity and happiness every Sunday. You can enjoy an over view of the green mountains in a large area of 700sqm where festivities take place.

The large buffet of endless choices:

• Poulet chasseur in red sauce
• Fattouch
• Tabbouleh
• Vegetables
• Hindbeh
• Zaatar and cheese
• Hummus
• Mtabbal
• Crab
• Tuna and Corn
• Beetroot
• Three colors pasta salad
• Eggplant and coliflower fried
• Bemye in oil (Ocra)
• Spicy fish
• Kebbe in the oven
• Kebbe raw
• Basterm
• R2a2at (Cheese rolls)
• Fatayer
• Sambousik
• Pizza
• Nouille
• Lasagne
• Makanek
• Soujok
• Shawarma meat and chicken
• Sadaka Lebanese sweets (Madd Tamer, Madd Joz, Maakaroun, Sfouf, Kol Wou Skor)
• Watermelon and melon and seasonal fruits

Sitting at Hotel’s Central large terrace, you can enjoy a wide variety of homemade cooking in a simple and unsophisticated setting, where children can enjoy playing in their special playground. A soothing lunch that costs $37 a person including drinks. So if you have not tried it yet, this is your last chance – Sunday Buffet at Hotel Central is waiting for you for the last time this season…

The Terrace at Beirut City Centre is truly a site to see. A number of restaurants, some of which we are familiar, while others are totally new concepts to the country…More restaurants are opening and a more recent one is Nasma, a Lebanese restaurant where traditional food is introduced with a contemporary twist.

Nasma was once known as Basma in Achrafieh. It was recently re-branded to Nasma. Owned by the same people behind Crepaway, today a new location exists of this originally designed restaurant. The new location in Beirut City Centre is modern and fresh. It’s really a piece of art with details that can be enjoyed as if you’re dining in a art gallery. The restaurant is divided into three sections: The main welcoming area, the middle court and behind the arcade, the inner dining room that is slightly more elevated than the rest of the restaurant.

Nasma stands out from the others with its rain shelters on the terrace. Inside is spacious with a high grey and white ceiling. Nasma oozes positivity everywhere you turn; fresh colors seem to follow you around.

• Wooden tables and metallic chairs outside where you can enjoy the outdoors
• Red and grey colors remind you of the place’s ambiance
• On the other side of the alley is a large terrace with green and white chairs around wooden tables
• A long bar facing the entrance with three pending lanterns from one side and another metallic structure with bottles from the other
• Seven arcades remind you that you are in an oriental place
• The middle space looks more of a dancing area with wood covering
• Grey and green take over the inner dining space which looks like a closed terrace with a view of the street
• Up front, large grey tiles cover the floor and paintings decorate the walls
• Three TVs will entertain you during your stay
• A fridge displays some mouthwatering cakes

Non-Alcoholic Beverages

• Strawberry Juice
• Rose Syrup with Fresh Petals
• Jellab with Kernels, Dry Raisin
• Fresh Pomegranate Juice

Alcoholic Beverages

• Frozen Minted Lemonade with Vodka, Rosemary
• Arak & Raspberry
• Pomegranate Sangria
• Vin a l’Orange

Cold Pass Around

• Hommos Nasma in Crispy Bread
• Mixed with special blend of herbs & spices, topped with shredded radish
• Mama Ghannouj in Crispy Bread
• moutabbal & mouhammara together, topped with caramelized walnut & pomegranate pearls
• Samke Harra in Crispy Bread
• hamour roasted fish with spiced reduction of vegetables, topped with crispy kernels
• Quail Egg in Basturma Wrap with rocca leaves
• Goat Labneh Boconccino in Crunchy Coating with eggplant, cherry tomato & basil leaf

Hot Pass Around

• Kebbeh Miniature stuffed with light kawarma & goat labneh
• Chicken Znoud el Sett special dough rolls, stuffed with chicken shawarma & cheese
• Lollipop of Sujok Aramich croquettes of sujok, cheese and potato in breaded crust
• Ras Asfour in Washna
• Cherry black angus cubed meats, sautéed in sweet & sour cherry sauce, topped with kernels
• Shrimps Quinoa Siyadiyeh quinoa in traditional siyadiyeh sauce with roasted shrimps and crunchy onion

Sweet Pass Around

• Riz Bhalib with Rose Loukoumi and rose petals
• Layali el Ghazal layali lebnen topped with fairy floss & pistachio
• Moghli with Kernels Croquant
• Moghli scented with spices, covered with coconut & caramelized kernels

I enjoyed this event and promised everyone for an extensive tryout of the food soon.