Ain el Mreisseh is an area closest to the lighthouse, set on Beirut’s 5km-long Corniche. The Corniche starts in the historic Saint George Bay in the city’s downtown and ends after the public beach, Ramlet el Bayda. Ain el Mreisseh is my favourite stretch: it’s the prettiest, in my opinion, as you’re closest to the sea, and there are some interesting landmarks nearby such as La Maison Rose, a beautiful pink house built in 1882, and the old-fashioned black and white lighthouse.
Ain el Mreisseh is nicest on a windy day when you’ll see the waves hitting the rocks and almost ploughing into the shack of the café right by the modern lighthouse. I like to cross the street to stop at one of the many small cafes, like Uncle Deek. They don’t look like much, but here you can buy a traditional sahlab drink – a sweet concoction made from a flower extract.
I like this spot because it feels like something of a leveller in a classist and divided society. You see and meet people from all walks of life here, be it Syrian refugees enjoying one of Beirut’s few free public spaces; Beiruti fishermen; glamourous Lebanese women speed walking in designer jogging gear and chatting loudly on their phones; to people sunbathing, smoking shisha and playing music on the shores.
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Find your way with 179 Insider Tips from our Local Spotters
A healthy lifestyle requires freshly concocted dishes with seasonal vegetables and ingredients that are preferably sourced locally. This is what the concept of Salata is all about.
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Falafel Joseph broadened his menu and opened a "restaurant" a couple of hundred meters away. The restaurant serves one of the tastiest chicken shawarma in town!
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What you will be able to see is the bath's infrastructure, which includes fired clay or terracotta with some other mosaics that are still preserved.
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For your afternoon coffee or late-night chit-chat, this dreamy place is a definite go-to as it overlooks the beauty of Gemmayze's historical buildings.
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If you feel like playing some board games with friends, reading a book while sipping on your coffee, and delighting your palate with some food on the side, then Luna's kitchen is the right place for you.
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Their specialty dessert, Persian love cake, is a concoction of cardamon, pistachio, and zest of lemon. It tasted as delicious as it looked.
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I usually stop by Terghale for fresh juice and my friends mostly order shisha or coffee, and we can spend hours here sitting and reading in silence.
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Make sure to try the beetroot carpaccio and the tomato bruschetta as snacks. Their signature cocktails are delicious and I also fancy their minted lemonade.
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My favorite treat at Emotions is the "chausson au citron" - lemon turnover, which tastes simply yummylicious: not too lemony or sour, not too sweet, not too small.
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With their creative combinations and delectable thin dough, their menu is surely going to offer you an interesting array of choices. From classic options to the sweet and sour assortment.
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179 Insider Tips from our local Spotters
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Escape the Crowd & Travel Slow 🐌
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