If you attend any typical Lebanese lunch or dinner, whether it is at home or at a restaurant, what would definitely not be missing from the table would be a plate or plates offering “boucheyet”. This word comes from the French “bouche” meaning mouth. These small tasty bites are meant to be eaten by a single (or double) 🙂 opening of your mouth. Every Lebanese mum and grandma used to prepare such bites at home and have a stock always ready in the freezer in case an unexpected visitor passed by. Modern hectic life resulted in people buying “boucheyet” instead of preparing them at home.

My favorite spot to stock up on such bites is a very popular bakehouse located in the heart of Achrafieh. It is named after its owner (Ghattas). When you step inside, your nose gets filled by such delicious smells of all different flavors they won’t let you leave without tasting something. They have a wide variety, including the famous zaatar, mini pizza, crispy pastry filled with meat, spinach, Swiss chard, haloumi cheese…

You can finish the food orgy with some shortbread cookies — they offer vanilla filled with jam or chocolate filled with chocolate. It is a bakery, so there is no place to sit and eat: you will get your order in a nice carton box. It is a nice option for a snack if you are heading for a trip outside Beirut. The prices vary, you can get a mix of 36 pieces for ca. 20$.