Manara Palace Cafe is the perfect breakfast spot after a walk on the Corniche. I like to take one of the tables right by the sea: you’re so close to the water that you can feel the cool spray from the waves and smell the salt in the air. The cafe serves typical Lebanese breakfast fare: labne, foul (flavoursome cooked beans), manaeesh and cheeses, as well as a variety of teas, coffees and fresh juices. Everything is laid out on starched white table clothes, with proper linen napkins.

But the main reason to come here is for the unbeatable view: on one side, you can look straight out onto the Med, and on the other you have the Beirut skyline with the mountains in the background. The cafe is an ideal place to come when I want to get away from the traffic and harried pace of the city, and enjoy the fresh sea air and some decent Lebanese fare.