Beirut travel guide

Mezze spread

Lebanon's most generous expression of hospitality—a rolling tide of 40+ small dishes: hummus, baba ghanoush, kibbeh in all forms, tabbouleh, stuffed vine leaves, sambousak, fattoush; communal tables piled higher with each passing hour

Hummus

Lebanon's morning ritual food—freshly made, warm from the kitchen, silky and still fragrant with chickpea; drizzled with good olive oil and paprika; eaten at breakfast with warm pita; Beirut's best hummus is at the neighborhood foul shops

Tabbouleh

Lebanon's most imitated salad done right—90% finely chopped parsley, 5% bulgur, tomatoes, mint, olive oil and lemon; the opposite of the grain-heavy versions served abroad; Mediterranean brightness in a bowl

Shawarma

Beirut's greatest street food—thin-shaved lamb or chicken from a vertical rotating spit, stuffed into flatbread with garlic labneh, pickles, tomatoes and fries; eaten after midnight, wrapped in paper, from stands on Hamra Street

Knafeh

Lebanon's most celebrated dessert—shredded kataifi wheat over stretchy Nabulsi white cheese, baked until golden and soaked in orange blossom rose water syrup; the best in the world according to many; served warm, eaten immediately

Lebanese wine

Bekaa Valley has produced wine for 6,000 years; Château Musar's Cabernet blend, Ixsir's mountain reds and Château Kefraya are exceptional; sipping Lebanese wine in a Beirut rooftop bar above the city's lights is the great Lebanese pleasure