THE Q80 MIX

A Kuwaiti Blog For News, Tips and Reviews (and other interesting stuff!)

 Just got back from visiting Beirut with my friends - this goes a long way to explain the lack of blog activity by the way:) . It was my first ever trip to Lebanon so I was really curious to see what the place is like, especially as I have heard so much about it.

Here is the run down of my visit :

Getting there: Took Jazeera Airways for the first time. I heard lot of people diss this airline and I have no idea why. The ticket was so cheap (KD 32 return with check-in baggage allowance and all taxes). It was on time and the return flight actually arrived 20 minutes early ! Seats were comfortable and leg room was decent (although I picked an aisle seat which helps). You pay for the snacks, but the flight is only a couple of hours so you don’t really need to eat anything. The timings to and from Beirut are really good.

Accommodation : We rented a 2 bedroom serviced apartment at Orient Palace Hotel which is in the Hamra area next to AUB and a short walk to the sea promenade. The place was well furnished and new. It had a nice balcony where you could sit out with a table, the weather was great so we used this a lot.

Getting around: In a word, nightmare. The roads are chaotic, there are almost no road signs, people don’t stop at red lights and driving is basically stressful big time. Luckily we knew someone who was able to take us around most of the time (Thanks Ghadi !). Taxis are not always in the best condition and I don’t think meters even exist.

Places I visited:

Solidere: The area I have always heard about. Its mainly populated with a many cafes and has a plaza with an impressive tower clock. Personally speaking I really don’t know what all the hype is about. It looks nice but its only about 6 or 7 years old and they’ve tried to make it look like a well maintained 100 year old area, to give it some character I suppose. The outdoor cafes are right next to each other in a restaurant style and only a couple are on the plaza which has a much nicer view.

I hardly saw any local people sitting in these café’s which tells you something.  Obviously going when we went, it was very quiet but I have heard that this area is usually packed to the max with Gulf Arabs.  Worth checking out, but in my opinion no where near the great area I hear so much about and there are better places to spend an afternoon.

Rafiq Hariri Mosque: This is a magnificent mosque built in the Solidere area and really is worth a visit. Going inside the mosque which is only a year old, the amazing crystal chandelier is stunning and so are the beautifully designed ceilings. You are free to take photos inside, unfortunately there is not much natural light so they come out dark.

Restaurants and Cafe’s:

Mounir : You need a car to get to this restaurant as its on the side of a mountain, just outside Beirut. Definitely the best Lebanese food I have ever had. Shish taouk and tikka were out of this world, and the homous was the creamiest ever. Its not just the food that’s wonderful though. Sitting outside you get a great view at the edge of a cliff overlooking Beirut at one end and a pretty garden at the other (shown in the photo). It was so good, we went twice !

La Plage : A very chic ultra cool restaurant/lounge by the sea on the corniche. Th place is split for dining and chilling and there is even a wooden pier where people were sun bathing on sun loungers ! The food was excellent. I had the salmon which was cooked for perfection, the steak was excellent and the shrimp on the penne dish was the freshest I have tasted for some time. Considering the setting and the quality of food the prices weren’t that expensive. Would like to go back again late afternoon time and sit in the lounge.

Starbucks : Yes its even in Beirut. We went to one near the hotel which had a great view facing the sea. I mention it though because it had to be the most in-efficient Starbucks I have ever seen. It took ages to get served !

Al Mandaloun Cafe: A great Parisian style cafe’ with indoor and out door seating in the Ashrafieh district. It has a delicious selection of small cakes and a cosy atmosphere with comfy chairs. There is also a salad bar which looked really good and they also sell a different  jams and labneh to take away. Bought a selection of their home made jams for Umm Mix, and they prepared it in a nicely wrapped gift basket.

Overall

I had a lot of fun on my first visit Beirut and I would say the best way to describe it is a piece of Mediterranean Europe in the Middle East.  Having said that, I don’t think I could spend more than a few days at a time over there and definitely not  the 1 or 2 months that some people do.

I haven’t talked about the nightlife but it is really good with lots of trendy places. The other thing I would say that if you’ve travelled in Spain, Greece or Italy you may not find Beirut all that impressive and probably lacking in things to see and do.