The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

We do believe Enab Beirut is one of the strongest Lebanese restaurants in the field. It’s that place where you get delicious Lebanese food, exceptional service and quality, all for reasonable prices. Sadly, things were a bit of a letdown with their Ramadan Iftar.

Their set menu (for two people) consisted of a large bottle of water, your choice of Tamarind or Amar el Deen drink, vegetable soup, stuffed vine leaves, hummus, your choice of Fattoush or Taboula, a mixed platter of hot mezzah, your choice of lebanese sausage or chicken liver, a pot of orka with rice, a mixed grill platter, and two baklavas for dessert. All this costs 270LE++ per person.

Everything sounded delish and the variety was quite good. However, out of all Ramadan’s iconic drinks, they picked the least favourite. Give us some hibiscus, sobya, or anything else but these two.

Skipping the drinks, we started our Iftar with the vegetable soup. The soup was bland, had no remarkable flavours, and felt like it would be something we would have eaten if we were sick. They both joined the tamarind and amar el deen’s corner.

Moving to the mezzah, we loved the freshness of the taboula, the kobeba with its flavourful filling, the super zesty and perfectly cooked stuffed vine leaves, the crispy cheese rolls, and the classic hummus.

However, the biggest disappointment of the day would have to be the Lebanese sausage, which was a total shame since it’s our favourite dish at Enab Beirut. It was poorly presented, the sausage was extremely dry, there was barely any sauce (which didn’t have that slightly thick consistency we were looking for), and the quality of the sausage is obviously not the same as ones served during previous visits.

Another thing we didn’t like from the mezzah was the Sfiha Balbakieh. The dough was extremely tough and there was barely any filling/stuffing.

As for the mains, the orka pot and the rice with vermicelli tasted like the good homemade stuff. We loved the tomato sauce, which was seasoned well, and the veal in it was very tender. But then again, is this what you’d expect to have for a Lebanese Iftar?

The mixed grill gave us mixed feelings. We absolutely loved the kebab and shish tawook, which were perfectly marinated and super tender. Meanwhile, the kofta was falling apart and it had a very chewy texture. The potato wedges were quite bland and undercooked, and they also forgot to bring the garlic dip.

Their baklava made up for this below average experience. It was flaky, generously filled with crushed pistachios, and had the right amount of syrup. You won’t feel that guilty since it’s not your typical overly sweet oriental dessert.

All in all, we have to say that Enab Beirut’s Iftar was a letdown for us. Not only did the food have its ups and downs, but also the service was sloppy and the waiters were very clumsy and grumpy. The whole experience was definitely not worth 685LE for two people.