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Beirut in Jamaica

Published:Thursday | March 27, 2014 | 12:00 AM
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Beirut's Mixed Grill - charcoal - grilled skewers (three pieces) of beef, chicken and minced beef kebab served with grilled tomatoes, onion and a flavourful garlic sauce with a serving of fries.
Beirut waiter Sheldon Blackstock holds a tray with two of their natural blended fruit juices.
Beirut Restaurant’s awesome pita bread.
Amazing Shawarma Chicken – roasted thin slices of chicken with special marinate served with garlic or tahine sauce with a serving of fries.
Beirut’s mouth-watering hummus made with chickpeas pureed, mixed with sesame paste (also called tahine), lemon juice and olive oil.
Fattouch – lettuce, mint, parsley, tomato, radish, onion, cucumber, toasted Arabic bread with special spices and lemon oil spice.
Chef Dany Maalouf holding his delicious Beirut Mixed Grills.
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Jody-Anne Lawrence • Gleaner Writer

Beirut has found its way out of Lebanon and into our beloved country to stimulate our palates with their tantalising Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisine.

Owner Chad Chdid came to Jamaica from Lebanon in 2002 to explore new opportunities in a different environment. After being in the trade business for some time, he decided to go back to his roots, which was the food industry. He told Food that he was a chef in Lebanon, so the food industry was nothing new to him.

On February 11, he opened the doors of Beirut in Marketplace on Constant Spring Road. Without a passport, Food stopped by to find a vibrant, predominantly red with stone wall features, as well as painting of different scenery in Lebanon. It had dim lighting that set an intimate ambience. The decor is the handiwork of Fay Wint.

While he was a chef in Lebanon, Chdid got someone else in the kitchen to prepare those delicious Mediterranean dishes - his old friend Dany Maalouf. They had worked together several years ago, before Chdid left Lebanon. He entrusts Maalouf to prepare mouth-watering dishes, including customers' favourite - hummus.

"Hummus is their favourite. They just love it," he emphasised to Food of the chickpeas, mixed with sesame paste lemon juice and olive oil dish. This is accompanied by their famous pita bread which is always done to order. Just a bite will have you salivating for more. Another dish that seems to be a hit with customers is the shawarma chicken. This is roaster-thin slices of chicken with special marinate served with garlic or tahine sauce.

Chef Maalouf also has a favourite dish on the menu - Arayes Lahmeh. "That is baked Lebanese bread filled with minced beef and served with cucumber yoghurt. The cucumber yoghurt is actually yoghurt with finely cut cucumbers and dried mint," Maalouf explained.

Most of their dishes are authentic Lebanese dishes that will have you experiencing a whirlwind of flavours that you never had before. But Beirut has also adopted some pastas, steaks and seafood dishes from different cuisines so that their customers have options.

"We try to give people options. It is a Mediterranean restaurant but we do have a few things that are not Lebanese," noted Chdid. "We offer foods that can satisfy the vegetarian diet and we have meat dishes for our meat lovers. No matter who you are and what you like, you can eat at Beirut," Chef Maalouf guarantees.

Beirut Restaurant is located at the courtyard at Marketplace, 67 Constant Spring Road, Kingston 10.