Step off the elevator and you may think you’ve joined a Lebanese wedding reception—with really good food. There’s a band, there are belly dancers, there’s a packed dance floor, and people are eating homos kawarma (shredded beef with pine nuts and hummus), maanek (Lebanese sausage with a lemon glaze), and farouj meshwi (Cornish hen). For dessert, it’s ashta (cream, bananas, honey, and pistachios). Live music Friday and Saturday.

 

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant, November 2005

 

The cooking at Mandaloun draws on a wealth of fish, flatbreads, and farmhouse tradition, and an ambience echoing Beirut’s glamorous nightlife. Lemon juice and olive oil run through chef Michel Chammaa’s preparations, like the fresh, large-curd halloum cheese served on warm kalaj bread. Weekends feature crooners, belly dancers, and the scent of nargile smoke issuing from the courtyard.