Beirut Street Food

7 dishes in Lebanon

7 street foods from Beirut, Lebanon: Beirut-Style Shawarma, Soujok Sandwich, Ayran, Fattet Hummus and Kebdeh Djaj and more. Each one has its own page with the story behind it and what to look for.

Street foods of Beirut

🌯 Beirut Institution · Spit-Roasted Sandwich Beirut-Style Shawarma Beirut's old-school shawarma joints still hand-stack the meat cone from scratch each morning, layering dozens of thin cuts of marinated chicken or… Thin-sliced marinated chicken or lamb is stacked onto a vertical spit and slow-roasted, then shaved off in crisp ribbons and rolled into flatbread with garlic toum, pickles, and fries… 🌭 Bourj Hammoud · Armenian-Lebanese Sausage Soujok Sandwich The recipe rode into Beirut with Armenian refugees who settled in Bourj Hammoud after fleeing Anatolia, and the neighborhood's grills still cure the… Spicy, garlic- and fenugreek-cured beef sausage is pan-seared until it blisters and releases a pool of deep-red fat, then stuffed into bread with tomato and onion. Bourj Hammoud's Armenian… Street Cart Cooler · Salted Yogurt Drink Ayran The word ayran is Turkish, and the drink is close kin to Iran's doogh and South Asia's salted lassi, all built on yogurt, water and salt. Plain yogurt is thinned with cold water and salt, shaken until frothy, and poured over ice. Beirut's street carts, especially near grill and shawarma stands, sell it in tall cups as the… Ras Beirut Breakfast · Chickpea & Yogurt Fattet Hummus The crunch on top is stale pita, not a fresh garnish — day-old bread is fried or toasted into shards specifically so it can go soft just enough by… Warm chickpeas are layered over toasted or fried pita shards, blanketed in garlicky yogurt, and finished with melted ghee, toasted pine nuts, and a dusting of paprika. Hamra and Ras… 🥘 Gemmayze Late Night · Sautéed Chicken Liver Kebdeh Djaj It's built to be eaten with your hands, not a fork — diners mop up the garlicky, pomegranate-sharpened pan juices with torn pieces of bread instead. Chicken livers are flash-seared in a hot pan with garlic, lemon, and a splash of pomegranate molasses until just cooked through and glazed. Old-school Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael taverns… Beirut Market Salad · Toasted Bread Fattoush The tart, faintly purple tang doesn't come from vinegar or extra lemon — it's sumac, a ground dried berry, dusted over the top right before serving. Chopped cucumber, tomato, radish, and romaine are tossed with torn bread fried or toasted until crisp, dressed in olive oil, lemon, and pomegranate molasses, and finished with a heavy… Parlor Classic · Hand-Pounded Ice Cream Booza It's thickened with mastic tree resin and orchid-root powder instead of extra cream, and the old-school method still calls for pounding it by hand… Milk, sugar, mastic, and sahlab (orchid-root powder) are churned and pounded into an elastic, chewy-textured ice cream, then rolled in crushed pistachios. Traditional parlors still pound…

More of Lebanon

• North Lebanon (Tripoli)5
• South Lebanon (Sidon & Tyre)5
• Bekaa Valley (Zahle & Baalbek)3
• Mount Lebanon (Aley & Bhamdoun)6