Villa Beirut – Brining homemade flavors from Beirut to Abu Dhabi

Origin:

Dalia’s Dream – It all started in the early 1900’s when a little girl named Dalia grew up indulging in her mother’s delectable Lebanese cooking. Fuelled by her own passion for cooking traditional dishes, she opened a small restaurant called “Villa Beirut” in an old Lebanese house. The restaurant flourished and Dalia dreamed of expansion. Sadly this dream never materialized but the legacy of her bespoke dishes live on through her grandchildren. Villa Beirut’s signature bold blue doors are now open once again in Marina mall Abu Dhabi at the first level.

 

Décor:

Sunny yellow walls with bright color windows and hanging pots literally added to its look.  The décor and ambiance promise diners the experience of a classic Lebanese style restaurant. The menu features over 85 dishes including hot and cold mezze, succulent grills, numerous vegetarian options as well as desserts. Team Mahi Blog was warmly invited to taste the menu.

  

Welcome:

Upon arrival to we were welcomed with the warm gesture by Manager Houssam and his team while settling down, the manager gave us a brief intro to the concept and story behind this culinary journey from Lebanon. Spaciously designed outlet made us feel like at home. We sat on a round table at the peaceful corner having the simple presentation of floral prints plates, chic water flasks and a flower vase.

FOOD RUNDOWN

Drinks: (All house made and served in cute mason Glass Jars)

Mint lemonade – a traditional sensational drink and yes summer fresh with mint leaves, was neither sour nor sweet excessively, but enjoyable in taste.

The Strawberry Daiquiri – kid’s favorite fresh strawberry drink on a menu with vanilla ice cream.

Citrus Madness – Hubby’s favorite with a tangy and refreshing burst.

1. Mango Pina Colada – Unique & refreshing.

 

 

 

Appetizers: (Winner of the whole meal)

We were served with the small portion of each of the dishes.

Cold Mezze :- Hummus • Hummus Chmandar • Moutabel • Tabouleh • Fattoush

Hot Mezze:- Falafel • Sujok

Along with traditional cold appetizers, it was good to see some distinctions like of beetroot hummus , a very pleasant dip. We savor starters the most. There is a basket of bread with soft small round bread and the crispy ones to dip and eat. Falafel i-e fresh and crispy fried bites with the tahina dip was our favorite. They were all gone in no time, the spicy sausage in tomatoes spiced gravy was ok-ish. Chicken liver in pomegranate sauce was succulent. I will surely return back to this plac for the delicious appetizers.

 

Main:

Mix Grill • Arayees

The mix grill has just 3 skewers of kebab, Shish tawook (white) and meat pieces each. It was good for 2 however not too much in quantity. The meat was rightly cooked, luscious & tender. The quality of meat and chicken was excellent, however, I did miss Lamb chops pieces on the platter. Chicken tawook was very soft and literally melts in mouth however I find kebab a bit lacking in spice taste. The arayees platter comes with fries and greens ad was good in taste.

 

  

 

Dessert:

Kunafa and Rice pudding were the 2 items presented to sweetly end the meal. I love the sugar quotient in Kunafa it was too perfect for me however if you love sweet you can per on sugar syrup while enjoying your cheese kunafa.

Rice with milk was aromatic in rose fragrance and was generously topped with crushed pistachios thought it’s not the best we had in Abu Dhabi.

 

 

Verdict:

It’s worth a try. @mahiblog would certainly rate this bold and beautiful colored ambiance and garden concept venue for a culinary journey. If you are looking for a homely Lebanese feast with the freshest house made bread, do visit them. Venue indeed gives this bright and lively looks of Lebanon how I have seen it in the pictures.

Essentials:

Marina Mall, Abu Dhabi

First Level near Etisalat

Email. villabeirut@itf.ae

Tel. 02-5381638