Pizza, who doesn’t love pizza? This Italian classic is the second most popular food in the world, after burgers. From Italy to France, the United States to the Middle East, pizzas come in many shapes and sizes, but the end result is the same: an oven-baked, flat bread typically finished off with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings. The modern pizza has its roots in Naples, Italy, and the dish has since become popular all over the world. So, back to our beloved country to enjoy some of the best pizzas Lebanon has to offer. Italian pizzerias and American pizza delivery franchises have mushroomed nationwide, while in a typically Lebanese fashion, creative minds have come up some innovative ideas like offering them in small cups that can be devoured in seconds. Join me on my journey around Lebanon's little Italy.
Steve's Bakehouse: Lebanon's Unique Bicolor Croissants and Exceptional Pizzas
Sometimes great things are found in unlikely places. In Tabarja, there's a bakery that sells unique croissants and a superb pizza really worth trying. Come here for the croissant and don't leave without having a pizza. Meet Charbel, a chef, a passionate man, a fine cook who left everything to open his small business: Steve's Bakehouse.
La PizzAria: Enjoy Their Good Pizzas Now in Metn
It's one of Lebanon's most popular pizzerias. Fady Abou Naoum, the owner, makes the pizzas himself, using the technical skills he learned from his adventures with real Italian culinary traditions.
Nonna's Delectable Pizza now in Dbayeh
I wanted to go back to Nonna, a pizza place I discovered almost a year ago down in Achrafieh. Thankfully they are now closer to home as they recently started serving their thin, generous and flavorful pizzas with crunchy borders in Dbayeh. Nonna didn't open a restaurant on its own but serves its pizza at Goutons Voir down in Junction 5, on the Dbayeh highway. Goutons Voir has now installed a pizza oven that's both wood and electricity fired at the same time, the latest in Italian technology innovation. You can now enjoy the full French menu of Goutons Voir along side a choice of 18 pizzas.
Pzza.Co's New Menu: Introducing New Items, Same Great Taste
After a successful year of operation; Pzza.Co reinvents itself with a new menu. New and exquisite introductions to the menu take this Italian restaurant to a higher level. I'm a fan; a big fan of Pzza.Co's Italian specialties and their pizza is surely considered one of the country's finest pizzas. I came back to try the new items on the menu… that offer a wider variety of items with the same great taste.
Micelli's: The Homemade Pizza Place
Remember Micelli's, the family I visited last year to enjoy a marvelous homemade Pizza by Zizo, her son Rami and the happy family. They invited me home, we met in their kitchen but today they have opened their own place. It's called Micelli's as for the family Moussalli, a cozy place on Jal el Dib internal road.
A Must Try: The Gigantic Delicious Pizza of Hasroun
On the main road is a place, a small spot, where Charbel Touma prepares Manakish for breakfast as well as pizzas and subs. We came here by mistake and discovered something out of this world, a pizza that's surely way better than many claiming to be best down in Beirut. Imagine a pizza that's 50 centimeters in diameter. A pizza dough that's cooked on both sides than covered with a homemade tomato sauce, stacked with ham, topped with thyme from the village, mushrooms and seven varieties of cheese all mixed together. The dough is first baked before adding the ingredients and cooking it one more time. On top, slices of tomatoes, a cocktail of bell peppers and salami, it's not only generous but extremely tasty and all for just LBP20,000.
Bar Tartine's New Location in Dbayeh
A few months ago, I wrote about this new exciting project that's opening in Dbayeh. Finally, the newcomer to this booming area is now up and running for business. Bar Tartine's new branch boasts a beautiful stand-alone house where a bakery, a bar, a café and a restaurant blend in perfectly to offer something for everyone.
Toto Beirut: The New Décor... And Same Great Experience!
After opening a new location in Dbayeh, Toto, Lebanon's famous Italian restaurant renews its décor. The new decor somehow reminds me of the beautiful architecture in Milano, the city of art and culinary creations. The welcoming area has changed. The space is wider with a higher ceiling, there’s a cozy terrace, new artworks here and there, but the same feel of a typical Lebanese home. The pizza oven has been removed from the welcoming area, and more chairs and round and square tables have been added.
Tavolina: I Found it... A Pizza Worth a Trophy
A whole year has passed since I last visited Tavolina. When this Italian restaurant opened it was the talk of the town. I went there with high expectations, only to have them lowered after my experience... I am back again. But this time I have experienced a big change. Tavolina has improved drastically. What I experienced today was unbelievable! Good service in a well lit space; serving delicious food and exquisite pizzas.
Appetito Trattoria Hamra: Trying the Pizza
The pizza: Thin dough, with black spots on its bottom from the oven, surrounded by a toasted and grilled border and a heart spread with tomato sauce and filled with dried tomatoes, chunks of goat cheese, mozzarella and decorated with basil leaves. Truffle oil adds a boost and a certain finesse I loved. I enjoyed this pizza especially the sauce, which can be asked to be prepared with or without garlic. It’s good.
Pizza Verde: A Good Pizza Close to Home... Delivered Hot
Sometimes we tend to forget about the places close to home. Located just a few meters from my clinic is a pizza place I like, there's nothing quite convenient like good food.
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