In Tripoli there is a street many come from Beirut to visit, a street called 32 or Damm w Farez. I've been here before to try Fifties Diner and now I was back to try a Lebanese restaurant many talk about called Baytna.
Baytna is one of the many restaurants on the street to welcome you inside, there's a terrace as well in another restaurant next to the original hall. We were seated outside on a calm afternoon where a fresh breathe of air was passing through, leaving behind some positive vibes.
On the menu:
- Cold appetizers
- Raw meat
- Pastries
- Salads
- Hot appetizers
- Kebbeh
- Grilled chicken
- Grilled meat
- Beverages
The service is good, the staff is attentive, the table looks clean, the plates are beautifully presented , so let's eat.
Before being served, a plate of vegetables landed on our table. Fresh, green and crunchy vegetables shining with water drops; mint leaves, purple cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers and chili peppers.
Lunch:
- The hummus was that firm one with a strong tahina flavor offering a correct taste. The best one, the innovative plate I'd never tasted before, was the hummus with walnuts and dried figs. The walnuts add a crunch, the figs add a light chewiness and sweetness transforming a simple hummus into a plate with a different approach.
- I ordered a tabbouleh without onions which is fresh and good.
- Kebbeh Mahla Zamano: Chunks of kebbeh stuffed with melting cheese, fried together with colorful bell peppers, mushrooms and onions. An amazing taste with great textures, a very flavorful plate served in a metal container.
- Kaeb Al-Gazal: Kabab served with a tahina and laban sauce, fried bread and onions topped with cumin and pine nuts. Different from a fatteh, with a touch of flavor where the kabab adds something, the concentrated tahina adds yet more, while the Laban softens the mix.
- Kabab Hindi: The same kabab found in all the other plates, tender soft meat, fresh colorful bell peppers and onions with a unique Indian spice which they've specially imported. A must try for sure, but not a plate for the faint hearted: It is spicy indeed!
Lunch is good, and I do recommended it. The bread is freshly baked in house, the waiters are quick and the kitchen is as well. The prices are reasonable and there are flavorful plates that I liked. That's good food in Tripoli.
Desserts followed:
- A large choice of fresh fruits, a colorful table and some nicely done sweets.
- Halawat el Rizz is the best thing ever. An aromatic and intensively flavorful dessert that's a bit elastic, has a pure white color and really tasty. It's a like a mix of mouhallabiyah and a new approach to an oriental dessert, or at least for me. I loved it.
- Faysalliyeh for me is the one I have in Nabathieh stuffed with pistachio. The Nabathieh one is super crunchy, and doesn't have sugar syrup. This one was stuffed with pastry cream and has a chewy and unpleasant envelope of vermicelli with lots of sugar syrup. No!
- Maamoul Madd: A juicy heart, crunchy walnuts, a fresh layer of semolina. That's superb! I really fell in love with it. Tripoli, the capital of oriental sweets.
I really enjoyed lunch. I'd recommend it to my friends visiting from Beirut.
