Enjoying a beautiful sunset, food, sweets, music and mingling were all on the menu during Blueberry Square's official opening party. All the restaurants gathered on the rooftop to welcome and familiarize guests with the recently opened concept in Dbayeh. Blueberry Square is a cluster of neighborhood style restaurants, where people can gather in a fun and light-hearted atmosphere. Friends, families and business people, as well as kids, in most cases, can come and share ab exceptional variety of culinary experiences all under one roof.
Let’s Burger, Margherita, Ichiban, Blackrock, AL Balad, Couqley, Leil Nhar, Ceramics'N More, Sugar Daddy's Bakery, Chocolicious, Bread Republic, MBCo, 961 Beer and Chateau Ksara were all there to satisfy the hundreds of guests while familiarizing then with their concept and cuisine. Stolichnaya, added a buzz to the party - while everyone drank responsibly.
On the menu tonight:
MBCo:
- Mini Quesadillas
- Mini Bagel & Lox
- Mushroom & Goat Cheese
- Boule de Steak
- Cheesecake
- Macarons
- Mini Tarts
Ichiban:
- A wide selection of Japanese Makis
Couqley:
- Cote de Boeuf live grill
Ceramics 'N' More:
- Popcorn
- Cotton candy
- Boule chocolat
- Kaakats
- Mini pizza
- Mini zaatar
- Hotdog rolls on a stick
- Pita bread: Chicken, shawarma, tuna
Let's Burger:
- Flaming Chicken
- Let's Keep it Simple
- Chilli Conqueso
Leil Nhar:
- Mini Pizza
- Mini Cheese
- Mini Zaatar
Margherita:
- Prosciutto di Parma
- Insalata Pomodoro
- Mozzarella di Buffala
- Burrata
- Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina
- Paglia e Fieno Prosciutto e Funghi
Sugar Daddy's:
- Cupcakes
- Brownies
- Cheesecake
- Banofee Pie
- Cookies
- Squeeze & Squares
Al Balad:
- Salads
- Cold Lebanese Appetizers, tabbouleh, Labneh
- Al Balad Kebbeh
On the roof, the party started at 06:30pm where hundreds of guests gathered to mingle, drink and eat while enjoying the sunset behind the Marina's luxury port. I tried to taste as many preparations as I could while chit chatting here and there. I saw a few familiar faces, while I happily met a few new ones.
The things I liked, enjoyed and appreciated:
- At the entrance, we were welcomed by beautiful hostesses who led us up to the roof
- Grab a drink and let the party begin, even before reaching the top floor
- On the 2nd floor is a large chalkboard, a few even noticed, where the menu of each restaurant were displayed
- MBCo's selection was beautifully presented, tasty and generous
- Thank you Ichiban for your generosity and for providing us with a huge quantity of fresh Makis (I imagine it must have costed you a lot)
- Couqley's signature cote de boeuf added the mouthwatering grilling aromas which activated all our senses
- Couqley has now a new pastry shop I invite you all to go try. I tasted their Creme Brûlée and loved it.
- I loved the Al Balad display: Classy, clean and clear, professional and tasty at the same time. Did you notice the ingenuity behind the Arabic writings? "Charfouna, printed on the stand and Charaftouna printed on the chocolates..."
- Al Balad was the only restaurant to offer sweets to everyone before leaving, displayed on a table outside the restaurant's door
- I would like to congratulate Margherita on their setup and live stand. Food was so generous it could fill us all. A wide choice and a tasty finish. I simply enjoyed looking at the buffala mozzarella
I was shocked:
- To see Leil Nhar offer only three plates of cheese rolls, pizza and zaatar which were almost empty. Their stand looked dull and unprofessional
- To pass by Let's Burger stand, four times to say the least, trying to take a picture showing the burgers, with no success. Two small plates, half empty making the place look stingy. As for the table cloth, it was way too dirty and disgusting to even look at it
- Blackrock's small table looked like a stand in an exhibition. Don't they market themselves as the best meat around? I would have expected to see some food and grilling on their famous rock around here
- Hundreds were fitted on the terrace only, in a space that couldn't welcome us all together. Down below, all the restaurants were empty; the event should have been divided into different areas
After several hours of fun it was time to go. I was amazed to see Al Balad offering even more food. At the exit, two large trays of Lebanese sweets, separated by individual cups of kachta spelling out the letter "T" which stands for Tarek, honoring the owner who passed away a few years ago.
Guests enjoyed their time eating and drinking while being entertained by Virgin Radio's morning show hosts and a live band. It's now time to go try these restaurants and see what each has to offer. There's something for everyone.
