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I knew Cappuccino long before it opened in Zaitunay Bay. A Spanish café franchise that offers a selection of tasty offerings from the early hours of the morning until late at night.
I fell in love with Cappuccino when it first opened and was happy when they opened another branch closer to home. I enjoyed their succulent club sandwich, some good sushi and other simple bites... But sadly, the joy didn’t last long. Unfortunately, they started serving arguille that was a “goodbye” signal for me.
A while after, trying to reconcile with a brand I like, we came to Cappuccino Beirut for breakfast on an early, calm morning.
The place in couple words:
- A large space welcomes you on the right side when entering Zaitunay Bay
- High ceiling takes over a large space where a chimney, a library and some sofas fill the space.
- A large bar prepares their famous drinks and coffees
- Bamboo chairs surround marble tables
- Classy wallpaper decorated the room
The first impression:
- The staff seems so lazy and doesn't feel like working
- Unprofessional to the extreme, I was not helped with the menu, nobody suggested what to order, I was not looked at in the eyes and felt they wanted me to hurry up and order.
- Menus are way too old and torn up.
- The chairs are broken and over used.
- The parasols are extremely dirty, turned from white to brown.
Cappuccino has two menus. One for drinks and everything else, and another for breakfast. As we ordered, a bottle of olive oil landed on the table with blue placemats. A refilled unbranded bottle of olive oil, you can't know its origin.
The menu: A choice of breakfast from different countries with extras to add.
- Palma
- Mediterranean
- Healthier selection
- Fruits
- London
- Beirut
- The extras
The horrible thing:
One person takes the order and another delivers it. Why the hell is that? How unpleasant it is to have someone come and shout for the order. The place was empty, couldn't the same person deliver the plate in front of each of us? I felt like I was eating at Crepaway. Is it a diner now?
We ordered:
- The London: Coffee, fresh orange juice, toast with butter and marmalade, eggs with bacon. A rectangular plate hosting two sunny side up eggs, a hotdog, two slices of bacon and four half pieces of square bread. A simple thing, two warm eggs, well cooked but not salted or peppered, chewy bacon, not crispy, a hotdog, and a bit of toasted, crunchy bread.
- Beirut: Coffee, orange juice, cheese zaatar and kechek manakish, labneh and vegetables. A rectangular plate with three manakish, a bowl of labneh, green and black olives, half a sliced tomato and sliced cucumbers with a basket of Lebanese bread on the side. Tasty labneh, good, fluffy manakish and crunchy vegetables.
Something was missing, I didn't dream of that breakfast. I believe the waiter should have offered croissants or a dessert. So I asked for some croissants.
- Very good croissant: I wish I had started with it for a better first impression. The cheese croissant was served warm, flaky and crispy, freshly filled with cheese, tender and airy without an oily feel. I loved the textures. The chocolate croissant was also warm, flaky and fresh, but a bit too buttery and it wasn’t as rich in content. Not enough chocolate inside. But I liked it.
It saddens me to see a place like Cappuccino, which inspired perfection and class, is left unattended behind to disintegrate. I was a fan, and was hoping to regain my likeness towards it… I will probably come back again for lunch; in hope the experience will be different.
