This legend has been open since 1929 on Monot Street, a place my parents used to tell me about. Georges Aoun, Mikhael's son welcomes you in his little piece of heaven.
Mikhael has been known since Monot was on fire, offering a selection of breakfast items and manakish until today. The manakish have stopped, but people come here for the dairy products which have been exclusively prepared in-house since 1929.
Leave your car in the Monot parking space and walk a couple meters to Mikhael. Georges himself welcomes you and makes sure his employees take care of everything.
Black olives, green olives, fresh mint leaves and markouk bread with a plate of fresh vegetables land on the table before ordering. Fresh, crunchy vegetables handpicked from the market by Georges himself, super tender olives and fresh markouk bread.
The menu revolves around breakfast and traditional Lebanese food:
- Plates
- Sandwiches
- Desserts
- Drinks
And so we enjoyed breakfast:
- Eggs with Kawarma cooked in a pot, a plate of Labneh, traditional white cheese, hummus and grilled halloumi. Everything seems authentic and tastes good except the fatteh which was simply Laban and undercooked chickpeas with soaked, toasted bread. The bread should be crunchier, the chickpeas cooked more and be more watery and the Laban needs salt and maybe more fat to give a different flavor to this plate.
- The best thing here is that Mikhael produces his own dairy products and he has been doing so for the last fifty years. Every morning fresh milk is delivered, milk that will be transformed into several cheeses and Labneh products, all available for take away and dine-in. Indeed, those products are different in taste and freshness.
- Afterwards was dessert time. Mouhallabiya and arishé with honey. An excellent Mouhallabiya with honey on top, as well as freshly produced arishé. The quality of the honey is very good.
I've always heard about Mikhael but was never curious to go in for a test. I really enjoyed the simplicity of this place and the traditional tasty food they offer.
As we were leaving, Mikhael stood up to make sure we enjoyed our experience. A very nice man, he was happy we took photos, asking about the smallest comment we had. How great it is to meet people like this man who care for their business and the customer’s opinion, a kind of person that's a rare find in our times.
Mikhael, the traditional and authentic eatery of Monot Street is one place to visit for breakfast in Beirut.
