Aside from that one time in Bangkok with the bad food poisoning, I love street food. So anywhere that advertises street food hooks me in, whether it’s accurate or not. Le Souk Beirut intrigued me as most of the Lebanese food in the area (and down on Cleveland Street) is pretty casual and seems like it would be served up nicely on the street, so how would this be different?
Still, I was impressed with what they’d done with the place. It was an Oporto before but a very nicely designed one, definitely aiming to not be a fast food place. Exit Oporto and Le Souk Beirut takes over and it’s a lovely space with high ceilings, and windows all around the corner location. Very pleasant.
We sat outside for lunch and watched the world go by. We decided to just go for appetizers, so a big range of stuff, though I wish the very friendly server might have advised us we ordered a little too much. Also that the Lebanese white wine that we’d ordered would be unusual. Tasted almost like a retsina to me, and was a pretty pale pink. In any case, my favourite were the lady fingers, crisp and flaky and delicious.
The kibbeh, bulgur packed around meat, were also pretty tasty. The cheese triangles were fine, and neither of us really liked the falafel, which were dry and I wasn’t crazy about the seasoning.
The labne was a bit tart, too. Good for a casual meal, with reasonable prices, if you’re in the vicinity and craving Lebanese food with nice surrounds. Don’t miss those lady fingers!