When you want to indulge in premium Lebanese food, there are a few good restaurants that come to mind. Mhanna is one of them. Preserving local traditions that transcends from one generation to another, Mhanna, as well as few others with the same beliefs, keep their names on the international map as a reference for good Lebanese fine dining cuisine.
One of the few places that still serve good Lebanese food is Mhanna restaurant, located on the Antelias highway. Mhanna has found it's place comfortably on the top ten list of Premium Lebanese restaurants. Not a single detail is left unattended to... It starts from the first minute you set foot into the two-story mansion built on solid values: "Quality, Service and Premium Food" Give your car to the valet parking and enter a well lit space ready to serve you. The head waiter, in his red necktie, welcomes you with a smile. He then passes on the responsibility to handle your evening to one of the other waiters wearing a black bow tie. The ground level, with its open terrace is a smoking space, while the upper level is still preserved and kept non-smoking for families and others anti-smoking guests.
The place:
- A well lit open space
- Warm lights make the ambiance pleasant for eating
- A reflective marble flooring
- Plastic grass covers the newly opened terrace
- Two round tables which seat four persons as well as other square ones are placed around the space
- Very simple non sophisticated decoration
- Wooden chairs with spongy seats
- Summer style plastic chairs fill the external space
To old smooth Lebanese tunes, we enjoyed a delicious Lebanese fine dinner in which not a single detail is left out...
Green almonds, fava beans and green peas are offered free of charge to start, followed with a water bottle and a vegetables platter that are served and charged although you have not ordered.
We Ordered:
- Rekakat 9,900 L.L
- Kebbe 5,940 L.L
- Sambousik 5,940 L.L
- Fatayer 5,940 L.L
- Fattouch 8,250 L.L
- Makanek 16,500 L.L
- Goat Labneh 11,000 L.L
- Moutabbal 9,800 L.L
- Hummus 8,800 L.L
- Grapevine leaves 8,800 L.L
- French fries 7,700 L.L
- Vegetable Platter 15,125 L.L (Charged even though not ordered)
The Food:
- I love their fresh and hot oven baked Lebanese bread
- The food at Mhanna is just perfect. Super tasty hummus, great moutabal and makanek that melt under your teeth, stuffed grapevine leaves that are individually rolled with love, goat labneh brought down directly from the village, crunchy cheese rolls, thin mouthwatering sambousik, generously filled kebbe, freshly prepared fattouch and much more...
- The vegetables platter which include a variety between radishes, lettuce, green peppers, onions and green leaves is fresh and appetizing. Every item on this platter is more appealing than the next. Shiny, beautifully colored and not ripe. Crunching a cucumber or a lettuce is a magical pleasure...
- Next to the vegetables platter, there's a plate of freshly cut tomatoes and cucumbers served with a bowl of garlic
- The portions are generous and freshly decorated
- Dinner ended with fruits offered by the management
The details I loved:
- The water and wine glasses are personalized with the restaurant's logo
- The staff is professional and very attentive
- The owner or manager was going around the tables, making sure everything is up to standard
- The ambiance is pleasant, calm and enjoyable
- The Arguile staff with their old authentic outfits add a touch to the ambiance
The Minuses to be fixed:
- Mhanna has a huge parking and doesn't need a valet parking. As soon as you enter the parking space a guy runs to take the car. A wrong first impression making you feel bad. Each guest is free to park his own car or opt for a valet to handle the parking. I should not be obliged to give it to the valet. Do you know that restaurants earn a cut of all the valet parking money?
- It's unpleasant to clean your hands with the paper napkins. In such a premium restaurant, fabric table napkins are a must. Please consider them
Be the first to know:
Mhanna is opening in Zaitunay Bay soon. Fresh news I learned about, yesterday by mistake. It seems that Mhanna is expending his seafood concept which has started in Amchit and now the experience is heading to Beirut city.
Dinner ended with a platter of fresh fruits offered by the restaurant. A large choice of fruits including watermelon, melon, pomegranate with rose water, strawberry, apples, bananas, medlar fruits accompanied with powder sugar and an ice bowl.
The best part of the dinner is that although you eat for two hours, you leave the table feeling light... The food, unlike most Lebanese restaurants, is not heavy.
Welcoming, tasty and professional is what you would expect from a good Lebanese restaurant. Mhanna competes with top 3 Lebanese restaurants in Lebanon, maintaining the same quality of taste and food for the past couple of decades. An enjoyable experience indeed.
