Moria, or the old olive tree, a restaurant open on Jounieh’s old souk, serves a Lebanese and middle eastern cuisine with a gentle touch of freshness. A vast space welcomes you for lunch or dinner taking you on a journey around the Lebanese shores. Glass facades, a pool, and Narghileh... lounge music accompanies you through the experience.
Moria serves food and drinks, a selection of Lebanese mezze and seafood specialties: salads, cold mezze, hot mezze, flatbreads, main dishes, dessert delights, and beverages.
I liked the space: wooden tables and white chairs set under a ceiling of glass and lights. Decorated with concrete and items from the sea, the restaurant hosts a bar, an olive tree and a view of the pool. All tables are decorated with salt, pepper, olive and balsamic vinegar.
Delicious food is served here! I ordered two items from every section and waited to be served. It starts with the hummus, beautifully presented and generously loaded, the bowl offers a creamy white hummus prepared without garlic and where tahini and lemon are felt in every bite.
Moutabbal with fish bizri is a must try. A creamy moutabbal topped with a handful of fried fish bizri. I loved this plate, the taste of moutabbal and crunch of the fish. With that, I enjoyed some crunchy aromatic truffle fries.
Fresh crab and avocado: a gourmet salad made of juicy fresh crab chunks and ripe avocados decorated with sliced zucchini.
Now the flatbread, you probably can call Lebanese pizzas. A thick flatbread, lightly chewy and soft at the same time topped with pesto and Halloumi on the first and vegetables for the second. Artichokes, parmesan, provolone, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, basil and truffle oil. So yummy that I had two pieces.
The grilled shrimp is out of this world! Super duper juicy and incredibly flavorful shrimp you rarely find in Lebanon; marinated for hours, the shrimp will draw a smile on your face.
The things I loved:
- They use coca-cola! Thank you.
- Plates are beautifully decorated.
- I loved the music and mood.
- I loved the food.
- Reasonable prices and good value for money. We only paid $40/person.
Desserts are so yummy, I screamed from joy!
A mille-feuille of a hundred layers and more soaked in sugar syrup and infused with love. Lightly sticky and intensively crunchy the baklava cake made my heart skip a beat. Loaded with crunchy pistachio and spread with cream, the Lebanese dessert is like none I’ve had before. Two thumbs up chef! Other than that, a classy pain perdu that’s not too sweet and not too gooey; another success!
Bravo, bravo, bravo...
I was not expecting to be amazed... a restaurant in Jounieh serves impressive things. Lunch or dinner it’s where I’m coming back with my friends.
