Souk el Akel is a street food market, held every Thursday night from 5 to 11pm in the heart of Beirut. It is a public market space, where cooks from all over the country gather to showcase their know how, food designed to be devoured on the go.
You are invited to enjoy a stroll and a bite or have a full alfresco dinner, meet the cooks and producers, spend the evening, share a space with other foodies and discover new meals and the great cooks of Lebanon.
The most dynamic, democratic and exciting expressions of a food culture are to be found on street level. With quality and passion as guides, the very best and most creative street food stalls are sourced from the four corners of Lebanon and made available to the general public This is Souk el Akel. The aromas, flavors and sheer theatre of food prepared in a communal shared public sphere provides the main theme of the Souk. It’s a place to explore, to ask questions, to discover new flavors and to savor a unique atmosphere.
Street food is artisanal food sold on the streets, or more accurately, not served from restaurants or café’s. Globally, street food is affordable food, served by street chefs. Usually using fresh local ingredients, often the most accessible and affordable, they create popular local or foreign dishes. Long gone are the days when street food meant only grease and convenience. Now it equals great ingredients and extremely varied international offerings, all served up hot and delicious by some of the most passionate and skilled foodies. The food available at Souk el Akel is a selection of some of the great Lebanese, Middle-eastern or international dishes. Whether it is local artisans serving the classics, or local chefs and restaurants creating new and unique offerings, the food celebrates diversity and tradition.
Many of our cooks are primary producers and artisans – people who grow or create the food they sell. Others are chefs or restaurants, possessing intimate knowledge of the produce they source and the recipes they create. Souk el Akel is a haven for anybody who cares about the quality and provenance of the food they eat - chefs, restaurateurs, passionate amateur cooks, farmers and people who just happen to love eating and drinking. All interact and engage each other in the same space. The Souk is an environment where cooks can share their knowledge and expertise to inspire and educate eaters. Gradually, the market became a vast repository of culinary knowledge and expertise.
Quality comes first: The market ensures the highest standards by consulting with food quality experts to ensure that the taste, provenance and quality of foods sold here are regularly measured and maintained. Considerable support is daily provided to small traders and artisanal chefs in order to meet these standards.
Meet us this Thursday at Souk el Akel. (Google Maps)
