The one thing I crave and must have whenever I visit Beirut is the toasted garlic chicken sandwich (Djaj Musahab) from Barbar Restaurant in Hamra. Even CNN ranked them as having the best kebabs in the world!!
They have the tastiest sandwiches you’ll ever eat in your life. Every Beiruti knows this place, it’s been around since the early 80’s right in the middle of their civil war. Barbar’s success shows as they’ve now expanded to at least another 4 restaurants next to each other offering juices, desserts, and sit-down service.
This place is always busy – you’ve been warned!
They are known for several of their sandwiches:
- Beef & Chicken Shawarmas,
- Halloumi,
- Falafel,
- Francisco Sandwich
…to name a few. I wanted the kids to try their sandwiches, just to see their reaction to garlic. I’ve never really introduced them to garlic and so it would be the first.
The bread is always fresh, with a light crunch and stuffed with roasted chicken, pickles, garlic sauce and lettuce. Then toasted. It’s really hard to just eat one.
On this particular day, I gave Jaf a half sandwich to see what he would do. He took one whiff, licked the garlic and ate the whole half without stopping.
Proud of my boy! Five sandwiches later… We were all ready for a nap!