Tripoli Food Capital of Lebanon
Taste the extraordinary food culture of Tripoli, considered the culinary capital of Lebanon, where the city sweet shops, grilled meats, and traditional cuisine have earned a reputation throughout the Arab world.
- 1
Hallab Sweets
Visit Abdul Rahman Hallab and Sons, the legendary Tripoli sweet shop founded in 1881 that is considered the finest confectionery in Lebanon, its displays of knafeh, baklava, and Lebanese sweets attracting visitors from across the country.
- 2
Knafeh Specialty Shops
Try the Tripoli specialty knafeh, the hot cheese pastry soaked in rosewater syrup that Tripoli considers its own, served fresh from the oven at specialty shops where the recipe has been passed down through generations.
- 3
Grilled Meat Restaurants
Eat at one of the old city grilled meat restaurants where kafta, shish taouk, and lamb chops are cooked over charcoal in Lebanese-Arabic tradition, the grills visible from the street filling the lane with fragrant smoke.
- 4
Ice Cream Parlors
Sample the famous Tripoli ice cream, stretched and pulled in the Syrian-Lebanese tradition using mastic and salep root powder to create a chewy, aromatic frozen dessert that bears no resemblance to conventional ice cream.
- 5
Traditional Breakfast
Eat a traditional Lebanese breakfast of hummus, ful medames, fresh vegetables, olives, and warm bread at a cafe opening onto the old city streets, the morning meal shared by workers, market vendors, and early-rising locals.
- 6
Coffee Houses
Sit in a traditional Tripoli coffee house where Arabic coffee is prepared with cardamom and served with sweets, the coffee houses of the old city serving as social meeting points for the male community as they have for centuries.