Afendi

Afendi's kitchen operates on the principle that the best Lebanese food comes from home cooking traditions passed down through generations. The restaurant's bistronomic approach elevates street food and family recipes without sacrificing their essential character, resulting in dishes that taste both authentic and refined.

The menu's foundation rests on traditional mezzés, those small plates that define Lebanese dining culture. The houmous achieves the ideal creamy texture that marks quality preparation, while the falafels deliver the crucial contrast between crispy exterior and tender, herb-flecked interior. The baba ganoush showcases perfectly charred eggplant transformed into a smoky, silky spread, and the foie de volaille à la crème d'ail demonstrates the kitchen's skill with offal preparations that many restaurants avoid.

Afendi's signature dishes reveal the depth of Lebanese home cooking. The Mdardara—a humble combination of lentils, rice, and caramelized onions—exemplifies how simple ingredients become something transcendent through proper technique and seasoning. The Kafta Afendi, the restaurant's namesake dish, presents seasoned ground meat prepared according to family specifications, while the Chawarma delivers the street food classic with the attention to detail it deserves.

The saj, that traditional flatbread cooked on a domed griddle, appears throughout the menu as both vehicle and star. This ancient bread-making technique produces the perfect wrapper for various fillings while also standing alone as an essential component of the Lebanese table. The kitchen's commitment to making everything in-house extends to these breads, ensuring authenticity in every bite.

Vegetarian diners find genuine options here rather than afterthoughts—Lebanese cuisine naturally offers abundant plant-based dishes, from the various mezzés to substantial vegetable preparations. The menu's eight starters, six mains, and two desserts provide enough variety for multiple visits while maintaining focus on what the kitchen does best.

The weekend brunch buffet expands the culinary offering significantly, presenting an extensive array of Lebanese breakfast and lunch dishes that might not appear on the regular menu. This all-you-can-eat format allows you to explore the breadth of Lebanese cuisine, from morning pastries to heartier preparations, all executed with the same commitment to quality and authenticity.

Traditional Lebanese desserts complete the experience, including knefeh à la fleur d'oranger—that iconic cheese pastry soaked in orange blossom syrup—and baklava with its layers of phyllo, nuts, and honey. These sweets provide the perfect ending to a meal, offering the characteristic Lebanese balance of richness and floral aromatics.

The kitchen's dedication to fresh, seasonal products sourced through local circuits ensures that quality remains consistent while supporting sustainable food systems. This approach aligns perfectly with Lebanese culinary philosophy, which has always emphasized the importance of ingredient quality and seasonal eating.