Home · Category
Born from a simple idea of homestyle Lebanese welcome, Em Sherif has become an international phenomenon. Founded by chef Mireille Hayek and now led by daughter Yasmina with CEO Dani Chakour, it sets the benchmark.
Cee elevates Beirut nights with a fiery red rooftop sanctuary where the air feels lighter, the drinks taste better, and the views speak for themselves, capturing everything rooftop bars promise: escape, glamour, and perspective.
Built in the artist’s hometown and designed by architect Jawdat Arnouk, Mohtaraf Anachar Basbous (MAB), which translates as ‘workshop’ rather than ‘museum,’ opened last September, gathering around 50 artworks across Basbous’ career, from his first at the age of 10 to the very late…
After the catastrophic explosion of 4 August 2020, we return to Fairuz's lament for a city destroyed eight times over, and ask how much more Beirut and its people must endure.
Philippe Jabre’s imposing art collection will soon have a new home in the mountains above Beirut. Gaby Daher and Jean-Louis Mainguy, art dealer and interior architect, are remodelling Jabre’s summer residence, a 19th century traditional Lebanese house, and adjacent bell foundry in Beit …
It took a few confused U-turns before we finally pinpointed the small road leading to Beit Al Batroun, a quaint property in the hills of northern Lebanon. Barely visible from the main thoroughfare, it turns sharply downwards as if on the side of a precipice that might lead to a much lon…
The Four Seasons Hotel Beirut has a new rooftop playground. The best part is it’s open year round, so you can keep that summer feeling going even when the clouds roll in. Just because autumn is rolling in doesn’t mean you have to concede summer’s over. The pool, bar and lounge ato…
Looking to escape electronic screens, urban riff-raff and maybe even (GASP!) Wi-Fi? Then this little bed & breakfast nestled in trees overlooking the Mediterranean Sea may be just the place. It took a few confused U-turns before we finally pinpointed the small road leading to Beit A…
Supermodel feels antiquated now, a relic of a golden era when the world's most beautiful women were beyond question. Modelling has changed, says Ellen von Unwerth in Beirut; today it is all Gigi and Bella.
Gregory Gatserelia's interiors defy categorisation, each wildly different yet united by drama and a striking centrepiece. Given their baroque grandeur, his unexpected early training comes as a genuine surprise to the uninitiated.
A time-honoured boutique hotel tucked between the Phoenicia and a new tower, Beirut's Le Vendôme trades flashy design for European chic, hush-hush service and the rare luxury of genuine seclusion.
In Lebanon, a country that has collapsed, been built and then rebuilt multiple times, it is no surprise to find remnants of a glorious past. From the ancient Roman ruins of Baalbeck to the dilapidated, war-ravaged carcass of a former Holiday Inn hotel in Ras Beirut, there is no shortage…
Dating only to 1961, the Phoenicia nonetheless brims with history, an enduring symbol of Lebanon's jet-set prewar years, all gilded grandeur, sweeping staircases and palatial pillars that still enchant guests today.
Perched in Beit Mery with soaring views over Beirut and the Mediterranean, Al Bustan commands a national affection far beyond any five-star label. Begun by Emile Bustani, it was completed by his widow Laura in 1963.
Beirut's name is thought to derive from be'erot, meaning wells, a nod to the fertility of its water table. Fittingly, a sunken well lies at the heart of the winning design for the Beirut Museum of Art.
Caught between transformation and disintegration, Lebanon still nurtures the Middle East's most developed artistic community, and the Beirut Art Fair is where its galleries, institutions and rising talents converge each year.
A Beirut institution that has hosted kings, queens and film stars, survived the civil war and political turmoil, and lives on as a temple to art, cognac and old-world glamour.
On Opera Gallery's opening night in Beirut, it was neither the pre-Cubist Picasso nor the early Dali that captivated. The real star was Korean artist Seo Young Deok's terrace sculpture, 'Meditation 16'.
On the opening night of the Beirut Art Fair, a live sheep named Faro, shorn and inscribed with a mysterious pattern of black dots, wandered among the elegant crowd as the show's improbable centrepiece.
High in Sursock Tower, an eighteen-floor Ashrafieh high-rise designed by the late Pierre Khoury, our writer meets its makers. The firm of Jamil Saab kept several floors of the building to serve as their corporate headquarters.
In 2010, painter Nabil Nahas marked forty years of creativity with a retrospective at the Beirut Exhibition Centre. Remarkably, it was the prolific artist's first show at home, ending an eighteen-year absence from his country of birth.
Zaha Hadid's Issam Fares Institute transports our writer to another time, recalling a first visit to Tripoli's unfinished Rashid Karami Fair, where Oscar Niemeyer's monumental concrete forms still rise from a landscaped garden, abandoned before civil war.
Velvet curtains part on a stage where schoolchildren, ballet dancers, a funeral march and a runaway bride drift past in exaggerated slow motion, set to melancholic classical music amid baroque, hypnotic splendour.
Step inside Caracalla and you enter a world of grand columns, ornate frescoes and velveteen diwans, at once ancient and Oriental. Everyone here moves with a dancer's gait, in hushed, international seriousness.
He may eschew 3D renderings in favour of models, yet Paul Kaloustian's work is decidedly contemporary. His low-slung, muscular houses, built around open-air gravel courtyards, offer a fresh take on the region's vernacular architecture.
The fourth edition of the region's first art fair returns to Beirut from 19 to 23 September, hosting 40 galleries from more than 15 countries. Director Laure d'Hauteville reflects on fifteen years of building a scene.
In creating Villa Clara, husband-and-wife team Olivier Gougeon and Marie-Hélène Mouawad have not only brought a little of old Beirut back to life, they have turned it into a delicious taste of the times.
Before the stunning view of Jounieh Bay, it is Marwan Zgheib's Hussein Madi sculptures that arrest the eye, bold geometric folds of punched metal. We meet a collector whose passion shapes every corner.
Furniture is meant to be used; now it can be read too. Kashida Design's recliners, mirrors, stools and even tissue boxes each form a single Arabic letter or word, from a heh-shaped mirror to a meem lounge chair.
The man who made Beirut love the BRGR returns with an upscale steakhouse, complete with shellfish bar and an Al Capone-esque cigar lounge, at the heart of the city's glittering new seafront development.
Pritzker-winning Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron have designed perhaps the most arresting addition to Beirut's skyline in decades. A building is a building, Jacques Herzog tells Bespoke; it cannot be read like a book.
Mention Beirut to any international traveller and two iconic, luxurious and pioneering hotels immediately come to mind. And while Le Vendôme and the Phoenicia have many things in common, they’re just as unlike each other. No question, they are an ideal pair.
The Phoenicia Hotel was a dream for Najib Salha – a prominent Lebanese businessman – who in the year 1953, during Lebanon’s Golden Era, envisioned to build a world class hotel on the shores of Beirut. With a group of investors, Mr. Salha founded “La Société des Grands Hotels du Liban” and
Makram Kadi and his partner Ziad Jamaleddine are breathing life into the reclaimed land off the coast of Beirut’s Central District (known as Downtown), and providing artists much-needed space to showcase their work near the city centre. The two Lebanese architects recently completed the Be
For a man of shapes and spaces and decisive lines, Galal Mahmoud is surprisingly fond of the flat, boundless sea. “You see, there is that magic of the sea,” says the architect behind the award winning O Beach resort in Jordan. “It brings well being to any human.”
For a man of shapes and spaces and decisive lines, Galal Mahmoud is surprisingly fond of the flat, boundless sea. “You see, there is that magic of the sea,” says the architect behind the award winning O Beach resort in Jordan. “It brings well being to any human.”
Against a backdrop of an international financial crisis that has seen the number of transactions and demand for realty drop by as much as 50 per cent in some of the region’s capitals, Beirut continues to show its strength and resilience. Bespoke took the opportunity to talk candidly with o
In the midst of rapidly developing downtown Beirut a thing of true sophistication and style has appeared. Le Gray, the city’s latest boutique luxury hotel, is set to spearhead a wave of more refined Middle Eastern 5-star hotels.
If cooking styles were a piece of women’s clothing, Richard Mebkhout’s culinary approach and finesse would be the quintessential little black dress. Always classy, elegant and never out of style, we challenged him to devise an up-to-the-minute meal of raw food, and he effortlessly came up
What Souk el Tayeb Creator Kamal Mouzawak What An organic produce market Why Healthy options and a respect for local traditions and farmers bring a fresh outlook to organic eating www.soukeltayeb.com In a day and age where ‘going green’ has become the latest trend, eating organic is the ho
What Senteurs d’Orient Where Lebanon Since Hana Debs Akkari founded the company in 2000 Why The antithesis of the mass-market product, Senteurs d’Orient offers luxury soaps handmade by artisans using traditional techniques and only the finest natural and organic ingredients. www.senteursdo
What Kitsch concept stores Owners Dalia Dogmoch Soubra and Racil Chalhoub When The Beirut location opened in May 2006, Dubai stores opened last year Why The region’s first true concept stores. The owners had the courage to fuse edgy fashion and home-cooked food www.kitschconcept.com In the
What Chez Jean-Claude Where Rue Gabriel Khabbaz, Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon Since October 2009 Why A charming, intimate and utterly authentic French dining experience that has considerably raised the bar. Honestly, new restaurants bore me probably because they’re rarely new. Inside you wil
Section: escape / wedding planning Nuptial dreams With Beirut overshadowing all other cities as the wedding destination of choice for Middle Eastern couples, it is imperative to know just who is the best Lebanese wedding planner. To make things really interesting the editorial team at Besp
Artist, air brusher and tattooist Hady Beydoun has made a name for himself with his extraordinary designs, and unbounded imagination.
Gemmayzeh may be well known for its hundreds of restaurants and pubs, but this old Beirut neighbourhood has commendably held on to its cultural identity despite the rapid popularisation of its main artery, Gouraud Street.
Wood is largely used in most of Woodand’s designs, due to its liveliness and quality. Founded by Lebanese designer, Georges Mohasseb, the company is not afraid to experiment with materials and textures in order to create exceptional custom-made furniture.
Lebanese architect, Nabil Gholam, has become exceptionally sought after, not just in our region but across the world. With his ability to master the form-function paradigm his works are far more than simple aesthetic masterpieces.
While interviewing Viviane Debbas, the homeowner of ‘one of the most beautiful houses in Lebanon’ as it has been dubbed, Mario Najm discovered more than just a stunning residence.
As both an architect and an interior designer Galal Mahmoud has a distinct edge over his competition. Sara Hamzeh meets with head of GM Architects, to acquire some insight into his world of blueprints.
The tables have turned. Once controversial, backgammon now sits at the heart of Arab culture. Andrea Stanton reveals the secret behind this everlasting game.
There is very little that separates civilizations in the world of design. And no one has found harmony between the minimalist Far East and the self-indulgent Middle East as well as Lebanese-born Nada Debs. Rouba Mourtada speaks to designer about her vision and her craft.
When it comes to good living while you’re away from home, there is only one way to go: up. Bespoke has selected the most exclusive penthouses in some of the world’s most exciting cities for business and pleasure.
A bachelor’s life is not just about cool gadgets and heavy nights, writes Warren Singh-Bartlett. It’s also about understanding life, how to live it and in your more private of spaces, doing it with taste, refinement and pizzazz.
If you’re looking for a vintage guitar, American cult classics are the Harley Davidson of the instrument world. But as Lucy Fielder discovers, repairing and revitalising old strummers can make for a lucrative collection.
Living in modern spaces does not always entail advanced synthetics and robotic housemaids. Often the simplest designs in collusion with a respect for the environment can give you the feeling of being progressive as Rana Ballout discovers about award-winning architect Nabil Gholam’s F-House
F House | private residence Dahr El Sawan, Lebanon Area: 1 200 m² + 1 basement Date: August 2000 - June 2004 [Text by Ayssar Arida] The brief A high profile young couple with 2 children, the clients organised a competition for a new family residence to live and entertain in as their home i