3 editor-picked levantine restaurants across 3 cities.
A guide to levantine restaurants worth a trip, by city. We list operators, signature dishes, and the rooms locals book first.
Umi Falafel on Dame Street in Dublin, the vegan Lebanese counter doing the city's most credible falafel on freshly fried chickpeas in a saj-pressed wrap.
Signature: Falafel wrap, Mezze plate, Baklava
Order: Falafel wrap with toum and pickles; a mezze plate and a glass of mint tea to share.
Tip: Three Dublin locations; the Dame Street original is the original kitchen. Open until 22:00 Friday and Saturday.
Rawia Bishara's Palestinian kitchen in Bay Ridge has served the borough Levantine food in New York City since 1998. Lamb fatteh, fried cauliflower, stuffed kibbeh.
Signature: Lamb fatteh, Stuffed kibbeh
Order: Lamb fatteh with toasted pine nuts.
Tip: Sunday family-style menu at $58 a head is the deepest value. Bring the appetite of two people.
Suraya in Philadelphia is the Fishtown Lebanese market, garden and restaurant on Frankford Avenue from Greg Root, Nicholas Kennedy and chef Roland Kassis, opened 2017.
Signature: Whole roasted fish, Lamb shawarma
Order: Whole roasted fish for the table, lamb shawarma platter, the labneh with shrak bread.
Tip: Brunch on the back garden patio in summer is the room's best seat. Saturday 10am books out the fastest.
More cities are in research. Want levantine covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.