The iconic Beirut kebab house that thrived even during war

posted on: Sep 23, 2015

In a country that has long faced the uncertainty of war and religious strife, you can bet on one thing. The doors that lead to Barbar’s world-class kebabs will be open.

The restaurant, arguably the most famous in Lebanon, has never closed since opening for business in 1979, the many fans of the establishment will tell you.

The spits that rotate Barbar’s succulent hunks of beef and chicken over slow-roasting flames didn’t stop during the civil war that ended in 1990, management and employees say with pride. They say the grilling continued — 24/7 — even on the day that a rocket-propelled grenade struck the Beirut-based restaurant’s entrance.

While much of the country shut down during a devastating conflict with Israel in 2006, Barbar’s employees still shaved off wafer-thin cuts of marinated shawarma meat to stuff into pita bread along with onions, parsley and garlic. After violently taking over Barbar’s neighborhood in 2008, fighters linked to the country’s Shiite Hezbollah movement even dropped by for scrumptious treats, employees say.

Barbar never turns away customers, said Bassem Abu Hamdan, 33, a police officer and customer. “It’s always open. Always, always, always,” he said.

The different kebab options on offer at Barbar restaurant in Lebanon. (Tamara Abdul Hadi/For The Washington Post)
Lebanon’s 4.2 million citizens are perhaps unusually picky about what they eat. After all, many Lebanese point out, their Arabic-Mediterranean cuisine of mezes and tangy salads is recognizable throughout the world. There is a culinary reputation to uphold, and although it’s a tad gritty, Barbar certainly does that, fans say.

“It’s so juicy,” Noura Karkajian, 54, said as she shoved skewered chicken into her mouth on a recent evening. It’s also affordable, she said. Her meal — which included coleslaw, fries and hummus — cost less than $10.

Two years ago, CNN ranked Barbar first in a list of the world’s best kebab places, coming ahead of restaurants in Israel, Iran and Greece. The news organization singled out Barbar’s chicken shawarma — with its marinade of cardamom and cinnamon — as “the tastiest” of all offerings.

For many Lebanese, Barbar resonates on a deeper level, symbolizing stability in a place so often shaken by unrest, said Amal Andary, a culture writer at Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper. Recently, concern has mounted over fallout from the civil war in next-door Syria. More than a million Syrians have taken refuge in Lebanon.

Source: www.washingtonpost.com