Feniqia

The Room

Feniqia sits in a restored Phoenician-era building in the Old Town of Byblos, directly off one of the main tourist squares. Where Khan Jbeil is formal and Al Baylassan is romantic, Feniqia is warm — a restaurant designed for a dinner of six friends that could extend to twelve, for a first date that might last four hours, for a family Sunday lunch that bleeds into the afternoon. The lighting is bright. The open kitchen dominates the room. The music is Arabic jazz. The room works.

Chef Nabil Hajjar's menu describes itself as a twist on Lebanese food using global techniques and recipes — which in practice means a kitchen that borrows sous-vide timing from French training, grill technique from Argentinian steakhouses, and curing from Scandinavian fine-dining, and applies all of it to a traditionally Lebanese product list. The lamb shawarma is cured for thirty-six hours; the fattoush arrives with a reduced pomegranate glaze rather than a conventional dressing; the kibbeh is served raw on warm stone to allow it to temper as you eat.

Pricing is notably more accessible than the top-tier Byblos tables — a two-course dinner with wine runs $60 to $80 per person, making Feniqia the best-value quality room in the city. The wine list is shorter but sharp: five Lebanese reds, three whites, three rosés, and a small international selection. Arak is served by the carafe; cocktails by the glass, with a house arak-and-mint signature.

The room seats around sixty; in summer, a few terrace tables open onto the small stone square outside. Service is young, knowledgeable, and unmistakably Byblos — the staff know the wines, know the dishes, and know when to retreat. Reservations are recommended on weekends; mid-week, a walk-in by 8pm usually works.