Burj Al Hamam

Burj Al Hamam has operated at the Crowne Plaza Dead Sea for more than forty years — it is the oldest branded Lebanese restaurant on the Jordanian shore and one of the longest continuously-operating fine-dining rooms in the country. The brand itself dates to Beirut in the 1970s and has spread to Amman, Cairo, and Dubai; the Dead Sea branch is the second-oldest outside Lebanon.

The room is traditional Lebanese in feel — stone arches, kilim rugs, brass service, low-slung sofas for the welcome arak — and seats about 100 across indoor and terrace sections. The terrace faces the Dead Sea directly and is the booking for sunset dinners. The mezze programme runs fifty-plus cold and hot plates; the grilled meats (shish tawook, kafta, mixed grill platters) are served whole at the table on hot stones.

The signature is the mixed-grill platter for four — a full twelve cuts of Jordanian-raised lamb and chicken, served with the full condiment tray and two pitcher of arak. Desserts are the pan-Lebanese classics: knafeh, mohalabieh, baklava with pistachio. The arak list carries twelve producers including Arak Touma and Haddad.

Service is ceremonial in the Lebanese grand-tradition style — bread is broken at the table, tea is poured from a height. Reservations are straightforward; groups of eight or more should book the terrace horseshoe two weeks out.

Burj Al Hamam is the team-dinner answer at the Dead Sea when the group is twelve-plus and the brief is a long, slow, Lebanese evening with arak and grill platters. Book the terrace horseshoe for sunset; the indoor private room holds twenty for corporate dinners. For close-a-deal evenings with the delegation, the senior brigade and the arak ritual set the pace the negotiation needs.