Racines, Beirut

Next restaurant on my Best Beiruti Restaurants (so far) list is a French establishment called Racines. What strike me most about this restaurant is its decoration, which was really beautiful. Apparently, it was once an Arabic restaurant, converted to French. So the interior is Arabic, but the food itself is French. I didn’t get to take pictures of the interior, the lighting was not sufficient, and I detest taking photos with flash ^^ . Although the food and service was very well done, I notice this from Lebanese people, is that they are a tad bit show-off-y with their French-speaking abilities. The waiters, despite us clarifying that we are unable to speak French, continue to speak it anyway, which gets annoying after a while (same goes for sales clerks, shop owners, etc).

Anyhoo let’s disregard this fact because we’re not here to review service, but to review food. THE FOOOD. What we got before they served our appetizers, were one of those free pre-appetizer snacks, which i LOVE, cos it’s so unexpected!!! god, i love restaurants that serve pre-appetizer stuff. We got a “pomme de terre et poulet” (see how annoying that is?) which is mashed potato with chicken, served in a cute little shot glass. teehee. and i LOVE mashed potato. it’s my favorite side dish OF ALL TIME. I’m getting excited cos I love reminiscing about food. I ordered the Frog Legs as an appetizer, cooked with (lots of) garlic, lemon juice, and some herbs. What I love about frog legs is that they can be crunchy from the outside, but SO tender in the inside, just like fish, but juicier. VERY DELICIOUS. (controlling excitement level). For the main course I ordered King Prawns with mashed potato (he he). Also really good, served with arabic salad drenched (and I mean swimming) in olive oil. And I wonder why I gained 2 Kgs over the last 10 days. I’m not even gonna mention desserts, cos I wouldn’t rave about it unless it’s exceptionally delicious, and this one isn’t (for me. I DISLIKE DESSERTS).

SUMMARY TIME

• Food : VERY good. and the presentation is really well done.
• Place: the interior is nice. Classic without being over the top.
• Price : I’m beginning to lose faith in the idea of saving money while in Beirut. pricey food T_T
• Overall: a good 4.25 out of 5. or maybe I’ll give it a 4.55. 4.55 sounds right. I hate rounding off.

Cheerios,
Dodilia

UPDATE! the pre-appetizer stuff is apparently called AMUSE-BOUCHE (i’ve always wondered what that word meant). anyhoo. amuse bouche. hihi. bouche. 

5 June Permalink