Rawand: An Architectural Masterpiece Opens in Tripoli :: NoGarlicNoOnions: Restaurant, Food, and Travel Stories/Reviews - Lebanon (2025)

December 20, 2017Tripoli North Lebanon Lebanon Middle East

RATING:84/100

I felt transported the minute I walked in! A marvelous place, a huge structure, hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in creating an architectural masterpiece. Rawand is not something I was expecting to see in Tripoli, a city I adore but unfortunately under continuous instability which requires guts for such a huge investment. Raw for the urban industrial design, green for the freshness and rich greenery decorating the space. In the heart of Tripoli comes Rawand!

Rawand is a three-story restaurant proposing a wide selection of international dishes served in a pleasant ambiance. Dimmed lights yet bright and enough for your photos, lots of metal, stone flooring, concrete structures, glass facades and construction materials.

Take the stairs up to the first floor to enjoy a great view of the big square restaurant; a large cube where several materials blend created with style and taste. I believe photos speak for themselves.

I loved the details:

• Sohat water glass bottles.
• A huge wooden door closes at night.
• Balconies, here and there makes it feel like a village inside a closed space.
• In the center, a fire pit gives warmth to the space.
• There’s a bar but no alcohol.

Food is good!

• Cream and spinach dip with crunchy tortilla chips; I loved the freshness of the tortilla is fresh, thin and crunchy without spices on it. With that a generous portion of dip, creamy and filled with shredded spinach.
• The mushroom pizza is indeed excellent! Thin like Italians doit, and topped with cheese; the pizza has a load of mushrooms on it making the experience enjoyable. Juicy and tender, the mushrooms are excellent.
• Dynamite shrimp: good quality shrimp, intensely spices but I find the sauce to be a bit thicker than it should be. Lightening up would make it way better.
• Chicken tenders barbecue: tender chicken indeed, buttered and fried with a sweet barbecue sauce to add the flavor you need. I liked them!
• Pepper Steak and fries; a great job for keeping a fragile piece of meat so tender and so juicy. Fries on the side, a zesty, delicious sauce, and thin crunchy fries. Loved it!
• Barbecue chicken tortilla: marinated chicken chunks in barbecue sauce on a bed of tortilla and topped with melted cheese.

Loved the food and desserts, are even better! Oum Ali with a twist rocks! A significantly sized biscuit -langue de chat style- stuffed with milk mouhallabiyah and topped with caramel and cotton candy is an addiction.

A restaurant of this caliber is honestly not expected in Tripoli this is why I invite you to give it a try. Good food and enjoyable vibes with a beautiful setup.