Cafeography
بيروت

Cafés in Beirut from Hamra to the Corniche

Book cafés off Hamra Street, garden tables on the Manara corniche, coffee on the stairs between Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhael, and the café row on Badaro Street.

Browse the cafés
  • Map and “near me”
  • “Open now” filter
  • Paid placements always labeled

Photo: Eyüpcan Timur, Pexels License

125Cafés listed
4Open by 6am
14Open past 10pm
4Specialty & roasters

Beirut's café life has long been split between the sea and the street. On the Manara corniche, قهوة الروضة (Café Rawda) has outlasted almost every old seaside coffeehouse around it: Ghalayini's became a resort, Hajj Daoud's was cleared to widen Zaitunay Bay, and al-Bahri and al-Bahrain were destroyed.1 Inland, from 1960 to 1990, the cafés of Hamra Street were where Lebanese and Arab journalists, politicians, artists and intellectuals met.2

Few of Hamra's old institutions survive. A bank now stands where the sidewalk café Modca was, though the Starbucks that opened across from it in the early 2000s kept the custom of coming and staying for hours.3

The newer cafés pour specialty coffee in old houses, like the micro-roastery Kalei in a century-old Lebanese house in Mar Mikhael.4 Many also serve as offices. In 2022, when power cuts at home ran to 23 hours a day, people moved into cafés for light and stable Wi-Fi,5 and public power still averaged about four hours a day in July 2026.6

Pick a side of the city

Beirut by area

Beirut sits on a peninsula, its center on and between two hills, Achrafieh and Musaytibah.14 West of downtown, Hamra and the streets around AUB run down to the Corniche at Raouché; to the east, Gemmayzeh's Rue Gouraud continues as Rue Arménie through Mar Mikhael.15

Badaro

Badaro Street's café row by the National Museum, the pine forest and the hippodrome.

11 cafés

Gemmayzeh

Rue Gouraud's old houses, Aaliya's Books, Sip's courtyard and the St Nicholas Stairs up toward Sursock.

13 cafés

Mar Mikhael

Armenia Street to the river: Riwaq's open mic, Sole Insight on the Vendome Stairs, Kalei's garden and midnight hours.

11 cafés

Downtown & Saifi

Saifi Village's cobbled lanes, the streets around Martyrs' Square and the marina at Zaitunay Bay.

10 cafés

Achrafieh

The hill of east Beirut: Sursock Street, Sodeco, Hôtel-Dieu and Sassine, with cafés open until 02:00.

19 cafés

Hamra & Ras Beirut

Hamra Street, Bliss Street by AUB and book cafés on Cairo Street, several open past midnight.

28 cafés

Raouché & Manara

Cliff-top cafés by Pigeons' Rock, Café Rawda's garden on the Manara corniche and Chatila Street's late tables.

9 cafés
Or start with what you need

Browse by mood and hour

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi from Hamra's book cafés to Armenia Street, some of it around the clock.

17 cafés

Open late

Coffee after midnight: Chatila Street until 03:30, Bliss Street until 01:30, and tables that never close.

14 cafés

Outdoor seating

Seats outside by the Raouché corniche, on the Vendome Stairs and along Hamra sidewalks.

10 cafés

Badaro 11 cafés

More about cafés in Badaro

Gemmayzeh 13 cafés

More about cafés in Gemmayzeh

Mar Mikhael 11 cafés

More about cafés in Mar Mikhael

Downtown & Saifi 10 cafés

More about cafés in Downtown & Saifi

Achrafieh 19 cafés

More about cafés in Achrafieh

Hamra & Ras Beirut 28 cafés

More about cafés in Hamra & Ras Beirut

Raouché & Manara 9 cafés

More about cafés in Raouché & Manara

Verdun 9 cafés

Mazraa & Basta 12 cafés

Jnah & Ramlet el-Baida 3 cafés

No café matches all of those filters. Try removing one, or tell us about a café we're missing.

Coffee chains in Beirut

Branches by area

Before you sit down

How coffee works in Beirut

Ask for kahweh (قهوة, coffee) the Lebanese way and it comes black and strong, poured from a long-handled rakweh (coffee pot) into small cups, with a glass of cold water on the tray.7 Sugar goes in while it boils, so you are asked how you take it; stop before the last sip, which is tefl, the grounds.7 After a meal you may be offered قهوة بيضاء (white coffee), boiled water scented with orange blossom water and no coffee at all.8

Argileh (the water pipe) is part of café life, but not indoors: a law in force since 3 September 2012 bans smoking in all closed public spaces, coffee shops among them.9 Time Out's suggestion for Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhael was a coffee and an argileh on one of the stairways that climb toward the higher neighborhoods.10

Menus are back in Lebanese pounds. Under a Tourism Ministry circular of 23 January 2026, tourism establishments must have price lists approved in pounds only and post the official exchange rate every day, and the customer chooses whether to pay in pounds or in dollars at that rate.11 The Ministry of Economy used LL 89,700 to the dollar in its September 2026 price survey.12

Laptops are an ordinary sight. Barzakh's founder in Hamra recalled in 2022 that the first plan had been to ban them, and Café Younes fitted its large new Hamra branch with a study room where every desk has power sockets.5

What coffee costs in Beirut

DrinkTypical price
Cappuccino
Regular cappuccino at a café		US$2.00–7.00
Beirut cafés, October 2026, quoted in US dollars (average US$4.54)
Water
Small bottle, 0.33 L		US$0.50–1.50
Beirut cafés and restaurants, October 2026, quoted in US dollars
بن مطحون
Packaged ground coffee, 200 g		LL 301,056
Average supermarket price in Lebanon, 1 September 2026, in pounds

Café prices are Numbeo's Beirut figures, updated in October 2026 and quoted in US dollars.13 The coffee packet is the Ministry of Economy's average supermarket price on 1 September 2026, in Lebanese pounds, from a survey that used a rate of LL 89,700 to the dollar.12

Sources

  1. "مقهى الروضة" البيروتي يروي حكاية مدينة بين البحر والسياسة والثقافة, المجلة / Al Majalla (Rozette Fadel, updated August 26, 2025), accessed October 2026
  2. Beirut's Historic Hamra Street No Longer Cultural Epicenter, Al-Monitor (Nasser Chararah, June 12, 2013), accessed October 2026
  3. Walking Beirut's Transformed Neighborhoods, From Hamra to Gemmayzeh, New Lines Magazine (Nada Bakri, August 11, 2026), accessed October 2026
  4. The Specialty Coffee Map of Beirut, Lebanon Traveler (Carla Zaiter, May 18, 2026), accessed October 2026
  5. Lebanon power cuts turn cafes into co-working spaces, Kuwait Times (AFP, February 1, 2022), accessed October 2026
  6. Electricity in Lebanon: promises against cuts, Libnanews (September 9, 2026), accessed October 2026
  7. Lebanese coffee, Food Heritage Foundation, accessed October 2026
  8. Lebanese White Coffee Contains No Coffee At All. This Is What It's Made Of, Chowhound (Sarah Lintakoon, December 14, 2024), accessed October 2026
  9. Smoking ban enforced in Lebanon, The National (AFP, September 3, 2012), accessed October 2026
  10. What to do in Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhaël, Beirut's coolest neighbourhood, Time Out (November 21, 2019), accessed October 2026
  11. Tourism minister scraps dollar pricing at tourism establishments, mandates LBP approval, LBCI (January 23, 2026), accessed October 2026
  12. Weekly basket report, 1 September 2026 (التقرير الأسبوعي لأسعار السلة الغذائية), Lebanon Ministry of Economy and Trade, accessed October 2026
  13. Cost of Living in Beirut, Numbeo (updated October 24, 2026), accessed October 2026
  14. Beirut, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  15. Mar Mikhaël, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
FAQ

Cafés in Beirut: common questions

How much does a coffee cost in Beirut?

A regular cappuccino in a Beirut café cost US$2–7 in October 2026, about US$4.54 on average, and a small bottle of water US$0.50–1.50. A 200 g packet of ground coffee averaged LL 301,056 in Lebanese supermarkets on 1 September 2026, when the ministry survey used LL 89,700 to the dollar.

Which neighborhood of Beirut has the most cafés?

Hamra & Ras Beirut and Achrafieh have the most cafés, followed by Gemmayzeh. Hamra's cluster runs from Bliss Street by AUB to the side streets off Hamra Street; Achrafieh's are spread over the hill from Sodeco to Hôtel-Dieu.

Can you pay in dollars at cafés in Beirut?

Yes, at the official rate. Since a Tourism Ministry circular of 23 January 2026, tourism establishments in Beirut must have their price lists approved in Lebanese pounds and post the official exchange rate daily. Customers choose whether to pay in pounds or in US dollars at that rate.

Can you smoke argileh in Beirut cafés?

Not indoors. Since 3 September 2012 Lebanese law has banned smoking in all closed public spaces, coffee shops included. Argileh (the water pipe) is still part of Beirut café life outside, and Time Out suggested a coffee and an argileh on the stairways of Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhael.

Can you work on a laptop in Beirut cafés?

Yes. Public power in Lebanon averaged about four hours a day in July 2026, and since the power cuts of 2022 many people in Beirut work from cafés for light and stable Wi-Fi. Café Younes in Hamra built a study room with power sockets at every desk.

What is white coffee in Beirut?

White coffee, قهوة بيضاء, contains no coffee. It is boiled water scented with orange blossom water, offered in Beirut after a meal. Lebanese coffee itself is black and strong, poured from a long-handled rakweh into small cups and served with a glass of cold water.

For café owners

Run a café in Beirut?

Your free listing is probably already on this page. Claim it in two minutes, or turn it into a featured page in your own design, with photos, a menu and your own link.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design