Cafeography
Beirut · Achrafieh

Cafés in Achrafieh

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

Photo: Hervé Piglowski, Pexels License

Achrafieh (الأشرفية) is the hill of east Beirut. Administratively it is a sector centered on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, but in everyday speech it covers the whole hill from Gemmayzeh in the north to Badaro in the south.1 Locals once called it al-jabal as-saghir, the little mountain, as if it were an outpost of Mount Lebanon on the coast, and Elias Khoury took the phrase for his 1989 novel of the war years.1

The name first appears for a suburb of Beirut in the early 1400s.1 Greek Orthodox merchant families moved up here from the crowded old city in the mid-19th century and built villas with large gardens overlooking the port, which is why the area keeps so much Ottoman and French Mandate architecture; in the early 2000s it became a focus of the city's real-estate boom.1 Its cafés are spread across the hill rather than lined up on one street.

Local tip: Buy a take-home packet of single-origin beans at Café Younes; it roasts and grinds its own coffee and has sold it since 1935.3

At a glance

19Cafés listed
2With opening hours
08:00Earliest opening
02:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Beruta Café, from 08:00 (Mon–Fri 08:00–19:00 · Sat 08:00–15:00).
  • Closes latest: Keif, until 02:00 (Daily 10:00–02:00).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (11%), open late (5%), vegetarian options (5%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Beirut.

Coffee chains in Achrafieh

Sursock Street and the museum

Sursock Street, with its old palatial villas, belongs strictly to the Rmeil quarter but has always been counted as Achrafieh by residents.1 The Sursock Museum fills a villa that Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock built in 1912 and left to the city when he died in 1952. From 1953 to 1957 it served as a presidential guesthouse for visiting heads of state, among them the Shah of Iran and King Faisal of Iraq, and it opened as a museum in 1961.2

An expansion raised its floor space from 1,500 to 8,500 m², adding a library, an auditorium, a shop and a restaurant, and the museum reopened on 8 October 2015.2 Al Mandaloun Café is a few minutes' walk west of it.

Sodeco and the western slope

Sodeco Square, and Tabaris Square with Abdel Wahab Street, are among the neighborhoods counted as Achrafieh, along with Karm el-Zeitoun, settled by Armenian refugees in the 1920s.1 Café Diem is in the Sodeco No. 8 building on Petro Trad Street. Coconix on Rue 51 has Wi-Fi, vegan dishes and brunch, and CaféSho and شبابيك (Shababeek) are close by.

Hôtel-Dieu, Sassine and the late tables

On the southern slope, Beruta Café on Rue Hôtel-Dieu opens Monday to Friday 08:00–19:00 and Saturday 08:00–15:00. "Notes" Cafe is on Adib Ishac Street, and Al Zaiim Cafe and Beit Byout are nearby.

Keif on Youssef Karam Street has Wi-Fi and serves daily 10:00–02:00, the latest hours on the hill. مقهى الأشرفية (Achrafieh Café) is on Alfred Naccache Street, and Noja Café, on the slope that drops toward Mar Mikhael, has outdoor tables.

Roasters and chains

Café Younes, founded in 1935, roasts and grinds its own coffee and has branches in Achrafieh and Sodeco as well as Hamra and Badaro.3 It sells single-origin coffee in take-home packets, with beans from Kenya, Guatemala and Sumatra among others.3 Starbucks and Urbanista also have branches on the hill.

Sources

  1. Achrafieh, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Sursock Museum, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. The Cosiest Cafés in Beirut for a Caffeine-Cradled Afternoon, Scene Traveller (Lana Mawlood, June 4, 2023), accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Beirut

Badaro

11 cafés

Gemmayzeh

13 cafés

Mar Mikhael

11 cafés

Downtown & Saifi

10 cafés

Hamra & Ras Beirut

28 cafés

Raouché & Manara

9 cafés

In Achrafieh, also browse: Wi-Fi Open late Outdoor seating

FAQ

Achrafieh cafés: questions

Which café in Achrafieh, Beirut, stays open latest?

Keif on Youssef Karam Street in Achrafieh serves daily 10:00–02:00 and has Wi-Fi. Beruta Café on Rue Hôtel-Dieu keeps daytime hours, Monday to Friday 08:00–19:00 and Saturday 08:00–15:00.

Where can you get a coffee near the Sursock Museum in Achrafieh, Beirut?

Al Mandaloun Café is a few minutes' walk west of the Sursock Museum in Achrafieh. The museum, in a villa built in 1912, opened in 1961 and reopened after an expansion on 8 October 2015.

Why is Achrafieh in Beirut called the little mountain?

Locals once called Achrafieh al-jabal as-saghir, the little mountain, as if the hill were an outpost of Mount Lebanon on the coast. Its center, Sassine Square, is the highest point in Beirut.

For café owners

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