Aaliya's
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Smoke-free indoors
- Laptop work
Beirut · Gemmayzeh
Cafés in Gemmayzeh
Rue Gouraud's old houses, Aaliya's Books, Sip's courtyard and the St Nicholas Stairs up toward Sursock.
Photo: Nemika F, Pexels License
Rue Gouraud (شارع غورو), named for the French general Henri Gouraud, is the spine of Gemmayzeh (الجميزة): narrow streets and French-era buildings running east of Saifi Village toward the Beirut River.1 In 2004 Travel + Leisure called it "SoHo by the Sea" for its cafés set among 1950s apartment blocks and hole-in-the-wall shops.1
Its second life began in the mid-2000s, when bars, restaurants and cafés moved into heritage ground floors. The port explosion of 4 August 2020 shattered the street, and volunteers, heritage groups, embassies, NGOs and owners restored it.2 With Badaro, it counts as one of Beirut's bohemian quarters, and most of its bars, cafés and restaurants sit directly on Rue Gouraud.1
Local tip: Climb the St Nicholas Stairs from Rue Gouraud to Rue Sursock and stop for a coffee on the steps on the way up.5
At a glance
13Cafés listed
0With opening hours
–Earliest opening
–Latest closing
- Most common features: laptop work (15%), specialty (15%), wi-fi (8%).
دار بيروت
Dar Beirut
- Partial wheelchair access
Bn Coffee Bar
- Specialty
Coffeetastic
Coin Perdu
Cuentista
Em Nazih Achrafieh
Ginette Beirut
Hachichit Albé Tea House
Levant
Moon's
Sip
- Specialty
- Laptop work
The Blue House
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Coffee on Rue Gouraud
Sip, on Gouraud Street, pours specialty coffee in a room of stone walls with a leafy terrace.3 A 2025 guide to remote work in Beirut picked its shaded patio as a quiet place to work.4 Bn Coffee Bar, which Time Out called easy to miss, is a compact, modern bar with a rotating selection of beans from around the world.53
At the western end, دار بيروت (Dar Beirut) is on Gemmayzeh Street, with Levant and Hachichit Albé Tea House a few doors along. Ginette Beirut and Moon's are midway down the street, and The Blue House is next to Aaliya's. Latte Art and Urbanista also have branches in Gemmayzeh.
Aaliya's Books
Aaliya's Books, at No. 497 Rue Gouraud, is named after Aaliya Saleh, the central character of Rabih Alameddine's novel An Unnecessary Woman, a recluse who lives with her books while the civil war goes on outside.6 It sells new and used books, runs a literary bar, and hosts discussions, open singing and theater workshops.7
When AFP visited in 2022, power cuts at home lasted up to 23 hours a day, and the manager said the place felt more like a co-working space on weekdays, with some customers staying all day.6 It has Wi-Fi and outdoor seats and is smoke-free.
The St Nicholas Stairs and the climb to Sursock
The St Nicholas Stairs, also called the Escalier de l'Art, rise from beside Rue Gouraud to Rue Sursock and host art festivals every year.1 Time Out's advice was to sit on the steps with a coffee or a cocktail and an argileh, then walk up past shops and cafés to the Sursock Museum.5
Accaoui, the hill that leads from Gemmayzeh up to the Sursock neighborhood, is counted as part of Achrafieh.8 Coin Perdu is up that slope, south of Rue Gouraud. Cuentista and Coffeetastic are at the eastern end of the street, and Em Nazih is just north of it.
Sources
- Rue Gouraud, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Walking Beirut's Transformed Neighborhoods, From Hamra to Gemmayzeh, New Lines Magazine (Nada Bakri, August 11, 2026), accessed October 2026
- The Specialty Coffee Map of Beirut, Lebanon Traveler (Carla Zaiter, May 18, 2026), accessed October 2026
- Escape the Office: Best Places to Work Remotely in Beirut, Lebanon Traveler (Carla Zaiter, July 17, 2025), accessed October 2026
- What to do in Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhaël, Beirut's coolest neighbourhood, Time Out (November 21, 2019), accessed October 2026
- Lebanon power cuts turn cafes into co-working spaces, Kuwait Times (AFP, February 1, 2022), accessed October 2026
- 5 Amazing Beirut Bookshops You Can Escape to, Lebanon Traveler (March 15, 2022), accessed October 2026
- Achrafieh, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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FAQ
Gemmayzeh cafés: questions
Which cafés on Rue Gouraud in Gemmayzeh, Beirut, are good for working?
Sip on Gouraud Street in Gemmayzeh has a shaded patio that a 2025 Beirut remote-work guide recommended. Aaliya's Books at No. 497 has Wi-Fi, and in 2022 its manager said it felt like a co-working space on weekdays, with some customers staying all day.
What is Aaliya's Books in Gemmayzeh, Beirut?
Aaliya's Books on Rue Gouraud in Gemmayzeh is a bookshop with a café and literary bar, selling new and used books and hosting discussions and workshops. It is named after the narrator of Rabih Alameddine's novel An Unnecessary Woman. It has Wi-Fi and outdoor seats and is smoke-free.
How do you walk to Gemmayzeh from downtown Beirut?
Head east from downtown Beirut on foot, using the Beirut Souks and the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque as landmarks, and you reach Rue Gouraud in Gemmayzeh. Public transport is hard to use; a shared taxi cost under US$2 a person in 2019.
For café owners
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