Beihouse Leads Lebanon at MENA’s 50 Best 2026 as Beirut Places Three Restaurants
The Pasteur Street restaurant debuted at No. 5 and won the Highest New Entry award; Em Sherif ranked 13th and Buco 39th, all in Beirut.
Beirut had three restaurants on the 2026 list of MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants, led by Beihouse at No. 5. It was both the list’s Highest New Entry and named Best Restaurant in Lebanon, according to the50.com. Em Sherif ranked No. 13 and Buco No. 39. The list was announced at a ceremony at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental in Abu Dhabi on 3 February, as our report on the ranking covers.
Three houses and a courtyard
Beihouse stands on Pasteur Street in Gemmayzeh, in three restored 19th-century Lebanese houses around a courtyard with a centuries-old olive tree. The 50 Best listing says the design mixes Gothic architecture with modern glasswork. The restaurant’s own site says the houses face the port, that the design is by Linda Boronkay Design Studio with Dagher Hanna & Partners, and that the project emerged from the damage of the August 2020 Beirut explosion. Its spaces include a dining room, a living-room lounge, an art studio, a rooftop for private events and suites.
The cooking
Chef Tarek Alameddine was raised in Aitat, in Lebanon, trained at Les Roches and the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts in Jordan, and spent six and a half years as sous chef at Noma in Copenhagen, according to the 50 Best listing and Beihouse’s own site. His menus rest on fermentation, preservation and the reworking of familiar Lebanese flavours. The listing names a flaky steak inspired by shawarma, seared medium rare and served with dehydrated onion and parsley, pomegranate molasses gel and caramelised tahini, alongside lentils cooked in brown butter and chouquettes seasoned with za’atar.
L’Orient Today reported in November 2025 that Alameddine became the first Lebanese chef to receive the “One Knife” at the Best Chef Awards 2025. It said he runs Beihouse and Buco as both chef and co-founder.
The other two
Em Sherif, at No. 13, is led by executive chef Yasmina Hayek and is described by Lebanon Traveler as Lebanese fine dining with generous set menus and a signature dish that changes daily. Buco, at No. 39, is a gastro-bar known for burgers that launched in late 2023. Lebanon Traveler said the three restaurants together show the range of Lebanese food, from contemporary reinterpretation to upscale comfort food and classic dishes.
Em Sherif is also growing. Hospitality News Magazine reported in April that the brand planned Em Sherif Burger, its first burger concept anywhere, at Starco in downtown Beirut, and a 3,500-square-metre destination in Dbayeh due to open in summer 2026. We found no report that either has opened. For the trade side of Beirut’s dining scene, see our preview of HORECA Lebanon.
Sources & fact-check8
- Beihouse (listing, No. 5)MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants (the50.com), 2026
- Highest New Entry Award 2026: BeihouseMENA’s 50 Best Restaurants (the50.com), 2026
- Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026: the list revealedMENA’s 50 Best Restaurants (the50.com), 30 January 2026
- MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 winners listThe National, 3 February 2026
- MENA’s 50 Best awards three restaurants in BeirutLebanon Traveler, 5 February 2026
- Beihouse: home page and Our StoryBeihouse, 2026
- Tarek Alameddine, first Lebanese person to win Best Chef AwardL’Orient Today, 18 November 2025
- Em Sherif enters a new expansion phase in LebanonHospitality News Magazine, 1 April 2026
Every name, number and date in this story was checked against the sources above before publication. Spotted something wrong? Tell us — we correct errors openly. See our editorial standards.
