If you’re visiting Beiteddine or Deir El Qamar in Shouf, then a lunch stop at Coara is a must.
Only 10 minutes away from Beiteddine, this family-owned farm-to-table vegan restaurant is a truly one of a kind!
T and I visited a few weeks back and had an excellent lunch prepared by a wonderful family.
The Setting & Vibes at Coara
You must pay a visit to Coara hidden in the mountains of Shouf away from the busy streets in Kfar Qatra village. The location is ideal for a relaxing lunch over the weekend in a picturesque setting with beautiful views over the horizon.
The owners, Walid and Maysoun Nasserdine, are amazing wonderful people who have been creating beautiful and unique vegan dishes for years dedicated to sustainability and Lebanese food heritage.
Coara also offers some of their homemade mouneh for sale as well as other local vegan-friendly products. Additionally, you can find some of their products at multiple health stores in Beirut too.
The Menu
At Coara, there’s no “a la carte” menu – it’s a set menu of their daily specials depending on the season and availability. The cost is 40 USD per person and it’s an open formula. So if you’re still hungry, you can ask for seconds and thirds of your favourite dishes! You won’t be though.
The Food
All dishes at Coara are 100% vegan, organic and homemade!
We started with olives, zaatar, and with whole-wheat Lebanese bread, paired with a molasses syrup drink, which was oh-so-refreshing.
We started with a colourful Tabbouleh.
Next, Baked Turmeric Quinoa Kebbe filled with nuts and seeds – these were one of my favourites!
Have you ever tried a Vegan Pizza? This one features almond cheese!
Then we had some grilled veggies with egg-free dairy-free mayo! I would prefer the “mayo” on the side as a dip – contrary to public preferences, I actually don’t need my vegetables drenched in mayo or sauce to eat them 😉
It was really a unique and interesting food experience to see our favourite Lebanese dishes such as Shawarma transform into a tasty non-meat version using seitan! The texture turned out surprisingly great and it tasted delicious, especially with their homemade tahini sauce.
Dish of the Day
The dish of the day was a creamy Lasagna with layers of zucchini and sautéed mushrooms, swimming in a sauce made from cashews. It was heavenly – and very filling!
We finished our lunch at Coara with vegan knefe and herbal tea.
Vegan Knefe?! Yup, vegan knefe.
The crumbled topping tastes exactly like the semolina crumble. The cheese part isn’t exactly “cheesy” and isn’t so elastic BUT the taste is there and I enjoyed it. I personally prefer cake for dessert though. Knefe is T’s thing. He liked it FYI.
Final Verdict?
I highly recommend you pay a visit to Coara next time you’re in the area. You can always plan a trip to Beiteddine, do some sightseeing and then come have lunch in this truly beautiful setting.
Trust me, you won’t miss the meat and cheese here.
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Coara Vegan Restaurant
Address: Kfar Qatra
Contact: +961-3-424290
For opening hours and more info, follow Coara Vegan Restaurant on Facebook / Instagram.
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Dear Christina,
Thank you for this wonderful post! A friend of mine who is in the food industry shared it with me and I happen to be from the Deir. I’m writing to you from California and, trust me, this restaurant you showcased would make many people here dream to be in the Deir.
Thanks for your blog,
Now I’m hungry and there’s nothing like what you showed us around 🙂
Naji
Hello Naji, that’s great news! I’m so glad you enjoyed my review, and now I think a trip to Lebanon is in order 😉