Tawlet

Stop eating. Keep it that way for the next 24hrs. Are you on the verge of collapsing? Now go to Tawlet. Originally a part of Souk el Tayeb, an organisation that promotes Lebanon's independent farmers and producers, Tawlet has evolved into a restaurant in in itself. The concept is in the same spirit as the Souk. There is no menu: just a daily smorgasbord of traditional Lebanese dishes prepared by farmers from all over the country, who rotate throughout the week. There's only one option: an all-you-can-eat buffet, which comes in at LL40,000 per diner.

Community is the watchword. There's no intimate dining experience here: you help yourself to the food then plonk yourself down at one of the large communal tables. The sheer variety of lovingly prepared dishes is enough to fire up the most sated stomach, but our advice is to take it easy, and attack the buffet a few small portions at a time. The cooks are on hand to give some context: the genesis of the recipe where the ingredients are sourced, which markets to head to if you want more. The mission is as much pedagogical as gastronomic, and it's no surprise that Tawlet offers cooking classes on the side.