With another afternoon in Lebanon upon me, I set out to try some local favorites. Lebanese fast food, if you will. Join me as I try some Lebanese fast food in the town of Jounieh, Lebanon!
Jounieh is a coastal town roughly a 30-minute drive north of the capital, Beirut. My guide Armando and I would be exploring the old souk in town, trying some food, and seeing some attractions!
Our first stop was Malak Al Tawouk, a famous sandwich shop that has been around for 25 years. It was busy inside—there was a long line of customers. You can watch them make your sandwich through the windows.
The tawouk sandwich (or tawook) is a wrap that contains grilled chicken chunks, cole slaw, garlic paste, pickles, a red sauce, and French fries. I could also see them making hot dogs and burgers!
I got the medium tawouk. The cole slaw gave it a nice crunch, and the chicken chunks were juicy and tender. The fries added a nice, soft texture, and I loved the thin pita. There were so many flavors between the pickles and sauces!
I could see why tawouk sandwiches are the most popular fast food in Jounieh and across Lebanon. They would be great to eat late at night after parties!
Most of the shops in the center of town were closed as it was Sunday. There were lots of brick and sandstone buildings with commercial space on the lowest floor and residential space on top.
After wandering for a while, we made it to the beach, where we found some local fishermen fishing on the rocks! It’s beautiful!
From there, we drove five minutes to Teleferique, a funicular that would take us up to a popular local attraction. It cost 8,000 Lebanese pounds (LBP)/$5.36 USD to park and another 25,000 LBP/$16.74 USD for a round-trip ticket.
The funicular was small—only big enough to seat two people. The views as we rode up, between the buildings. We were riding up to about 500 meters above sea level.
It only took about 5 minutes to Harissa, a municipality at the very top. There, you’ll find the walking path to Our Lady of Lebanon! The views over the town were stunning just before sunset!
Our Lady of Lebanon is 8.5 meters high and 5 meters wide. It’s made of bronze but it’s painted white to look like stone. We couldn’t go up to the top because of COVID, but we could go into the chapel. Remember to be quiet and respectful inside!
The views from there are a true spectacle, though! There’s also a place where you can buy and light candles. There’s also a basilica and another funicular you can ride on a track back down to the funicular.
There were hundreds of people in line to head back down since it was so late in the day. Seeing Jounieh at sunset was so gorgeous and magical.
What an amazing afternoon exploring the country’s most popular fast food in Jounieh, Lebanon!
Counter
101 Countries • 1432 Cities
