Prelude:
There was an italian food lover back in the 1920’s who married a woman that came from a family famous for their good taste and restaurateur-ship. The couple had their first child in 1959. Soon afterwards the husband decided to open up a restaurant as a gift to his wife, and they named it Margherita. Their child grew up and inherited his Mom’s good taste and passion for cooking. Almost 50 years later this child opened up his own Margherita restaurant in Gemayze, Lebanon.
Review:
I thought the story was worth mentioning, it’s a nice one.
Anyway, We went to this restaurant when we were in Lebanon 2 weeks ago, during Ramadan, but unfortunately when we got there we discovered that they don’t serve anything but pizza till 8pm. Me and my friends were fasting, and while we would’ve loved having a pizza as a side dish or a starter, there was no way on earth we’re going to settle for pizza as a main dish, after all we were fasting and unbelievably hungry from the long day we spent in beirut. So, as my friends were preparing to leave the place, I couldn’t resist ordering a pizza to go. I just had to taste it, coz I heard some pretty nice things about their pizzas (and yeah the place smelled heavenly. It was killing me). And believe you me when I say that this is the best pizza that I have every tried! The dough is so crispy at the edges, and then sooo thin in the middle that it is impossible to lift with one hand, you’d have to lift with both hands to support the middle section. The tomato sauce, cheese (mozzarella. I asked for their best pizza and they recommended the Margherita pizza with mozzarella slices.) along with whatever spices they put in there, all were exceptionally tasty and full of flavor.
The restaurant is pretty small and cozy, with a big pizza oven in the middle of the place. Also the staff were very friendly and welcoming (except for when I asked to take some pictures).
You’ve got to try this place out. Highly recommended.
I recently recommended it to a friend of mine who’s going to Lebnan for Eid inshalla. LOVED IT when I went. Ya3ni agrab shay fil Mid East to the Harrods Pizza which is my fave pizza in the world. It’s too bad you guys didn’t stay and try it because it’s totally worth having as a main meal.
when ur hungry ,anything will taste good 🙂
Yummy! I can smell it all the way from here!
You can make a great pizza Margherita, Yousef. A couple secrets – get a pizza stone. Mine is from Pampered Chef, but you can find them sometimes in specialty shops – thin, ceramic stones that you preheat in the oven and when you bake your thin crust pizza on them, they come out crispy and delicious.
Grow a big pot of basil (basil loves hot climates) and pull your own leaves off to place on the pizza. Fresh basil leaves make a huge difference.
A little tomato pesto also gives a Margherita some zing / intensity. 🙂 One of my sisters and I add anchovies, but then it is not really a Margherita anymore.
looks yummy ..
1001Nights: I totally respect your opinion but i think Harrods pizzeria is over-rated .. It’s tasty, but not THAT tasty ..
I think that pizza rustica in Kuwait is better than that of Harrods (my opinion though) .. try the one with goat cheese and the other with sun dried tomato and veg (forgot the name) .. sooo good
the best pizza I ever tasted was in Napoli, Italia .. something out of this world!
looks soooooo delicious