Dragonfly

Address: Gouraud Str, Gemmayzeh, Beirut, Lebanon
Style: Lounge bar

Review

Next door to Torino Express on the downtown end of Gemmayzeh/Gouraud Street, this stylish, contemporary lounge space is beautifully done. The infusions in the shop window and the fresh herbs and limes on the bar present a promise of good drinks which the menu and the staff proceed to deliver.

Previously a bakery, the barrel-vaulted ceilings of the nineteenth-century building, make this an atmospheric little place, with a music policy refreshingly free of the standard Beiruti dance-pop: late at night, they'll even play the late, great Egyptian diva Umm Kulthum.

The detailed and appealing cocktail menu features plenty of classics along with concoctions of fresh fruit and herbs: we very much enjoyed a Gin and Basil Smash.

Dragonfly is a place to settle into an armchair or a booth with friends and work your way through the menu at leisure, and, as a neighbourhood lounge, could hold its own in many European cities.