Barbar is the Hamra institution that never closes. Open 24 hours, it serves shawarma, falafel, manakish, grilled meats, fresh juices and Beirut's best post-midnight food, all at rock-bottom prices. The counters spill across several units of the same block; you order at one and pick up at another.
The chicken shawarma sandwich, the fattouch, and the mixed grills are the standards. At 3 AM after a night in Gemmayzeh, the queue is half club kids and half cab drivers. Cheap, cheerful, and entirely Beirut.