Le Chef is a tiny, formica-tabled diner on Gouraud Street that has been serving Lebanese home cooking to Gemmayzeh's workers and writers for half a century. The menu is hand-written on the wall and changes daily — kibbeh in yoghurt, mlukhia, stuffed cabbage, lentil rice with caramelised onions.
Portions are huge, prices are tiny, and the food is honest. The owner Charbel was a fixture in his red apron until his death in 2021; the family kept the place running. Come for a quick, cheap, and entirely authentic lunch.