Mention La Crêperie to any Beiruiti and they get all misty-eyed. ‘Ah, La Crêperie,’ they coo, as anecdotes of first kisses, drunken nights and romantic dates ensue. The restaurant that brought crêpes, French-style seafood and Mediterranean dishes to Lebanon in the 1960s, is etched into the memory of every well-heeled local who remembers when Jounieh Bay, above which it sits, was known as the Monte Carlo of the East. Against all odds, La Crêperie survived civil war and civic unrest, until 2012 when it finally closed its doors. Now, after a multi-million dollar renovation it has re-opened under the aegis of entrepreneur Chafic El Khazen, whose great grandfather bought the building as a family villa in the 1800s. It’s now a National Heritage site and many original architecture features have been restored, while lush gardens tumble down the hillside to a lower level bar, built into cellars. With space for 500 guests, a pizza oven, an open-air rotisserie and a crêpe station, La Crêperie will once more be the place for raucous weddings, special anniversaries and teenage misdemeanours.
ADDRESS
Kaslik
Jounieh
Lebanon
-
Ramzi Mallat’s London Design Festival installation is a bittersweet ode to BeirutCreated as a memorial to the 2020 Beirut Port Blast, Mallat's ‘Not Your Martyr’ installation at the V&A (until 19 October 2025) is made of 260 colourful glass ma’amouls
-
Bocci and Anna Carnick join forces on a showcase of evocative design practices in Berlin'Crafting Community' is on view at Berlin's Wilhelm Hallen until 14 September 2025
-
The story behind a one-of-a-kind Dieter Rams handbag, reborn by German leather brand TsatsasA new exhibition at Vitsœ’s London store celebrates the ‘931’ bag, designed by Dieter Rams for his wife Ingeborg in 1963 and reborn over half a century later in a collaboration between Rams and German leather accessories brand Tsatsas
-
New members’ club Beihouse revives Beirut’s architectural heritageFollowing the devastating 2020 explosion, three 19th-century homes in Gemmayzeh become a social hub balancing cultural memory with contemporary luxury
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico -
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland -
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia -
KLoé Hotel — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -
Casa Hoyos — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico -
Littlenap — Hangzhou, China -
Casa Santa Teresa — Corsica, France
