Varouj is probably one of the best places I’ve lately discovered in Beirut. It’s a small restaurant hidden in Bourj Hammoud’s maze of streets and serves some really good traditional Armenian food.
The minute you step inside the place and get greeted by the owner who’s a relatively old man, you’ll be surprised by his character as he acts more like a dictator running his restaurant! But he’s not rude though.
There’s no menu for ordering there and the old man will just ignore you if you ask for it. Shortly after you get seated he’ll just come to your table and quickly list to you the available hot and cold dishes. We ordered Hommos, Fattoush, batata Harra, Mouhammara, Sou Boreg, Soujouk, Chicken Wings, Manti, and soft drinks, and although we tried to tell him which plates to bring first and which to delay a bit, he again ignored our request and decided to bring them as he pleases but didn’t disappoint us since he was serving us 2 dishes at a time that go really well together.
The food was so delicious that we wiped clean the dishes we ordered, all of them, and the old man was smiling every time he notices we finished a plate till the last bit.
Price wise, I have absolutely no idea how the pricing works there! We were not given a bill when we asked for it, he just immediately answered us “90,000 L.L”. That’s it all the 8 plates we ordered for exactly 90,000L.L, which is way cheaper that other Armenian restaurants like Mayass or Mayrig.
Varouj is TOTALLY recommended as the food is heavenly good, especially the Manti and chicken wings, next time I’m planning to try their little birds, frogs, and chicken liver. If you’re tempted to try it make sure you reserve beforehand as it only has 4 tables and always seems to be busy, their phone number is 03-882933.
I’m sorry I was unable to locate Varouj on Google Maps to show you where it is, so I appreciate if anyone can provide me with the coordinates to post a map of it. Here’s a map showing where Varouj is. Thanks to Roupen.
this sounds like a rip-off. no thanks.
Rip-off? How much will the same order cost at another place?
Were the plate portions big?
He doesn’t seem to have standard portion size, he serves depending on the number of people on the table. The portions we got were enough for the 4 of us.
I’ll go there and order the same stuff you ordered. How much do you think I will be charged? 😛
Hahah! I hope it doesn’t depend on the old man’s mood!
Here you go:
http://g.co/maps/2whhs
Thank you Roupen!
I’ve been to this place around 6 times so far. It’s the best armenian food I’ve had locally. As you said no menu no nothing, you just have to trust the guy, and he usually has pretty good instinct. As for the portion, you will never leave hungry. However, with regards to pricing, it fluctuates mostly if you have drinks. If you don’t, it won’t fluctuate as much. Highly recommended!
You should definitely try Onno restaurant in Bourj Hammoud.
Already set to do so, several people have been recommending it since I published this post!
yes rip-off. I don’t care about other places (where the setting & treatment you get are surely different). we’re dealing with this place in particular. I want to know what I’m paying for and not depend on the “old man’s mood” as you describe it.
True, it’s our right to know what we’re paying for, it’s even against the law not to display your menu to the customers. Still, people walk out of the restaurant feeling happy and not ripped off, at least we did.