Joulia — Restaurant in Achrafieh

Definitely a 5 stars experience!

Joulia is a serene mountain retreat in the heart of the loudest city. This place, without exageration, will be on my "Back Home" itinerary every single visit.

I'll start with the food, we ordered the owner's recommendation: "boulettes aux cerises": Kebbé has the perfect thickness to make it a bit crunchy yet not dry at all. The cherry sauce brings in the punch you need for a starter. "Joulia et ses copines": we had some "clochettes" filled with an Armenian spices based sauce, I never tasted something similar, it's a full-bodied buttery thing that I can't describe further, cause I didn't understand it (in a positive way). "Salade Joulia": la simplicité de nos montagnes fait la beauté. "Teblé": very fresh, mad2ou2a mazbout 👌 I only regret not ordering 2 plates instead of 1. "Kebbé mamdoudé aux ognions & pignons": encore une fois, la simplicité! An authentic Kebbé dish, kept as simple as it is, with the amount of onions that you'd always wish your mom adds to Kebbé bl Saynié. My only take is that the Kebbé layer can be less thick, to keep the flufiness noticeable. Sweets: I got a customized dessert (big shoutout to the friendly team), a simple Lebanese cake with cotton candy, roses, and sorbet on the side. BEST HOMEMADE CAKE EVER. (PS: I'm not a dessert person, yet I was impressed).

I want to really thank the team there for their great service, because that also makes a big difference when you visit a place for the 1st time. The staff are super friendly, clean and professional. The owner is remarkably hospitable, he explained every dish attentively, and made sure we order the best combination to make our experience really special and worth it. For me, that differentiates Joulia from other trendy places: it's not a commercial restaurant!

The ambiance is really nice, the place is not so big, and the decor is heart filling: granite tables, Teta's dentelles, flowers and blue windows. It's simply a gem!

Last but not least, if I want to describe Joulia in one sentence: elevating the harsh rural traditional mountain food to the level of elegant fine...

Joulia is a very interesting and charming restaurant in the heart of Achrafieh, serving all kind and unique Kebbeh recipies, along with a wide range of delicious salads and classic mezze dishes!

Their Kebbeh Nayyé is outstanding, the hommos is good, the kebbeh zghartawiyyé is amazing and their salads are refreshing.

We tried their kebbeh mamdoudé, classic kebbeh bil saniyyé, Kebbeh with Fetta, kebbeh with onions, that were all good but a bit too rich and greasy to my taste, nothing close to a good home made simple kebbeh. There is too much berghol in their kebbeh, and some of them had that strong smokey smell.

Their french fries were terrible, not freshly home made, the worst kind of frozen with no taste at all. We did not like their Laban Iran, that tasted acidic and weird. We asked the waiter about it, she assured us that it was cow laban, but found out at the end that it was sheep laban, hence the pronounced taste.

The service was extremely slow, with only 5 full tables. The staff is professional but not very friendly and smiling.

I was expecting more from Joulia, not sure if i will be coming back anytime soon. There is a lot of room for improvement.

Joulia is well recommended for anyone who wants to discover kebbeh dishes in all...

I’d been curious to try this place for a while, but with a few similar spots around, I just never got around to it, until now! The space is beautifully done; warm, cozy, and tastefully designed. The staff were lovely and welcoming, even though there were just two handling the lunch shift. I came with one mission: kebbe. So I went all in, trying a few different types (minus the nayeh). I also ordered the newly added rocket, feta, fig, and walnut salad which turned out to be a real highlight. Super fresh, flavorful, and nicely balanced. The mouhamara, hummus, and tzatziki joined the table too. Now let’s talk kebbe. I have to say... it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The meat flavor was too faint, and while the burghol wasn’t overwhelming, the overall taste felt underwhelming. It just lacked that satisfying depth I was hoping for. The tzatziki was also a bit too thick for my taste and oddly, no dill, which I missed. In short: great vibes, lovely team, decent food but for what we paid, I think we were expecting a more memorable kebbe experience. Still, happy I...