Beirut | Obarrio — Restaurant in Bella Vista

If you’re looking for a delightful dining experience in Panama City, Beirut is a charming gem that should be on your radar. Nestled in a vibrant locale, this Middle Eastern restaurant offers a unique atmosphere whether you choose to dine inside or on their inviting patio. Our recent visit took place on a Saturday night, and Beirut truly knows how to bring a lively ambiance to the table.

As soon as we arrived, we were immersed in an enchanting evening. The restaurant featured a live singer who set the mood perfectly, complemented by two talented belly dancers who performed gracefully. It was a wonderful surprise that kept us entertained during our visit.

Although we opted for takeout this time, the experience was still enjoyable. While our order was being prepared, the staff kindly offered us some delicious tea, adding a touch of warmth to our wait. Surprisingly, our wait was only about 10 minutes, but it felt much shorter as we were captivated by the enchanting performances.

We come from the shawarma capital of Canada, so we have high expectations when it comes to this beloved dish. Unfortunately, our experience at Beirut fell a bit short in this regard. The shawarma and chicken platter we ordered lacked the bold flavors we were anticipating, which was a little disappointing. However, we understand that every restaurant can have an off day, and we are hopeful that our next visit will offer a better representation of Beirut's culinary prowess.

Overall, Beirut is a must-visit if you’re in Panama City, especially for its charming atmosphere and engaging entertainment. While we may have been let down by the flavor profile of the dishes this time, the welcoming vibe and delightful performance definitely made the evening memorable. We look forward to returning and sampling more of their menu with hopes of finding a shawarma that truly excites...

I came because a friend had never tried Arabic food before. They had complimentary valet parking (I tipped $2), which was perfect since the restaurant was on a busy corner. That said, we came on a Saturday at 3pm so there was a nice calm to our meal without an overcrowded restaurant. I ordered 1 order of "hojas de uva," which is grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat, hummus with lamb that had pita bread with it, a Lebanese salad that looked like a normal salad except that it had a mint vinegrette, and one order of beef shawarma on a plate with patacones. The bill with 2 sodas was $60 including tip and we couldn't finish the beef shawarma. The service was fast and attentive. In fact a little strange since the waiter just stood in the center of his service area close to our table, trying to look inconspicuous while looking for something to take away or refill. My favorite was the hojas de uva and his favorite was the hummus. Next time instead of ordering the beef shawarma, I'd rather try one of the kebabs. The only part to mention is that when I went to the ladies' room, the toilets were not flushing and one toilet was left filled with poop and another was very unclean with urine splashed all over it. But there was water for handwashing, so I do not really understand why it was in such a state. The cleanliness of the bathroom was an unpleasant surprise after having eaten such a nice meal. The end of the meal included complimentary black tea (Lipton?) and a flan-like dessert. This was a nice ending. Fyi it is unannounced. They just bring it. I would go again for the hummus and hojas de uva, but my partner decided Arabic food was good but not...

Huge and beautiful restaurant. It wasn't too busy when we arrived but it picked up pretty quickly.

We ordered the hummus, falafel, and chicken shawarma with 1 beer. Beer came out with no glass, someone else's hummus and falafel were accidentally delivered to our table, and chicken shawarma didn't show up until the very end of our meal.

Hummus wasn't anything to rave about. It was quite thick and I could barely taste the garbanzo beans, kind of had a chocolatey flavor. The tasty puffy pita bread that was delivered with the hummus had a surprise charge of $1 per person which we did not know about until we got the bill. Falafel was over fried and dry. It was impossible to cut without pieces flying off the plate. Shawarma was the most delicious part of our dinner but it didn't show up until we had finished all the hummus, bread, and falafel and were pretty full by then. We were so disappointed with the first 2 dishes that we were hoping they had forgotten the shawarma. We did get complimentary after-dinner tea which was a tasty and pleasant surprise.

Music (a bit loud for my ears) and dancing entertainment were entertaining and beautiful to watch.

There was a bit of a mix up with the bill (had to revise due to extra charges, also no pen to indicate tip) and it took a while for the waitress to take payment (walked by 2x, glancing at the bill both times but not stopping).

Again, they were very busy, resulting in a chaotic atmosphere: male server running around directing the others, plate stands falling over every few minutes, dancers weaving around the tables... It tasted and felt like a 3-star...