[5 October 2026] Maison Libanaise’s next chapter begins on 6 October as a Lebanese restaurant and wine bar inspired by the elegant homes, tree-lined streets and cosmopolitan character of Beirut's Achrafieh neighbourhood. Set across three floors of one of Central's few remaining tong lau-style walk-ups, this evolution is a more confident and complete expression of Maison Libanaise. Today, the spirit of the house is shaped by the Lebanese women who nurtured Head Chef Teya Mikhael growing up; women of conviction, style and instinctive generosity, whose fridges were always full of good things and whose tables always had room for one more.
[5 October 2026] Maison Libanaise’s next chapter begins on 6 October as a Lebanese restaurant and wine bar inspired by the elegant homes, tree-lined streets and cosmopolitan character of Beirut's Achrafieh neighbourhood. Set across three floors of one of Central's few remaining tong lau-style walk-ups, this evolution is a more confident and complete expression of Maison Libanaise. Today, the spirit of the house is shaped by the Lebanese women who nurtured Head Chef Teya Mikhael growing up; women of conviction, style and instinctive generosity, whose fridges were always full of good things and whose tables always had room for one more.
Three Floors, Three Rhythms
The ground floor is the Lebanese wine & mezze bar: the liveliest room in the house open to the Mid-Levels elevator. For the many people passing on their way home, it is a place to step off the commute for a bottle, a few plates and a catch-up. Home to Hong Kong's largest selection of Lebanese wines, the list reaches from the Bekaa Valley to producers across the country, with a generous choice by the glass alongside bottles for the table. Chilled arak ($88) is served the Lebanese way; spirit first, then water, then ice, turning milky white in the glass as mezze begins to land around the table's tawle (backgammon) board.
On the first floor the restaurant evokes the dining room of a beautiful Achrafieh apartment. Elegant without becoming formal, the room has the warmth and unhurried intimacy of a Beirut home at mealtime, where tables are laden with food and glasses are replenished without hesitation.
At the top of the house, the rooftop terrace is a rare open-air oasis in the heart of the city inspired by Beirut's rooftop culture. It is a setting for groups, private celebrations and the easy pleasure of sharing a meal under the open sky. Breezy lunches become late afternoons. Relaxed sunset drinks gather momentum. Dinners stretch into late night.
The Food and the Gathering
Chef Teya Mikhael helms the kitchen of Maison Libanaise with a menu rooted in the recipes, techniques and memories of her Lebanese upbringing. The result is deeply satisfying Lebanese food: layered, full of flavour and made, above all, to be shared.
The charcoal grill is at the heart of Maison Libanaise. Farrouj al Fahem ($548) is local three-yellow chicken brined and marinated with onion, tomato and spices, then grilled until juicy and burnished at the edges. Kabse Short Rib ($688) brings the tender richness of beef balanced by tahini, Lebanese pickles and warm bread. In Lebanon, the grill is never simply about the meat. It is the beginning of a table built around it; bread, herbs, onions, pickles, dips and the people gathered to share them.
Saj bread arrives hot and ready to wrap smoky meat from the grill, scoop creamy dips and gather up the bright herbs, sharp pickles and last juices from the plate. In Lebanon, bread is as essential as cutlery, a shared ritual that brings people together. At Maison Libanaise, Chef Teya is especially proud to introduce this tradition to Hong Kong with the presence of a saj griddle at full view in the dining room. Reinforcing the role of bread at the heard of the table, it allows guests to watch each piece of bread being made fresh to order and offers a glimpse into a cherished part of Lebanese culinary culture.
Around the bread come the flavours that give the Lebanese table its contrast. Hummus ($118), Falafel ($118), Smoked Labneh ($128) and Tabbouleh ($128) cut through the richness of the grill. Sharp Lebanese pickles and lemony Fattoush ($148) keep each bite fresh. The menu is focused, but the table is full of contrast: raw and charred, creamy and crisp, rich and acidic, warm from spices and cool with herbs. Hummus Araydis ($148) is topped with crisp baby prawns and shallots. Kibbeh Nayyeh ($168) is finely hand-chopped raw beef seasoned with bulgur, olive oil and kamouneh spices, recalling the Sunday lunches Chef Teya grew up with.
If there is room for just one dessert, Chef Teya would make it Riz bel Halib ($118), a rice pudding fragrant with orange blossom and one of the menu's most personal dishes. Simple, comforting and nostalgic, it recalls the cooking of mothers and grandmothers across Lebanon but also across cultures.
Wine, Arak and Fresh Juices
The drinks programme at Maison Libanaise is rooted in Lebanese identity, with wine at its centre. The cellar offers Hong Kong's most extensive selection of Lebanese wines, bringing together established estates, emerging producers and bottles from across the country. Château Ksara and Château Musar lead the list, with an extensive by-the-glass selection inviting guests to explore, while older vintages and cellar selections offer a deeper look at Lebanon's long and evolving winemaking culture.
Arak, Lebanon's distinctive aniseed spirit, is served as a drink of the table, alongside Lebanese beer and cocktails shaped by citrus, herbs and spice.
Fresh juices take their cue from the street vendors found across Beirut, where they are made to order and enjoyed throughout the day. A staple at every Lebanese table, they help create an authentic dining experience alongside the mezze, the grills and warm hospitality.
Rooted in Tradition
Lebanese food has always been a language of generosity, made to be passed across the table and shared among friends. That spirit shaped the restaurant's evolution, with Mikhael inviting Lebanese chef, award-winning cookbook author and founding member of Slow Food Beirut, Barbara Abdeni Massaad, into the conversation around the new menu.
Barbara Abdeni Massaad comments: "Tradition is not something we preserve behind glass; it lives in the way we cook, the way we welcome people and the way every home gives a familiar dish its own character. Chef Teya's menu understands that Lebanese food is rooted in the past but always alive in the present. It is the kind of food that nourishes right to your soul."
For Chef Teya Mikhael, Maison Libanaise is the fullest expression yet of the way she cooks. "Lebanese food deserves to be understood for what it is, one of the world's great table cuisines, generous, layered, full of colour and made for sharing and connection. Cooking has always been how I gather my loved ones and how I share the Lebanon I know best. I am proud to cook the dishes I grew up with and I hope people love them as much as I do, but more than anything, I hope people leave Maison Libanaise feeling that there is always a place for them at our table."
Throughout Maison Libanaise, designer Melissa Collison has drawn on the beauty and character of Lebanese residential life. Grand proportions, graceful arches, warm stone and collected art create spaces that feel both bold and feminine. Historic Lebanese references sit comfortably beside contemporary furniture and artwork, resulting in a house that feels layered and lived in rather than a recreation of the past: personal, composed and designed for people to stay awhile.