Restaurants Near and Middle East cuisine Rhônes-Alpes

How beautiful the nights of Beirut are! This is what the "Layali Beyrouth" brand literally means, this Lebanese establishment's sweet name. Nights which are all the more beautiful that the room has just been renovated with a new Oriental-style decor and that you can always enjoy the pleasant terrace in the peaceful Rue du Dauphiné. Nights and days when you come to enjoy the cuisine of an experienced chef, a graduate of cooking in Lebanon and who has practised his talents for two years at the Crillon hotel, a reference. To miss nothing in all the delights of a traditional cuisine and a menu where you will find the classics (hommos, tabbouleh, moussaka, moutabbal...) and specialities, especially excellent raw meat made on order (kibbeh nayeh, habra nayeh, kafta nayeh, frakeh jnoubiyeh), you will, of course, be recommended the remarkable mezze which bring us all the happiness of the city of knowledge and pleasures. It is possible to order platters for groups, made according to everyone's desires. You can accompany the whole by a Lebanese wine (kefraya and ksara), before falling for the pleasures of homemade pastries (mouhalabieh, moughleh, osmaliyeh...). Adorable service to help us discover a country during a wonderful meal. Smart address.

An address that has taken some time to enter our guide, but we can no longer separate after having tasted. André Melkonyan offers us in his eponymous restaurant a cuisine with the Mediterranean flavours in a room tastefully decorated, where you can feel well at noon with work colleagues, and in the evening with your lover. Daily special carefully prepared in the well-presented dishes and the menu with oriental flavours, with a preference for Armenian cuisine that offers us excellent keuftés, slightly spicy meatballs, with a traditional bulgur. As a starter at €4.50: tabbouleh, vine leaves stuffed with rice and tarama, with an Azur plate that gathers all for €10. For the main course, we recommend a whole aubergine stuffed with meat and finally, the noodles or a famous Greek yoghurt with honey or confit violet petals... Simply adorable service for a really exotic address.

From Alep to Damas, the succeful trip to Syria is probably done in one of the only Lyon restaurants that offers many specialities of a very interesting country... But that's another story. With only forty seats, this little place is hosted by the owner who is also an artist and, after a hand-kissing to women at the entrance, is particularly available to explain all the dishes on the à la carte menu, how to eat them and in what order. With his expert advice, we can start with a famous tabbouleh with fresh mint or yabrak, stuffed vine leaves, unless you prefer the dish of the kalife to taste everything! Then, we will discover dajaj, chicken sautéed with sesame cream, beef with cherry or chicken skewers with lemon, without forgetting the nanaa kebab, beef with mint garnished with aubergine. And for dessert, we can finish with mamounieh, the dessert of the Arabian Nights. So we can leave happily after making a gastronomic discovery, at a very reasonable price.

And what if A89, free to L'Arbresle, brought us closer to Morocco more than Auvergne? ! Down this large city street heading for Clermont-Ferrand, you must let yourself be enchanted by this address run for many years by an outstanding Moroccan cook, the delicious and wonderful Aïcha. At Chem's 2, where it's easy to park your car, the many regulars join the visiting newcomers to share the same happiness. The summer terrace is among the most different - with a small lounge terrace with palm tree in front of Chem's 2, perfect for taking aperitif - a true invitation to take a well-deserved nap on the swinging chair after a meal of incredible generosity. Generosity, a character trait that applies to people - Aïcha in the kitchen, assisted by Valérie at the pizzas and the service - and dishes satisfying all appetites. Of course, the stars are called tagines, including an excellent lamb with prunes, toasted almonds and sweet semolina with cinnamon, and couscous. You should not fail to taste the various homemade pizzas, traditional or more personal compositions with an Orientale: mozzarella, merguez, peppers and onions, or seasonal dishes. In one of the perfectly-equipped rooms, on the terrace or at home (takeouts), Chem's 2 always offers a bunch of delicacies to treat the whole family. A particularly smart address.

The name Iskender comes from the Turkish translation of the first name Alexander. The Iskender, located near the prefecture, is a quality kebab. You will find not only the famous Anatolian sandwich, but also Turkish pizza, peyniri (peyniri or kiymali), guaranteed with a suitable seasoning. The Iskender, a minced meat served with yogurt and tomato sauce on a bed of pious bread, is of course the specialty of the eponymous house. All dishes are accompanied by rice and salads. As a dessert, the chef suggests his oven burning cream. Cheap and delicious to wish.