Amigz et Fernand

Resto-Pub à la Libanaise in the Heart of Minot

Fruit and vegetable sellers set up stands next to tea houses, hair salons, sweet shops and small boutiques in old Mina, Tripoli’s port district during day time.

After dark, bars and small restaurants open along Minot (an adaptation of Monot, where Beirut’s nightlife resurrected after the civil war) Mina’s main drag, a narrow alley, which also features a gym in a former cinema, the Hollywood. 

One of the latest additions is Amigz et Ferdinand, a “resto-pub”, which serves good local specialities and makes highly creative use of local ingredients.

Run by the dynamic Amigo, a Tripolitan, who opened the establishment in an old traditional stone edifice in autumn 2015, it aims to spice up Tripolitan nightlife: “I want to offer Tripolitans something new and outside of the box,” Amigo explained his motivation.

Not that long ago, Amigo said that there was nothing special about Tripoli’s nightlife and people were okay to just go out to have dinner or coffee and so on. “Tripolitans are not used to having a drink or two or party in Tripoli so that’s why they go either to Batroun or Byblos.”

“So the city gained this reputation as being lame and boring. Then Timmy’s Resto/Pub started off well at the same time the ‘situation’ in Tebbeneh was going on,” he observed.

“Now that the conflict has ended, nightlife in Tripoli is back on track. You also have a number of pubs, for example Cava, Mike's, Savana’s and Jacky's and we are all in Minot, an alley located inside old Mina that has hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, and pubs and is magical and unique because of its old historical architecture. So I see no excuse to not establish nightlife in Tripoli and get Tripoli to blossom again. It starts with us!”  

The food Amigz et Fernand (Fernand is a good friend of Amigo’s who believed in Amigo’s undertaking) serves is tasty, good value for money and comes with insightful explanations for non-locals. The bar serves drinks with fresh fruits and veggies and uses oils and herbal ingredients instead of syrups.

For people that don’t drink alcohol Amigz et Fernand has fresh virgin cocktails made with herbs or hot pitchers on offer.

The venue showcases underground music on Saturdays. “My clients are happy that I have a wide collection of a musical taste that includes House music and fusion, blues and jazz, lounge music, hip hop and RnB and more,” Amigo’s said.

When he is not taking care of his patrons, Amigo loves to spend time in Hamra. “My favourite place in Tripoli is Mina but all in all I don’t have a specific favourite place in Lebanon. Basically I can find happiness in everything, everything has its own beauty and I can zone out and be seized by the moment randomly.”

 

Drinks Cocktails
Cuisine Lebanese

Words By Nathalie Rosa | Photography Images courtesy of Amgiz et Fernand


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