L'Avocat

Another newly opened cafe trottoir in Badaro district L’avocat is low key, well designed and relatively inexpensive (a glass of wine is 6,000LL).  Designed to look like a retro Parisian cafe, this restaurant / pub features wicker tables and chairs perched on a prettily tiled patio overlooking the foot (and car) traffic of Badaro’s Main Street. The space is so picturesque that it’s already begun hosting photo and video shoots on a quasi-regular basis (for example Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih used this particular space for a magazine shoot recently).
This kind of wider open indoor/outdoor seating is popular in Badaro, and perhaps one of the only districts in Beirut where it is truly successful as the neighborhood is relatively calm, and commercial spaces and restaurants are slightly bigger (in comparison say to Mar Mikhael, Gemayzeh, or Hamra). Enjoying a pre-sunset meal at L’Avocat, you would almost believe you were sitting in the 3rd arrondissement (if it weren’t for all the car horns).  
We like L’Avocat for its tasty coffee (espresso is 3,500LL) reasonably priced fresh fruit cocktails, mixed drinks, and wide bar selection (regular spirits are 9,000LL, while Ultra-premium spirits are 18,000LL). The food is also great! Keeping with the parisian cafe theme, L’Avocat features a mix of speciality cafe sandwiches on freshly baked crunchy fresh bread (the tasty chicken burger is 15,000LL), light anti pasti and salads (Quinoa Salad and Rocca Parsemsan Mushroom Salads are 12,000LL), as well as some locally inspired fare like Halloumi sandwich on Markouk Bread (12,000LL).
Better still, their Monday-Friday happy hour runs from 4-8, where all food and beverage (including plat du jour) are half off.