Lofty Hip: Yellow Table

Five inseparable gals opened their new restaurant, Yellow Table, bringing together their complementary skills in interior design, finance, staff training, or the arts: Lisa Abou Sleiman, Corinne Chedraoui, Carine Daccache, Danielle Khouri and Caline Taleb. Talk about girl power.. The place is certainly an unexpectedly trendy haven in the area of Dbayeh, attracting an artsy scene in a very New York deco.

Rough outlines, loft style, with inventive design furniture would best describe the place. As you step into the cool grass terrace you will find hip chairs, wooden tables and benches, or unusual candleholders at the entrance of this one story building. ‘Rather than go up in floors, we wanted to create lateral extensions’, explains Corinne Chedrawi, who handles the funky deco and atmosphere here. The opening drew an eclectic, artsy gathering this week, made up largely of friends of the five owners and a few other hip crashers who were in the know. The crowd relaxed into DJ Kaline Chidiac’s famously groovy remixes, every once in  a while bursting in a ‘wow i love this version of this song!’

Yellow Table offers contemporary cuisine. Choose starters from the likes of Riviera Salade Nicoise, ‘revisited’! Instead of chicken eggs you will find quail eggs in your salad, and instead of olives you will taste the olive tapenade in the sauce as you munch away. Our new hit dish in town imposing itself on all the menus, the quinoa salad, is mixed with chicken here. The pizzettas extra fine are the thinnest, lightest, yummiest little things to nibble on as you feed your hunger before your meal. I would have liked to find a salad bar in this kind of chilled ambiance. When I asked one of the owners why this wasn’t part their menu she  explained they were thinking of perhaps having one soon.

‘The Asian Beef is grain-fed, marinated overnight with our special sauce’ explains one of the owners, Carine Daccache. It is aromatized with herbs like dill, ciboulette, basil and mint. The Fillet is then charcoaled on skewers and served over rice with coriander and spring onions. The Persian chicken is marinated with yogurt, coriander, herbes de Provence, and Bay leaves, served with their special garlic sauce. ‘The chicken breast is soaked in safran and yoghurt all day, then the chef places it in the conduction oven for about 20 minutes, followed by the grill- a process that keeps it extra juicy’ explains Carine.

As for deserts, treat yourself to a pain perdu amongst other delicious options, soaked in creme fraiche and gousse de vanille sauce (no milk for a special, light version!), topped with caramel sauce and gavotte.

This place feels like a compact volume but with an airy feel to it. The architects, Karine Fakhry and Diane Sawaya from FAR Architects, wanted a stylish yet rugged feel for this project. Yellow Table is part of a bigger concept, the Origami building, a new artistic academy offering courses linked to Caracalla, theatre, painting, fashion design, or even psychology.

You can combine your activities or belly dancing classes with breakfast, lunch or dinner. Perhaps even book the place for a happening celebration, as it can contain up to 120 people including the garden. It would not be the same without this uncommon grass hangout in the winter, but roomer has it that our power girls are concocting a cozy pergola. With a couple of other restaurants and cafés opening nearby, this certainly feels like an up and coming place to be.

Average Price per person from 25 dollars for lunch or dinner, and from 15 dollars for breakfast

Internet Access Yes!

Dress code Casual chic

Contacts +961 76 440550, +961 4 547501

Location Dbaye facing ABC Head Offices, at the level of Applebee’s you will see a big sign saying 50m on the right, when you reach the GGF billboard turn right and follow the signs

Opening Hours 10am to midnight

Pictures: Nadim Asfar