Kathleen S.
Yelp
Maison Libanaise is definitely an upgrade from Life Café, which was the restaurant previously located here. It's quickly becoming my favorite go-to for a quick bite on the way home and is conveniently located off the escalator across from Pure Fitness/Nood Food, just below Staunton Street.
I've been here 5 times so far: twice upstairs (dine-in only) and 3 times downstairs (take-away or stand-at-the-counter/sit-outside dining). The menus are different for upstairs and downstairs. Each visit has been a great experience both food- and service-wise. Cocktails (served upstairs only) and juices (upstairs and downstairs) are refreshing, fresh, and light, and the staff is genuinely interested in feedback on the dishes. Ingredients are high quality (really nice dark green olive oil served with the hummus, deliciously tender lamb and beef, refreshing cucumber laebnah/yogurt, fresh herbs and vegetables, etc.).
The guy who took my order downstairs the other night (I believe his name is Martin) remembered me from the previous times I was there and was very friendly and welcoming to me, as well as to the other customers who arrived while I was waiting for my food to be prepared. It's always refreshing to walk into a restaurant in Hong Kong and experience warm, friendly, genuine service, which seems rare in this city but is exactly what you get when you walk into Maison Libanaise.
There are many gluten-free and vegetarian options on the menu for folks who are nutrition-conscious, and the juices and ingredients are fresh fresh fresh. There are also various sundries for sale in the stairwell (Middle Eastern candies, preserved goods, cookbooks, etc.) which makes for fun browsing while you wait for your food to be prepared.
This restaurant has quickly made its way into my heavy rotation of go-tos when I'm just not sure what to eat. It's convenient, it's relatively inexpensive, and I know that whatever I choose to eat here will be delicious. Plus, there is enough variety on the menu to ensure I won't get bored.