As a young man, Barakat and his two brothers worked in their father’s cafe & deli back in Lebanon. Now he is sitting across the table from me in his own establishment in Rome. “Have you tried Arak?” My face answers his question and he signals a waiter who brings me a glass of something that looks like white water over ice. I take a sip and enjoy the bracing flavor of anise liquor. Barakat tells me the Lebanese prefer to have Arak with the meal, but here in Rome the Italians are habituated towards these sorts of drinks after eating.

I ask Barakat about the experience of running a restaurant in Rome. He tells me that 50% of his business comes from Italians while the other 50% is international, especially tourists who, after three days of pasta, are in the mood for something else. “Italians can be quite conservative about food,” he says, laughing, “The French, English, and especially the Americans are in the habit of trying many styles of foods. An Italian will make amatriciana at home and then later that week, they’ll go out to and eat amatriciana at the restaurant.” I had to laugh at the truth of this. To me it does show that Italians can be conservative, but it also proves how successful they have been in building a cuisine that never gets old. Barakat followed up by saying that if an Italian does fall in love with the food at Mandaloun, that customer will go and tell all their friends about it, which will bring more Italians into the world of Lebanese cuisine.

Lebanese food shares many of its main ingredients with Italian and other Mediterranean cuisines: Eggplant, tomato, bell pepper, olives, and olive oil are a few of the common elements. On the menu there are dishes that most people will recognize, like hummus, tabouli, falafel, and moussaka. And then there were ones not so common, like mutabal, warak enab, rakakat, and fatayer. The food is accompanied by a basket of pita, but a thinner version than what I am used to seeing. This turns out to be a good thing since the bread pairs well with just about everything on the menu, and the thinner bread is not quite as filling.

I enjoyed everything I tried, even the tabouli, which I usually don’t like, but will eat because I know it’s healthy. I find that the parsley flavor in tabouli is just too overpowering. You’re laughing, I know, because tabouli is basically a parsley salad! Yet somehow Mandaloun has achieved what I consider to be a more balanced flavor profile, while using the same ingredients. I enjoyed Mandaloun’s take on falafel as well. The outer layer is thinner and lighter but even crispier, while the chickpea meal inside is smoother and less bready. The highlight though was the moussaka, followed closely by the baba ghanoush. Someone once said, “Properly prepared eggplant is as plush as a pillow, as soft as custard.” That is a perfect description of what I experienced. Mandaloun does eggplant to perfection.

Noticing the many beautiful hookah’s placed around the restaurant, I ask if they were just for show or whether Mandaloun is also a hookah bar. Barakat says that Rome’s non-smoking regulations make it hard to have an indoor hookah bar, but they do offer hookah service in their large outdoor seating area.

It strikes me that there must be very few restaurants in Rome representing Muslim culture. I ask Barakat if Mandaloun does a special meal for the Ramadan holiday. He says they do and proceeds to tell me more about it. During Ramadan, Muslims are required to fast during daylight hours, so the meal starts after sunset. Typically people will begin the meal with dates, soup, and salad before moving on to a large main course of meat, rice, and vegetables. Traditionally, people will drink tea and Ayran, a salty yogurt drink. The restaurant has special late hours for Ramadan, depending on the time of year. I’m sure I have a confused look on my face at this point. Barakat smiles and tells me that the date of Ramadan is always changing because the Arab calendar is a lunar calendar with each month being exactly 28 days. He laughs about how summer Ramadan is much harder because the days are so long.

Mandaloun is a family business and an international franchise started in 2002. Barakat runs the location here in Rome while his two younger brothers manage the London stores, and an uncle runs a location in Jacksonville, Florida. When I ask Barakat where he sees himself and his business in ten years, he tells me there are plans to open another store in Rome and then they may set their sites abroad again, but he makes sure to clarify that the most important thing about Mandaloun is that it is something he is doing with his family.

When a restaurant has their priorities in order, you can taste it in the final product. If you have yet to try great , Mandaloun is the place to go. Maybe you’re in need of a change from Italian food, or you want to enjoy a hookah with friends. Maybe you’re a Muslim who observes Ramadan, or you are someone who likes to contribute to family-owned businesses. Whatever the reason, Mandaloun is a gem you don’t want to miss.