Al’deewan Bakery

The ultimate Lebanese manakeesh

This bakery has two things going for it: the ridiculously good manakeesh and the ridiculously low prices.

Interior of Al'deewan Bakery
Interior of Al’deewan Bakery. A giant brick oven can be seen behind the main counter.

Manakeesh (مناقيش) is a round, Middle Eastern flatbread with toppings. It goes by slightly different spellings because there is no standard transliteration for Arabic. The classic topping is za’atar, a mixture of dried thyme and oregano, brushed with olive oil. At Al’deewan, you can find this and a respectable range of toppings.

Al'deewan menu
Manakeesh menu

The food

What sets this bakery apart is that the manakeesh is made to order, like pizza napoletana. In a giant flaming oven. Open flames lick the bread dough, giving it a nice char.

The manakeesh was ready after 5 to 10 minutes. I was intrigued. The dough was very thin, which is not typical of a manakeesh. It was more like a lahmajoun, a similar Middle Eastern flatbread. The base was crisp and almost cracker-like. Not that I mind. In fact, this is my new favourite variation of manakeesh.

Minced beef manakeesh from Al'deewan, top view
Ground beef manakeesh. Note how thin and crisp the bread is, and the mottling at the bottom.

There was a good amount of meat mixture covering the dough. I didn’t have high expectations because it looked dull and ordinary. I was pleasantly surprised to find it well-seasoned. Gobbled up in a few seconds.

Minced beef manakeesh from Al'deewan
A better view of the minced beef mixture, showing tomatoes, onions, and lots of beef.

Besides manakeesh, which is their specialty, they also have other Lebanese snacks like fatayer (meat pie). Lebanese imported goods line the aisles.

Al'deewan baked goods. Top shelf: Pide and fatayer. Bottom shelf: Safiha.
Other Lebanese baked goods. Top shelf: pide and fatayer. Bottom shelf: safiha.

Pro tip: Za’atar manakeesh is $1.13 on Wednesday.

The place

The bakery is tiny and only has a few tables. It doesn’t score high on ambience but there is a friendly family-run feel to it. Their interior is reminiscent of a roadside teahouse. Most orders are for take-out.

Verdict

Paper-thin, crispy, flavourful manakeesh baked to order. Rock bottom prices. 8.5/10.

Practical information

Name
Al’deewan Bakery
Rating
8.5/10
Recommended dishes
Za’atar manakeesh
Ground beef manakeesh
Prices
Za’atar manakeesh: $2.83 ($2.50 excluding tax)
Ground beef manakeesh: $3.39 ($3.00 excluding tax)
Address
1415 Kennedy Road, Unit 9
Hours
0800h – 1930h
Date of visit
November 2019