Lebanese cuisine finds a home at Decatur café

DECATUR, Ga. — Country: Lebanon

Dish: Seafood tahini

Location: Decatur

Stop: #26

Thousands of miles from where he grew up in Falougha Mount-Liban, Lebanon, Tony Chebib is recreating the dishes of his childhood.

Lawrence’s Café has been part of Decatur since 2013, a move from Buford Highway where Chebib first started in 1990. While familiar Mediterranean dishes like falafel, kebobs and shawarma are mainstays of the menu, At the Table ATL got a chance to learn what Lebanese dishes resonate most with the chef, such as the seafood tahini.

“How does this dish represent Lebanon?”

 “This is our food…our heart food,” Chebib said of the seafood tahini. “This is real Lebanese food that we grew up on.”

The seafood tahini features shrimp and scallop cooked with olive oil, covered with a tahini sauce, hearkening back to a recipe from the chef’s mother.

“My mom used to make ‘em … like with the fish, with the shrimp,” Chebib said.

“How does this dish represent Atlanta?”

With a focus on simplicity and fresh ingredients, Lawrence’s Café aims to continue its nearly 20-year tradition of Lebanese cuisine in the metro. 

“We love what we’re doing,” Chebib said. “I love what we’re doing.”