Set between busy Gemmayze and Lebanon's main highway, stepping into The Gathering feels like suddenly being transported to the south of France or sunny Spain. Three concepts 'gathered' together in one location with a steak house, an Italian restaurant and a wine bar with Lebanese mosaic tiles and Iberian hams hanging from the ceiling, all meet in the sweet courtyard in the middle.

With a large tree the centre point, white tables and up turned wine barrels are dotted romantically around beneath twinkling fairy lights and bougainvillea, and music drowns out the noise from the road behind. BarChick took a date here and he was smitten, so if you’ve got a tough one to crack this should lend a hand. The food is delicious and they have one of the most extensive wine lists in town… we’ll gather here anytime.