The incredible Lebanese street food that has conquered Trieste

by Fiorella Perrone

“Yalla in Arabic and Hebrew means Let’s go! Come on! – in English it corresponds to Let’s go or C’mon. It is an exhortation but also a sort of cry of joy, an exclamation often repeated with enthusiasm.” This is the most widespread definition found on search engines, and it is no surprise that it matches the name chosen by this Lebanese eatery in the heart of Trieste. Literally exhilarating, in fact, is the tasting of any – and we stress any – of the offerings at Yalla, awarded as Regional Champion of Friuli Venezia Giulia for the Street Food Guide 2026 by Gambero Rosso.

From the Middle East to Italy is just a short step

As the young owner Faad points out, with Lebanese cuisine we are still in the Mediterranean, within a flavour horizon not so far from what an Italian palate is accustomed to. The initial effort to figure out how to adapt to local tastes was therefore quickly abandoned, leaving space for authentic dishes and flavours of Lebanese cuisine.
It all began in 2017, though perhaps one should say in 2007, when Faad arrived in Trieste to study engineering. After graduating he returned home, but he missed Trieste, by now his city, his place of the heart. On the other hand, the job that kept him for hours in front of a PC did not match at all his creative and hyperactive spirit.
He had no familiarity with the world of catering, yet he had always loved cooking; he did so for friends at university, and his mother passed on to him a vast culinary culture. Thus in 2017 the adventure of Adonis began, what today could be defined as the “fine dining” side of the business. A restaurant in which to experience authentic Lebanese cuisine – enriched with personal touches, as with any “living”, evolving cuisine – and also the peculiar ways of dining in Lebanon. Adonis was born at a time when ethnic cuisine was almost non-existent in the city, and Lebanese cuisine in particular was little known in general, even elsewhere in Italy.

Sharing at the centre of the table

“Mezè” is the starter, the snack in a literal translation, but above all it is the social ritual of sharing food and drink together. It is also the conceptual core of dining out in Lebanon: one goes to eat together. The Western habit of each ordering their own dish is rather far removed.
And so it is done at Adonis, and now also at Yalla: everything is placed in the middle and shared, spontaneously, without rules or instructions. It is delightful to observe this dynamic among the tables, both indoors and outdoors, of this beautiful venue – with clean lines and full of greenery – which has brought Lebanese street food into the heart of the city, at Ponte Rosso, one of the most touristy spots in the centre, where it stands out for its originality.
Already active since 2019 as a virtual brand (delivery only), Yalla opened its doors in 2024 and was immediately successful, thanks to an offering that truly makes a difference in terms of flavour, especially when compared to what we thought we already knew.

The dishes

The most interesting part of the menu is undoubtedly that which allows comparison with dishes we may already have tasted in the past: above all, hummus, falafel, baba ganoush.
The hummus is silky, creamy, full-flavoured. The merit goes to the tahini (sesame seed paste), the only ingredient that Faad continues to import from Lebanon, because it is cold-ground, an essential factor to prevent it from becoming lumpy and bitter. And the tahini sauce, with the addition of only lemon and water, is also the sauce used for the rolls (based on meat, fish or vegan), far more enveloping than yoghurt sauce (typical of Turkey), which we are accustomed to associate with kebab.
The falafel, homemade and fried to order (and gluten-free, unlike pre-prepared ones), are an explosion of taste and crispness (thanks also to the use of broad beans in addition to chickpeas in the mixture).
The baba ganoush is outstanding, thanks to the smokiness deriving exclusively from the open-flame cooking of the aubergines. Always served, as tradition dictates, with a few pomegranate seeds to add sweetness and sharpness together.
The rest is all worth trying: from the “classic Lebanese” rolls (the true Lebanese street food, equivalent to our pizza al taglio) to the “signature” ones with prawns, pulled pork or fried chicken (and yes, even Crispy, the fried chicken brand previously present in the city only as delivery, and recently also opened for dine-in or takeaway in Via Vidali and Via Cadorna, belongs to the same ownership); from lamb skewers to tawook (chicken) marinated with paprika and garlic sauce to beef brisket. All to be accompanied by a fresh and intriguing Lebanese white wine or – even better to complete the experience – by arak, an anise distillate (unsweetened) to be mixed with water and drunk in the classic long, thin glass, the kadh. Yalla!