Lebanon’s restaurants charge in scarce dollars as pound sinks to new low – The National

Lebanon’s restaurants charge in scarce dollars as pound sinks to new low – The National

Imagine ordering a coffee for one price, then three hours later being charged more for the same hot drink. You'd think it was a scam but it's an unfortunate reality for Lebanese living through an unprecedented currency crisis.

A customer at Goro, a restaurant in Beirut's Gemmayzeh neighbourhood, experienced precisely this feeling while visiting one of the popular haunts of Beirut nightlife and dining.

Within three hours, the price of his coffee jumped by 9 000 Lebanese pounds, the equivalent of $0.18 on the parallel market, where the national currency topped the symbolic 50,000 mark on Thursday, the first time such an unwelcome milestone has been reached.