Banquet on the bay

Even by the standards of a city where you can dine at the tables of multi-Michelin-starred chefs one night (Yazhou, S.T.A.Y.) and be seen eating out at global trendsetters the next (Momo at the Souks, Gaucho), Zaitunay Bay is piquing interest. Pitching as it does a complex of 17 new restaurants, five retail outlets and a public promenade into the heart of the commercial district at a cost of $160 million, the brainchild of Beirut Waterfront Development (BWD) is a bold attempt to recreate the area’s pre-war sense of glamour and community. But what is it like for the local businesses whose hopes are riding on the project’s success?  Two concepts, Cro Magnon Steakhouse & Bar and St Elmo’s Seaside Brasserie, are the work of one set of five Lebanese investors, and for them, the location sealed the deal. Though rental prices in Hamra and Ashrafieh may have been anywhere