Est. 1964 · Hamra, Beirut
Captain's Cabin
Sixty years of people passing through Hamra — and leaving something behind.
6 pm – 3 am
4.6 stars from 225 Google reviews
It started with airline crews and it never really stopped. Sailors, pilots, students, journalists, people in Beirut for a week and people who never left — they came in, drank, talked, and signed the wall. The flags overhead were left by them. Cold beer, tall drinks, a pool table, a dartboard, foosball, a table outside, and whatever Andre feels like playing.
Dark and cosy
Low ceilings, wood on every wall, lit like a back porch at midnight. There is no dance floor and nobody is shouting over a DJ — the noise level is the kind where you can actually hear the person opposite you. It is the quiet end of Hamra nightlife, and it has been for sixty years.
A room full of people’s stories
Every flag on the ceiling and every name on the wall belongs to someone who sat where you're sitting. Sixty years of them, from more countries than anyone has bothered to count. Nobody curated this and nobody is charging you to look at it — it accumulated, one night at a time, because people kept turning up and wanting to be remembered here.
Come on your own and you will end up talking to somebody. That is not a promise the bar makes; it is just what the room does.
What's inside
Pool
The table at the back leans just enough to help you win. The cues are older than most of the customers.
Darts
A board that's been in use for decades, and a scoreboard on the wall.
The walls
Signed, drawn on and written over by sixty years of drinkers from everywhere. Add yours — that is what they are for.
Foosball
For when the pool table is taken. Two a side settles an argument faster than talking does.
The flags
Left behind by people who wanted their country in the room. Nobody has counted them.
Outside
An outdoor area for when the room gets warm, or you want a cigarette and a quieter conversation.
Bring people
Birthdays and private nights
The room has seen sixty years of other people's celebrations. It can take yours. Birthdays, leaving drinks, a night with the place to yourselves — ring the bar and talk it through with Andre.
Food is on request: a barbecue outside, or catering for the whole party.
- Birthdays
- Private events
- Barbecues on request
- Catering
Rock, and nothing but
Eighties and nineties rock, played properly loud. Guns N' Roses, Metallica, and the rest of that bunch. Andre runs it himself from behind the bar and has done for decades — no DJ, no playlist, no algorithm deciding what a Tuesday sounds like. If you came for a curated cocktail programme you're in the wrong place. If you came because somebody put the right song on at the right time, you're in the right one.
One more thing
There is space on the wall
Everyone whose name is up there was a stranger walking in for the first time, exactly once. Come in, have a drink, stay long enough to be worth remembering, and put your name somewhere near theirs.
Questions people ask
- Where exactly is Captain’s Cabin?
- On Adonis Street in Hamra, Ras Beirut, a couple of minutes on foot off Hamra Street. The frontage is small and easy to walk past — use the map link or the Plus Code on the Find us page and it will put you on the door.
- What time does it open and close?
- Six in the evening, every night. Sunday runs until half past midnight and the rest of the week until three in the morning — later if the night is going well, which it often is.
- Is it a quiet, cosy bar or a loud one?
- Quiet, dark and cosy. Wood-panelled walls, low lighting, no DJ and no dance floor, so you can hold a conversation without raising your voice. People come here to talk and stay for hours, which is the whole point of the place.
- What makes it worth going to over the other bars in Hamra?
- It has been open since 1964 and barely changed. The walls are covered in the names and flags of sixty years of drinkers from all over the world, there is a pool table and a dartboard at the back, and the owner picks the music himself. It is the least trend-driven bar in the neighbourhood.
- Is it the oldest bar in Beirut?
- It is one of the oldest bars in Beirut still open. Captain’s Cabin has been in Hamra since 1964, licensed as a bar since 1972, and it is one of the few in the city that kept opening right through the civil war. The room has barely changed in that time — the walls just filled up.
- Is there a pool table, darts, foosball?
- All three. The pool table and the dartboard are at the back of the room; the table leans just enough to help you win, and the cues have seen decades of service. There is a foosball table too. Nobody is precious about any of them.
- Is there outdoor seating?
- Yes — there is an outdoor area, which is where most people end up when the room warms up or they want a cigarette.
- Do I need to book a table?
- No — walk in. If you are bringing a large group it is worth ringing ahead so they know you are coming.
- Can I hold a birthday or a private event there?
- Yes. The bar does birthdays and private events — call and arrange it with Andre. A barbecue or catering can be laid on if you ask.
- What kind of music do you play?
- Eighties and nineties rock — Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, that whole bunch. Andre picks it himself from behind the bar. There is no DJ and no playlist, so it is chosen on the night by a person rather than queued up by an algorithm.
Beer, spirits, long drinks
This is a beer-and-long-drinks bar and it doesn't pretend otherwise. Poured tall, priced fairly.
Open since 1964
Three Middle East Airlines pilots rented an old fish shop in Hamra and lined it with wood. It has been open ever since — through the war, through everything, to everyone.
Hours
- Sun
- 6 pm – 12:30 am
- Mon – Sat
- 6 pm – 3 am
Hours can run later than listed — Andre has been known to keep it open. Call ahead if it matters.