The Cheffe

Paris-trained chef Ruba Khoury—chef/owner of Dirty Lemon—combines her refined technical skills with the rustic essence of her ancestral Palestinian palate to create a modern, easy, Mediterranean menu. For the past 9 years, Khoury has worked in some of the top kitchens of Paris including Frenchie, Septime, and Yam’Tcha, all Michelin-starred restaurants.

The Dirty Lemon Story

One night, many Paris moons ago, Ruba is convinced to play wingwoman to a friend who wants to hit the only lesbian bar of which either of them are aware. A loyal friend to the thirsty, Ruba approaches the kiosk (!) from which drinks were being poured and makes a simple, safe request: a vodka soda, served with a questionable-looking lemon wedge on the rim. Ruba squeezes the lemon, downs her drink happily. She leaves the bar, starts to not feel so well, skips dinner, and ends up very ill, knowing that the citrus did her in.

For Ruba, the literal dirty lemon became a bit of a symbol for what her community is willing to accept, and how much better it could all be. From that intoxicating lemon wedge—and the subsequent haze of infirmity—Dirty Lemon was born. 

Dirty Lemon is a place built on objectives both social and gastronomic, always seeking to keep those scales as balanced as possible. Woman owned, led, and chef’ed—seeks to disrupt the overwhelmingly (and often abusively) male culture around cocktails and the bars where they are drunk. Dirty Lemon is an inclusive space—no one is not welcome. It’s a bar wherein a queer and female clientele can find community, comfort, cocktails, and maybe a phone number or two.