Cuisine of Medina for gourmets. Places for dinner - best restaurants

Historically, Medina's traditional cuisine doesn't offer a great variety of gastronomic resources. The arid climate did not allow local residents to cultivate crops traditional for many countries. For hundreds of years, the main local products were wheat, rice, meat, and some vegetables, which they managed to grow on poor soils. To make everyday food more diverse, they began using various spices in culinary. Traditional dishes cannot do without adding them even today.

The most favorite drink among townspeople is coffee, and its more original version is called "Hirsch". This drink is a decoction brewed from coffee husk. It tastes like weak coffee mixed with tea. An important component of local cooking is “sambusa” - this is how they call various types of savory filled pastries. Such pastries can be tried at every step: they are served at all local restaurants and cafes, sold in ordinary street food stalls. Sambusa with cheese and herbs is very popular with tourists, and a more hearty version of the dish is meat-filled pastries.

Al-Mandi kebab prepared exclusively from lamb remains a symbol of traditional cuisine. Most of the meat dishes available for tasting at local restaurants are cooked over an open fire. Lamb meat is quite a coarse type of meat, so to make it softer and tender, the meat is usually aged in a marinade with spices before cooking. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Dates have always been and remain a very important product for Medina residents. This fruit is one of the few that locals have always been able to successfully cultivate on arid soils. Dates are added to many dishes, remaining the most popular local dessert. The sweet fruits can be added to meat dishes, they are often sold in dried form at local markets, also remaining a popular filling for sweet pastries. Demanding gourmets should definitely look for date jam at local gastronomic markets. Local confectioners use dates to bake special cookies called Souiyka. Ingredients for its preparation are pretty simple - dates and flour, the taste of such a simple dessert turns out to be amazing.

Medina will delight gourmets with a variety of upscale restaurants where you can try both popular regional dishes and dishes typical of other cuisines of the world. Arabesque Restaurant featuring exquisite decoration in a modern Arabic style is located very close to the center of Medina. Here you can try popular lamb dishes, enjoy Mediterranean-style salads, as well as try popular Asian specialties. This restaurant is one of the few in the city where alcohol is not banned.

Keep exploring the regional cuisine at Beiruti Restaurant. This modern, beautifully decorated restaurant has an open kitchen, so guests can watch all the cooking process. Many experienced tourists say that it is here that you can try the most delicious shawarma, as well as kebabs cooked over an open fire. Guests are offered a wide selection of Lebanese and Middle Eastern dishes. In addition to hearty meat courses, they also serve excellent vegetable dishes.

At-tabaq Restaurant serves Halal cuisine, so there are many locals among its visitors. Its menu offers original Asian food, a lot of interesting and inexpensive poultry dishes. To complement meat dishes, visitors can order fresh vegetable salads. Most of the dishes are richly seasoned with spices in accordance with national traditions.

Ruqn Shami Restaurant decorated in a modern European style and specializing in barbecue invites tourists to relax in a casual atmosphere. It serves dishes of young lamb and chicken, you can also try interesting meat delicacies that are not common in other restaurants. Traditional pastries are also available for tasting. This restaurant with affordable prices would be ideal for families.

Thrifty tourists will love Abu Khalid, which serves simple and at the same time pretty interesting dishes. Here you can try charcoal-grilled meat, enjoy seafood dishes and fresh vegetable salads. The restaurant's choice of traditional pastries and desserts is also great.