The best restaurants Amman

Zajal offers a true haven of peace in the bustling city centre. You'll spot it by the umbrellas hanging on the stairs and the colourful flowerpots on the walls. The old stone room, all in length, is decorated with a motley collection of antique lamps, old wooden tables and mismatched chairs. But, if there is still room, prefer the terrace installed under a vine, really perfect as long as it is not too hot. The address has made a specialty of stews simmered in terracotta dishes.

What is the recipe for success of this café that is always full? A vitaminized setting arranged like a magazine's living room, "fusion" recipes served at any time of the day, original cocktails (without alcohol), reasonable prices to attract a young and trendy clientele. The agape starts at breakfast with a nice choice of pancakes, waffles and sandwiches. For lunch, you can opt for a quinoa salad or a classic Caesar. Teezers accompany the aperitif, while in the evening tacos and burgers satisfy the big appetite.

We fell in love with this establishment that transports you to a Bedouin tent in the middle of Amman. The bourgeois society of Amman meets with family and friends to share an excellent meal around large tables. The service is adorable and will not hesitate to give you some recommendations if you don't know what to take. You will be able to taste the farashee, the Bedouin bread as thick as lace, prepared in front of your eyes by an old woman at the entrance of the restaurant. Save room for the pastries for dessert.

You have to get past the fast-food look of this restaurant to discover the succulent Egyptian specialties it has in store. On the menu: fatayer, a dough made of flour, water and salt, worked to become thin and transparent. This multi-layered dough that crunches like a mille-feuille is filled with haloumi cheese, chicken or original mixes like "mushroom and rosemary". For dessert, don't miss the fatayer with date syrup and sesame cream. We still remember it!

You can't set foot in the old city without hearing about Hashem. The restaurant became famous the day King Hussein stopped there to eat some falafel. Tourists and locals alike flock to this canteen at all hours of the day and night. The fuul (bean purée), falafels or hummus are served in small portions on plastic plates. It's a no-frills place, and not very good, but its terrace is mythical. So, you too will go there to form your own opinion.

This very famous restaurant in Amman is unfortunately a bit far from the center. But the taxi ride to get there is worth it, especially since the fares are really cheap. All the standards of Arabic cuisine are served here: mansaf, hummus, tabouleh, baba ghanouj, kebabs... The decor is pleasant and you can take place under the big Bedouin tent or in the garden. The atmosphere is really nice, especially for a group evening.

We love this café-restaurant-art gallery with its mismatched furniture, bric-a-brac and its joyful atmosphere of indescribable capharnaüm. You can just as easily stop in during the day to drink a cardamom coffee or stop in the evening for falafels or a salad. An old upright piano occupies a corner of the room and there is nothing to stop you from letting out a tune. The works of Jordanian artist Salam Kanaan are displayed on the walls. Again, you can buy a piece if you feel like it. It's a bit expensive though.

This restaurant caters to the business and expatriate clientele of Amman in a chic oriental style. The courtyard-garden is absolutely adorable and you can sit under large parasols. The restaurant serves high-quality regional dishes that differ from the classic mansaf or maqlouba. Try the "jaj machi" made of rice and stuffed chicken or the "sayadiya" made of fish and rice. The food is very hearty and the service is impeccable. This is one of the best places in Amman, run by the same team as Romero.

This restaurant offers a regional cuisine (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon...) revisited, very creative and delicious. You can choose from a long list of hot and cold dishes, all very appetizing. We advise you to share several of them to taste as many as possible. In addition to the many dishes not found on other traditional menus, the pomegranate tabouleh and the rainbow shawarma are to die for. The atmosphere is very pleasant: the space is airy, the waiters in traditional Syrian dress are very professional.

The display windows, which are overflowing with pastries, will tell you that you have come to the right place. Crowded with regulars at mealtimes, this is the best place to try the traditional mansaf, a meat dish with fermented milk served with rice. Also try their excellent maqlouba, a stew with layers of rice, vegetables and meat. The popular and inexpensive address is one of the must-try places in the lower town.

Beit Sitti is a true Jordanian culinary and cultural experience: you can choose to come and eat there, but you can also opt for the cooking class followed by the meal. This beautiful architect-designed house has been transformed by Maria, Dina and Tania, three sisters who inherited the house from their grandmother. They will teach you the tricks of the trade and the secrets of traditional Levantine recipes: hummus, falafel, manakeesh (bread filled with zaatar)... You can also get some spices to put in your luggage.

Jabri is more than a restaurant, it is an institution that is part of Jordan's history. In 1935, Subhi Jabri opened a catering service in the old city of Amman. His talent was quickly appreciated by the bourgeois families who called upon him for their receptions, even the royal family itself. In 1962, he opened an inexpensive restaurant on King Hussein Street, which has never lost its success. The restaurant, of which there are now several in the city, is best known for its oriental and European pastries.

For those nostalgic for the country. One can taste a single fillet, frogs'legs or a chateaubriand. There are also salads, international dishes (burgers, spaghetti) and a beautiful wine list.

This pocket-sized restaurant is located just opposite the Institut Français de Jordanie, and is a regular haunt for its staff. With 5 tables inside and 2 on the terrace, Chapter is often fully booked and you have to wait for a table to become available. However, the bill is always reasonable and the dishes are really good, like the generously-portioned chicken sajjiyeh. If you can't finish your dish, you can ask for the rest to go. The menu is short but never disappointing.

It's best to come in fine weather to enjoy the terrace overlooking the ever-bustling street. Ciao Ciao offers a short menu of pizzas and lasagne, all very well made. The owner greets you in Italian, which is always a surprise. The products are of excellent quality, including mozzarella, burrata and salsiccia picante. The tomato sauce is creamy and the dough is as good and thick as that of real Neapolitan pizzas. A great place to eat on a budget. And in winter, if the dining room is a bit dull, it's warmed up by the oven.

If you feel nostalgic for the country, go to the Maison Verte, a French gastronomic restaurant with a refined setting. There are several atmospheres, with a lounge area for aperitifs or digestives in a roaring twenties atmosphere; a bourgeois dining room with emerald or olive green accents; a terrace with a chequered floor and a marquee reminiscent of the Belle Epoque. The menu is perfectly regressive for the French, with spit-roasted chicken served with a truffle sauce, veal with morels or fillet of sea bream.

Lale Sofrasi allows you to explore the subtle nuances of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. This Turkish specialty restaurant welcomes you to a light-filled room dominated by azure blues and creamy tones. You will be able to taste dishes that are difficult to find elsewhere, such as chicken in sauce, cooked in a salt crust, lamb with sweet spices, onions and almonds cooked in an earthenware pot or kebab roasted over a wood fire and presented in mini-portions at the end of a chain. It is up to you to cut it up.

A little out of the way, but in the trendy new Mecca Street neighborhood, Boho Haus has developed a simple concept: welcoming you from breakfast to late night. The bohemian atmosphere is proudly claimed here, and one takes place in an original and voluntarily loaded decoration. Antique golden frames, Indian dream-catchers, wooden boxes and spray-painted urban frescoes adorn the walls. As for the menu, the inspiration comes from an internationalist glossary, from Belgian waffles to American-style chicken wings.

Almathaq means "taste" in Arabic. This restaurant is particularly interested in the taste of chicken, which it grills according to recipes that are very popular in the Arab world. We find the chicken mandi, a Yemeni specialty where the chicken is cooked directly on the rice in a wood oven; the Indian chicken biryani, stewed with rice and spices; the chicken zurbian, a specialty of Hyderabad in India where some potatoes are added to the biryani... The restaurant is located right in front of the Roman theater.

When it opened in 1990, Sara Seafood was a tiny, street-front fish shop. The refrigerated display case is still there, showing snapper, sea bream, shrimp and sometimes even lobster straight from the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. The fishmonger's has expanded by taking over the restaurant above it and even opening two more locations in Shmeisani and Jubiha. You can enjoy fried fish, seafood pasta or fish prepared Indian style (tandoori, biryani, curry).