Fish Restaurants
It goes without saying that fish dishes have always been an important part of the city’s cuisine. This fact is also reflected in the numerous fish restaurants.
However, it should be noted that some fast food fish restaurants do not serve freshly caught fish. So, before ordering, ask for freshly caught fish and seafood. There are a few seafood restaurants on the Corniche that offer freshly caught fish dishes, plus a nice view of the King Fahd Fountain.
Meat Dishes
Although Jeddah as a port city is predestined for fish and seafood dishes, it offers – like the rest of the country – many different meat dishes. In any case, it can be said that Jeddah’s multi-ethnic population has greatly influenced the traditional cuisine of the entire region, although it is probably difficult to say unequivocally whether one dish or another has its origins more in the region or in the city itself. However, it is probably not that decisive. The dishes listed below are definitely worth a try. However, pure vegetarian or even vegan dishes are (still) rather the exception on the menus of the restaurants – which is not surprising in view of the general climatic conditions in the region and the agriculture geared to it.
Some dishes are said to have their origins in the Hejaz region, such as Saleeg سَليق and Mabshūr مَبْشُور, a dish of white rice cooked in broth and often prepared with chicken instead of lamb. These and other dishes are offered in many traditional restaurants in the city.
Some recipes are popular throughout the country, such as. Kabsa.
Grilled meat dishes such as shawarma, kofta and kebab are offered mainly in many fast food restaurants, some of which also focus on Lebanese, Mediterranean, Indian, Pakistani, Far Eastern dishes. The most popular local fast food chain, founded in 1974, is Al Baik with several branches in Jeddah. Their main dish is fried (grilled and roasted) chicken, commonly referred to as “broast” by Jeddahwis.
Cafés
There are, of course, the franchise-operated coffee chains that can be found everywhere internationally. But there are also more individual cafés. jeddah has an incredibly strong café scene, many of which come up with new concepts. They are continuously emerging and it is difficult to get or even keep an overview. Unfortunately, not all of them are viable and so you should check them out when you visit the city. “Hot” places right now include Cup and Couch Rostery, Barafat Café, Urth Caffe, Camel Step, Goodhood, TBLND.
It doesn’t always have to be the latest creations – a “simple” date cake, when done well, is a delicacy … I love it.
