The first thing I need to say is that you can eat both cheap and expensive food based on the restaurant and the dishes you choose, but everything we ate was delicious no matter the price.
If you are a meat lover, you will surely be happy in Jordan. If you are vegan or vegetarian, things may be a little more complicated, but I will give you some tips on this subject at the end.
I have already told you in my previous travel blog about our first meal in Jordan after floating in the Dead Sea for sunset. We were heading to Wadi Musa in order to sleep there before our Petra visit the next day and we stopped at a small local restaurant along the way because we were starving.
It was a village and we couldn’t see tourists at all, just locals, but we were lucky to find delicious food for only 5 JOD for 2 persons with water included (around 6,5 Euro).
I chose some crunchy chicken with curry rice and pickles and my fiancé went for some lamb with white savory sauce and French fries. Little did we know this was actually a very famous dish in Jordan called Mansaf. It is made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and it is usually served with rice. The price was incredibly cheap and I was not expecting it to be the national food in this country.
If you’re ever in the area and want to try some cheap and tasty Jordanian traditional food, the restaurant is called Al-Arkan Restaurant and we can only say you will find it on the way from the Dead Sea to Petra. Another plus was the friendly and kind staff from the restaurant who repeatedly asked us if the food is good, if we need anything else, where are we from and if we like their country.
Our second stop was in Wadi Musa for visiting Petra. Besides breakfasts and snacks, we chose the most famous restaurant because it was always full and, you know what they say, if the restaurant is full, there is a reason behind that. It can obviously mean that you are in a very touristic place, but this was not the case. It is called Al Wadi Restaurant and we have to say we loved the food even though it is not as cheap as the first meal we had, of course.
We chose to eat Mansaf again without knowing we have already tried it at Al-Arkan Restaurant. It was stated in the menu as the national Jordanian food and everyone ordered it. One big portion cost us 12 JOD which was probably 4 times more expensive than the first time, but at least it was delicious.
We also took lamb chops with French Fries and they were impeccably cooked. As appetizers, we chose Mutable which is a favorite of mine consisting in roasted, pureed eggplant with tahini sauce and garlic.
All in all, one dinner at Al Wadi Restaurant cost us 31 JOD with drinks included.
Another meal that we loved was our traditional dinner in the desert at Wadi Rum Starlight Camp. I hope you have already read that article were I give all the details, but I will shortly remind you here as well.
As appetizers, we had hummus, mutable and different kind of mixed salads.
For the main course, we ate Zarb for the first time which means chicken and vegetables cooked in the ground by traditional Bedouin technique.
The funny part was that I had no idea what are we going to eat. When dinner was ready, our guide came to our room and called us to the Community Tent. When we arrived there, everyone was gathering around a pile of sand. I thought it was a joke, but then the Bedouins started to dig a hole in the sand. And there it was…our dinner was ready and looking so yummy that I couldn’t wait to taste it. It was delicious and I would love to try it again.
For sides, we had steamed rice and a mix of vegetables in tomato sauce and local spices.
Traditional Bedouin Tea was available all around Jordan and I have to say I loved it more than Turkish Tea for example and even more than Sri Lankan Tea. It was very sweet and not as strong as the other ones I mentioned.
At Petra for example, Bedouins stopped us on the way to the Monastery and offered us tea as a welcoming gift.
It would be a good idea to take some snacks with you when you visit Petra because you will be there for many hours and you will need some fuel. We had two sandwiches from the hotel and some fruit along with two bottles of water. Besides that we also bought two wraps with tuna and hummus from there at pretty high prices (3 JOD/each if I recall correctly) and fresh pomegranate juice (4 JOD/ cup).
We also chose to relax and drink a cup of coffee and one fresh pomegranate juice right in front of The Monastery after climbing around 850 steps and taking photos in this amazing place. The prices were better on top and I was no expecting that (2 JOD/coffee and 3JOD/fresh juice).
Going back to Wadi Musa for Petra by night, we decided to enjoy sunset with friends at Petra Marriott Hotel and we had some lovely appetizers – cold mezze platter (hummus, mutabbal, labneh, olives and pita bread) – 5 JOD with Jordanian Tea and coffee on the terrace – 3 JOD/each.
As I said above and as you can easily see, Meat Lovers will be happy in Jordan. If you are Vegan or Vegetarian, you still have many options to choose from: delicious appetizers such a hummus, moutable, tabbouleh, labneh etc and sides: mixed vegetables cooked in different ways, rice, fries or fresh salads.
This was our Culinary Experience in Jordan with prices included. As you can see, you can easily eat delicious food both on a budget and at expensive restaurants. We are just sad we couldn’t try more traditional dishes because we are sure they would have been amazing! My next Travel Blog will be about Jordan on a Budget so be sure to Subscribe so you will receive it directly on your e-mail!
Love,
Blonde around the World
