As with most other Mediterranean countries, Palestinian cuisine has been heavily influenced by a history of tradesmen and foreign visitors over the centuries. Therefore you will find restaurants that serve all kinds of ethnic foods, everything from traditional Armenian fare to sumptuous Italian pastas.

   In Palestine, there is a restaurant and traditional home-cooked food. Restaurants serve simple cuisine. A Palestinian breakfast is usually eggs, Labaneh , cheese. Falafel, ka'k (bread with seseame seeds) with thyme, Hommus , and Foul . Lunch begins with the Maza . For soups, when available, you may be served your choice of tomato, onion, chicken, or mushroom soup. The main lunch course dishes as shish kabab , shish taouk , steak, fish, or chicken. Such dishes are the backbone of the standard tourist menu. Some restaurants specialize in exotic dishes, such as the Mansaf .

   While many restaurants opt to please foreigners with international menus, some offer Palestinian home-cooked food. Palestinian food is mainly rice with portions of saucy vegetables cooked with meat and eaten with bread. If you want to eat a real Palestinian food, you have to get a Palestinian to invite you home. There you will be served an array of dishes such as kusa mahshi , Waraq Malfuf , Waraq (Enab)Dawali , Maqlubeh , Fasoulia khadra and Dajaj mahshi ). Lunch is usually followed with Desserts include many different variations of sweets such as Baklawa, Kenafé and Mutabak, as well as a lot of fresh fruits.. The dinner is usually something light. Specialty Palestinian dishes, such as stuffed lamb with spicy seasoning, are served at home on festive occasions. This festive food is hard to find on menus because it takes a long time to prepare.

   In most restaurants meals are accompanied by soft drinks , some restaurants in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Gaza offers wine and other alcoholic drinks. There are some local good brands of wine and beer. The “Cremisan” and “Latrun” wines are made by the monks of the Cremisan Monastery and the abbay of Latroun. Special local drinks to try are; wine and arak . Imported wines and beer are often available.
At the end of the meals, black Turkish coffee is generally offered. and hot tea is also a popular drink.

   Gaza has an incredible fresh catch of fish each day. Jerusalem has courtyard restaurants and first-class dinning. Jericho, located near the Dead Sea, has restaurants and eateries that offer the famous fried chicken, and fresh fruits and vegetables of the Jordan valley. While in Hebron you should not miss eating the Kidreh .Bethlehem has sunny outside cafes around Manager Square. Ramallah, with its trendy coffee shops and jazz clubs, is fast becoming the hot spot for Palestinian dinning. Tulkarem and Jenin are famous for their Musakhan.

   Many small restaurants selling fast food such as; falafel, shawarmah, hamburger sandwiches and pizza, are spread throughout the main cities.

   In Palestine, restaurants usually serve breakfast at 8AM and could finish at 11 PM, launch between 1 – 4 PM and dinner between 7-11 PM. Most restaurants does not require reservations and are open until very late in the evening.

   We invite you to explore Palestine and Palestinian cuisine. We hope that your dining experience in Palestine or with the Palestinian cuisine will be enjoyable and will add to your memorable stay among this hospitable people.

And as we say in Arabic – Sahtein ! Enjoy!