dining in nazareth, israel

Nazareth.

During our trip to Israel, Mr. Sazy Rock and I used Nazareth as a base during the Christmas holiday. We chose Nazareth primarily because we were already in the north and we thought it would be interesting to spend time in an area with Christian sights connected with the historical birth of Jesus -- as the stories go, an angel appeared to Mary in Nazareth announcing her virgin pregnancy. Two churches -- one Orthodox, the other Roman Catholic -- claim to be built on the spot of the Annunciation. While many Christian-based groups flocked to Nazareth for the purpose of seeing and worshiping at the sites where the angel allegedly appeared, Mr. SR and I took the time to discover the city's cuisine.

Sunrise over Nazareth.

Nazareth has the largest Israeli-Arab population in the country. And the population reflects the cuisine. We dined at a few popular spots and tried to check out the cocktail scene.



Sadly, as far as I could tell, the cocktail scene was non-existent. The dining scene fared just a little bit better.

Al Moktar is notable for its kanafeh, which I've already praised in a separate post.

Diana, a popular spot, can be crowded. It can also be pricey. While the dishes we had were tasty, they were not exceptional. The hummus was good but not as good as what I have had at Abu Hassan in Tel Aviv. The kebabs and ribs were juicy and perfectly cooked and the pita was served hot, thick and doughy, which I liked.

The kebabs at Diana.

Tishreen, suffered the same fate. Some dishes were good while others were mediocre. The mushrooms, which was sharp and cheesy, was overcooked. The Muammar (?) dish, which was chicken over bread like a pizza, had good flavors but was soggy. The araes, lamb kebab and cheese baked in a phyllo dough, was tasty but a tiny bit dry.

The Araes at Tishreen.

Bayat, had an international menu but also served local fare. The tabouleh was sharp and crisp. The eggplant was perfectly smoky but the ground lamb was a bit dry. 

The eggplant and lamb dish at Bayat.

We did try to dine at other places but we could not find Sudfeh. Al Reda had one server for the whole restaurant and the bar, and half the menu items were blocked out as items that "no longer exist." Al Janina was empty and we did not feel like eating in an empty restaurant. So, sadly, I can't say anything about these talked about places.

A fruit from the Shuk.

Other than Al Moktar, we did strike out at Nazareth. But, is it worth visiting? Absolutely. Not only did Mr. SR and I check out the brick and mortar places but we also roamed the Shuk (or market). There, we found some of the most hospitable people in the country. They were kind to a foreign face like mine and offered me some samples of fruits without expecting anything in return. Sharing and connecting, after all, is what travel is all about.