This may be the most difficult food related article that I wrote for the Wondering Voyager. You see, despite being visited by millions annually, Mecca does not really have many guides written on its dining scene. There are not many videos online of people reviewing restaurants in this particular city as well. There is a good reason for that. Despite its popularity, Mecca is not a leisure destination. Most folks that visit it are Muslim pilgrims, since the city is home to Kaaba, the most sacred site of Islam. In other words, Mecca is first and foremost a religious destination. This means that spirituality is the name of the game here. A combination of that mentality, with the harsh reality of there being simply far too many temporary visitors which makes most restaurant owners worry less about their food quality to gain repeat customers, means that eating out in Mecca is unlikely to impress many. In most cases, food here is treated as sustenance, plain and simple. This is not a criticism per se, after all, this mentality is most fitting for a religious destination. It is just a friendly warning so that you know what to expect. Now that this is out of the way, please do read on to find out about the restaurants I visited during my time in Mecca. Some of these spots might surprise you for the better!
Koshary Abou Tarek – https://maps.app.goo.gl/oC3PPWMMYB4ohjLh8
Frankly, the best meals I enjoyed in Mecca were all provided by some franchises. This makes sense. At least on paper, they need to serve food with certain standards, irrespective of the overall dining scene of the city they are located in. For example, Koshary Abou Tarek has a branch in Mecca, and it turned out to be the best one I tried up until that point, which was a very welcome surprise. This branch is quite far away from the center of Mecca, but it is well worth the hour long walk from the Masjid al Haram in my humble opinion. The koshary here was actually hitting all the right notes, and the om ali was spectacular, creating a whirlwind of flavours in my mouth as I gobbled it up. I realize that this is an unexpected start to a list that began with such a pessimistic tone, but you should know that this is a long list.
Casapasta – https://www.casapasta.com/en
Casapasta is another local fast-food franchise. This one specializes in serving pasta, shocking I know. Their food tasted outright divine when I first dined here but please take this comment with a grain of salt. I was practically bedridden for a few days following our first day at Mecca, and in those few rough days I always craved something familiar to get back on my feet, preferably something spicy and soupy, if possible. That is why, I was exhilarated to find out that the Saudi style macaroni on the menu of Casapasta tasted pretty much like how my mother makes pasta at home. This spicy, zesty, and shrimpy concoction helped me get back on my feet almost instantly, giving me the stamina boost that my body yearned for in the last few days. This is why, Casapasta will always have a special place in my heart. One of its branches can be found in the Zamzam Tower, so you can easily find and try it out for yourself as well.
Broast Al Farooj – https://maps.app.goo.gl/r5UjCb4oSD85HZ4s7
Al Baik is a popular Saudi fast food chain that you can see me raving about on all of my food related articles on Saudi cities. So, why is it not on this list as well? Well, I simply could not be bothered to wait in a queue for hours to get my hands on some fried shrimps and fish nuggets. Al Baik is so popular that waiting in a line for an hour or so is often considered normal in any one of its branches, but the ones in Mecca are even more crowded than usual. But what if you crave some Al Baik during your time in Mecca, then what do you do? You try one of many Al Baik clones scattered around the town! Broast Al Farooj was the closest and highest rated alternative that I could find on Google Maps, and while they have a long way to go as far as the quality of their fried shrimp and fish patties are concerned, given their pricing, and for the convenience of having freshly made fried food in your hands in a few minutes after ordering them, their branches certainly deserve a visit in my book.
Taste of Grill – https://maps.app.goo.gl/FKhyxmskt5eNdpfj9
One night, when I was still mostly bedridden but my uncle and mother were recovered for the most part, they brought some grilled fish to our hotel room for me to get back on my feet. That fish came from Taste of Grill. While it did not necessarily cure me immediately, I must say that both the fish and the rice that accompanied it were quite satisfactory, despite my illness making it difficult to taste all that much on that particular day. I suppose the food from this fine establishment would taste even better if it was any other day. This is certainly another one of those decent establishments that I recommend you check out.
Lounge 99 – https://maps.app.goo.gl/DQAg84MToB5Uz4e76
While the overall quality of food and the insane waiting time in some establishments is an issue in Mecca, these pale in comparison to a much bigger problem: the difficulty of finding a place to sit down to chow down your meal. This means that the few restaurants that have their own seating arrangements within the food courts of malls, such as Lounge 99, become suitable options for this reason alone. This is not to say that the food in Lounge 99 was subpar. Everything tasted alright, though their fried food were just a bit too oily for my taste. However, just to clarify, we did not even plan to dine here when we first visited the mall for a quick meal. We had to dine in Lounge 99 because it was the only restaurant that could find us a table after a minute or two of waiting. I just wish that there were more seats and tables available in the food courts of malls that surround the Grand Mosque so that people could more freely choose which eateries they want to enjoy.
Jara and Ful – https://maps.app.goo.gl/fFkEgj4R9sNtyxA87
Mecca also ended up becoming the city where I visited some of the lowest rated restaurants of my life, at least according to ratings on Google Maps. I was not aware of its low review score when I just wanted to enjoy some mutabbaq and maasoub from a Yemeni spot named Jara and Ful. Truth be told, I had significantly worse experiences eating in spots with much higher reviews. In other words, Jara and Ful was just alright. The staff worked slowly, and seldom smiled, which is why they seemed to have lost a lot of points from most customers, but their mutabbaq did not upset my stomach, the maasoub was quite tasty, and the Adeni tea was on point. While nothing I tried was particularly memorable, I certainly did not regret visiting Jara and Ful.
Al Asemah Ice Cream – https://maps.app.goo.gl/RN8qTiMiosmsC1jKA
To be fair, most stuff that I enjoy when I eat out are not memorable in the slightest. With that being said, I will certainly remember the excellent ice cream I had at Al Asemah Ice Cream until the day I die. This franchise has a ton of alternative spellings, but what does not change is the quality of their ice cream, which is really creamy and has a very bold flavour profile, despite looking like any other soft serve from the outside. Normally, I do not even like vanilla or chocolate flavour ice creams to begin with, preferring just plain milky ice cream over any other offering. However, both the vanilla and the chocolate flavour ice cream from this fine establishment checked all the boxes for me. You should certainly visit Al Asemah Ice Cream if you ever visit Mecca.
Supermarkets (Bindawood and Abraj Hypermarket)
I want to conclude this article on a humbler note. After all, while food plays an important role in my life, I know how to control my own appetite. Eating out in Mecca is not always a very rewarding experience. You have to battle crowds, fight for seating, wait forever in lines, and often be served mediocre food at elevated prices. That is why, while you will need sustenance to stay alive, you may want to spend less time on actually eating out in Mecca, and focus on alternatives instead. For example, try the offerings in the hot food section of supermarkets for a change. You can bring them to your hotel room to enjoy your meal in peace, however humble it may be. Not all such ready meals and appetizers taste great, but they are often cheap, easy to get, and they will fill your stomach, granted you eat enough of them. Furthermore, I always recommend enjoying some more Saudi snacks whenever one has the opportunity, like their excellent date bars or date milks, or just dates. I suppose you can also enjoy some snacks without dates in them, but where is the fun in that? No matter what you end up doing, just know that food is simply not a priority for most people that visit Mecca, and the city’s dining scene is shaped with such low expectations in mind. Keep your own expectations minimum and your mind open, and you might just enjoy your meals here after all.
