Tea and Falafel

If there’s anyone in this city who has their finger on the collective Jeddawi pulse, it’s Jeddah Blog’s Abdullah Yahya. Whether it’s honest advice on the best coffee shops  or the latest restaurant openings and dining options this is the one person you want among your handy Whatsapp contacts.

For this blog post, Abdullah has been on the hunt for a speciality breakfast hangout and he chanced upon the charmingly named Tea & Falafel on Madina Road. Scroll down to read Abdullah’s review, see what he ordered and find out how much he awarded the outlet in the all-important Jeddah Blog rating.

Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day, but many agree that it is indeed their favorite meal of the day. As Jeddawis, in the past we only had limited options for breakfast places, but this has been changing quickly in recent years.

If social media is any indication, breakfast joints are all the rage, and of all the times we eat out, the longest we wait for an empty table is usually when we go out for breakfast.

Rustic and homely at the same time

One of the latest places to open in Jeddah is Tea & Falafel which is located on Madinah Branch Road (address: 6614 Abi Haitham Al Ansari, Al Muhammadiyah District, Al Muhammadiyah District,, Jeddah 23624). Although it is still in its soft opening phase, it is very popular already.

The tastefully decorated single’s section

It has a single section downstairs and a family section upstairs. It’s not a large restaurant and there are less than 10 tables in the family section, and maybe as many in the singles section. It is nicely decorated and brightly coloured with upbeat quotes. My favourite is their take on BFF as “Best Falafel Forever”

The spice bar

Part tea shop, part restaurant, it serves Arabic food with an emphasis on falafel. You can indulge in all of your falafel fantasies here with creations such as falafel nachos, falafel waffles, manakeesh with falafel, etc.

We loved the bright sunlight pouring in.

Since it was our first time, we played it safe and ordered an Arabic breakfast plate (40SR) which came with samplers of Arabic traditional biggest hits (hummus, falafel, foul,  manakeesh, hummus, foul, labneh, tahini, makdous, jam, potato wedges, pickles, and pita bread). It comes with a pot of English breakfast tea but we replaced that with Karak tea.

I also ordered fresh orange juice (SR14 ), falafel stuffed with nuts (serving of two pieces, SR6), and zaatar mankeesh (SR8)

Za’atar Mankeesh

Karak Tea

Arabic breakfast sampler

Everything we tried was good, but the falafel, we thought, were exceptional. They were not too greasy and they tasted pretty good especially the falafel stuffed with nuts. I also liked the Karak tea.

Next time inshaAllah we will be trying other items on the menu, and you can bet there will be a next time, because not only did we like the food, but the service was good, the ambience was cool, and the prices were excellent. We ended up paying SR68 for 2 persons. Great value for money.

Jeddah Blog rating:

Ambience 8/10

Service 8/10

Food 9/10

Value 9/10

Overall rating 8.5/10

-photo credits: Abdullah Yahya

Naan Restaurant: A Review

Eating out is one of the most-favoured hobbies of Jeddawis and thankfully, we’ve always been spoilt for choice. The wonderful diversity among the residents of Jeddah is expressed in its food culture too.

It is quite common to see new restaurants and cafés opening up all the time, and Jeddah Blog’s very own foodie Abdullah Yahya never misses a chance to try out the latest offering. In his latest review exclusively for Jeddah Blog, Abdullah tries out Naan Restaurant, located behind Souk Shatee.

One of my new favourite restaurants in Jeddah is the elegant Naan in Al-Zahra district. It is roomy and it’s chic, with great service and even better food. The one downside is that they have a ‘no children under 5’ policy but to be fair, I have taken my toddler along twice and they let us in with a polite warning that if she starts crying I should take her to a room to calm her down, and luckily my girl behaved both times.

So why do I like it so much? The reason is quite simply that its menu is very extensive and can meet all tastes. Although their food is not hugely different from what you’d find in many other Indians restaurants, it just tastes better. Proof of that is that I thoroughly enjoyed the Chicken Biryani even though I am not much of a rice person.

First up, appetizers. We opted for the vegetable samosa which was quite good. The serving consisted of four pieces accompanied by a tangy tamarind dip, but I say skip the dip for the samosa itself is very crispy from the outside and juicy and colourful on the inside.

Crispy and moreish samosas.

 

The Murg Tikka comes in this showy presentation hanging vertically on skewers. But it’s not all show, it actually tastes amazing. Very juicy and flavourful – it tingles your tastebuds and leaves you wanting more!

The juicy Murg Tikka packed with flavour.

As for the curries, I have tried several during my visits. The one I tried last was the Bombay Beef Curry, which I liked quite a bit. My only gripe was that the quantity of beef in the dish wasn’t as generous as the amount of gravy.

For dessert, we are predictable and play safe as we always opt for the Gulab Jamun. This never fails and is consistently good, albeit the serving is too tiny for its price.

Gulab Jamun, always a safe bet.

When it comes to refreshments, I’ve tried their Mango Lassi before which is decent. This time I opted for their Gagajeer mocktail, which has among other things a weird mix of ginger, arugula, avocado, and honey. I was happy to give it a go, but it’s too weird even for me.

Are you adventurous enough for the Gagajeer Mocktail?

Price-wise, Naan is not the cheapest of Indian restaurants (not the priciest either), but it’s classy, clean, and serves great food. It definitely should be on your radar if you value some spice in your food.

Jeddah Blog rating

Ambience: 9/10

Food: 9/10

Service: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Cost per head: SR120-150

Skill on the Grill – Review

Skill on the Grill is a newly opened restaurant on the intersection of Prince Sultan Street and Sari Street in the fancy new mall that brings us lots of delectable eateries. Jeddah Blog writer Samreen Ahmed set out on a mission to sample the new outfit and gave us her verdict.