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Bab Al-Hara Restaurant Old City - Damascus Syria
This restaurant is consistently packed with locals which usually means it serves the goods as well and it does by far. Bab Al-Hara is located in the Old City (see map below) and somehow during my stay in Damascus I always found it just by walking toward the “main area” of the city, whatever that means. It’s hidden by a huge decorated old wooden door that looks like a castle gate. Once inside you see a small stone-decorated courtyard with a small fountain and lots of tables, people, and the ubiquitous shisha smoke (now under consideration in Syria for banning indoors). Service can be extremely slow and many of the linens were a bit unclean and rife with cigarette burn holes but the wait is well worth it, plan on a three hour dinner and have a lot of patience, it’s not NYC anymore, thankfully. Bab Al Hara has all of the typical Arabic specialties and does their chicken kebabs and hummus, and hummus with meat (small bits of grilled beef on top of hummus) quite well. A good stand out for them, however, is their selection of pasta dishes which were consistently tasty and cooked to perfection. Their spicy noodle dish and carbonaras were a good respite from the normal fare found in Damascus and the Old City. Beer is served though not listed on the menu and is Al-Maza from a can, though they have chilled glass mugs to drink from. I saw many Syrian young people here eating dessert only, and they make ice cream sundae type dishes as well as have the free fruit platter/pastry dessert trays that most every restaurant in Damascus gives you after your meal. Most dishes are in the $1-3 range. Ask for an itemized bill. If you are in a hurry you have to be a bit more forward with the wait staff in getting your bill as the custom is to hang out at the table for hours while you eat and talk. This restaurant is highly recommended, it’s not a touristy restaurant, so don’t expect tourist treatment but do be prepared to stay for awhile and eat some good food. They also have a website (don’t judge the restaurant by their website!): http://www.babal7ararestaurant.com/
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