What to eat in Syria
Shawarma, falafel, manakish, foul, hummus, fatteh. Kebab or kibbeh at a table. Cash pounds in the souq; hotels often want dollars. Ask new or old.
Checked 13 September 2026 against In Your Pocket’s Damascus money page and editor’s picks, Laura Meyers (Laure Wanders) on 8 September 2026, Arabic May and July 2026 market notes on shawarma after the new pound, Reuters on Bakdash in Hamidiyya, In Syria’s street-food and sweets pages, and the cash already on Cash in Syria and How much does Syria cost per day?. Prices move. If a practical detail below is wrong, tell us.
On a first day in Damascus you order shawarma in thin bread — chicken or lamb, garlic, pickles. A falafel wrap if you skip meat. Manakish from the oven: zaatar, cheese, or minced meat. Foul and hummus in the morning, often with fatteh: fried bread, yoghurt, chickpeas. At a table: kebab or kibbeh. Street stalls want pounds. Hotels that take foreigners often want dollars. Ask whether the number is new or old.
What do you order in Damascus?
Shawarma is the lunch you eat standing in Souq al-Hamidiyya, or sitting later in Bab Touma. Meat off a vertical spit, thin bread or a samoon roll, garlic sauce, pickles, sometimes fries. Chicken or lamb. Agree the number before it is wrapped.
Falafel is the vegetarian packing. Chickpea balls — sometimes fava — fried, then tahini, salad, pink pickled turnip. Same few dollars as a shawarma wrap. Pick a stall that is busy.
Manakish comes off the oven in the morning. Zaatar. Cheese. Lahm bi ajeen, minced meat on the dough. Fold it. Eat it while it is hot.
Foul is boiled fava beans with lemon, garlic, oil, and bread. Hummus sits beside it. Fatteh is the bowl many people order with them: fried bread, yoghurt, chickpeas, a little ghee. That is breakfast in the old city.
Kebab and kibbeh are the sit-down meat. Kebab is grilled, often in bread. Kibbeh is bulgur and minced meat — fried, grilled, or in a bowl. You do not need a ranked restaurant list. A busy stall in the souq, or a table in Bab Touma, is enough.
Evening in Bab Touma is a table, juice, tea. Do not pack a bar crawl — the H2 “Can I drink alcohol in Syria?” is on What to wear in Syria. In Ramadan, eat and drink inside during the day unless the café around you is serving. Do not eat on the street. The month moves; ask the hotel. Same page.
How much — pounds or dollars?
A wrap or a street plate: a few dollars. Sit-down meals: a few dollars to about US$25. Agree the number before the plate arrives. Prices are often said in dollars and paid in pounds. Same bands as How much does Syria cost per day?.
| What | Snapshot, independent 2026 notes |
|---|---|
| Wrap or street plate | A few dollars |
| Sit-down meal | A few dollars to about US$25 |
The souq wants pounds. The hotel often wants dollars. Confirm which you are paying, and the rate if they take your notes and give change in pounds. Street food will not wait on a card. A working terminal in a hotel restaurant is a bonus. How to carry and change notes is on Cash in Syria.
Arabic 2026 notes still mix new hundreds and old tens of thousands for the same sandwich. Ask: new or old? If the menu prints 10,000 or 80,000, that is usually the old scale. Divide by 100. If the hotel wants dollars and the stall wants pounds, keep both. We do not confirm today’s dollar rate, or a live shawarma board.
Bakdash
Bakdash is inside Souq al-Hamidiyya. Stretchy booza, pistachios, pounded in the shop. Reuters had it open in December 2024. Laure ate it on her first day in September 2026. In Your Pocket still lists it in 2026.
Eat a scoop if you are already in the souq. Some 2025 forum notes say the ice cream changed. That is one review, not a gazette. Keep going to the mosque.
If you go to Aleppo
If you go north to Aleppo, order knafeh: shredded pastry, cheese or cream, syrup, pistachios, cut hot. The covered souq still sells pistachio baklava and the same knafeh. No shop name here. Evening in Jdeideh is a table, tea, juice.
