Trying the local food is one of our favourite things to do when travelling. So, typically a lot of research is done prior to a trip. When doing research for our recent trip to Sousse Tunisia, we found very little information on the food scene in Tunisia especially in the English language. There were a couple vloggers in Arabic. So, I wanted to do this blog post to highlight the key delicious dishes you need to try when here and as always I ain’t out here to try burgers, pizza and chips (only). I want what the locals have! And primarily I am focusing on the street food here.
1. Lablabi: chickpea stew
We’re starting off with a Tunisian street food classic: Lablabi. This is a chickpea stew dish that has harissa, an egg, capers and other goodies. We didn’t get the option of tuna in ours, but we have been told since, that it is a must! You first get given an empty bowl and half a stale baguette. You then rip that up and put the pieces in the base of your bowl. Then you hand that bowl over to the kind gentleman who will load it up with the aforementioned goodies. Then you’re given two spoons to mix everything up. And then enjoy! The mixing does have to be rigorous and if you slack (like we did), you’ll get a helping hand. The shopkeeper literally came up to our table, took the spoons and starting mixing it himself. How did it taste? We loved this dish. It had a homely heartwarming feel to it. It felt like the perfect winter’s dish. I’m a big chickpea fan, so this was right up my alley and I loved the spice level the harissa added. We weren’t big fans of the capers though; it added a slightly bitter taste.
2. Fricassee: bite-size fried sandwich
Tunisia is very famous for sandwiches and the Fricassee is probably the most famous of them all. It is probably the best travelled too as you’ll find this beyond Tunisia unlike most of the other dishes on this list. It is made up of fried bread that is filled with tuna, harissa, mashed potato and olives. And it is literally a couple of bites big. Tiny! You’ll find little Fricassee shops everywhere! And they are the perfect street food snack because you can literally and easily munch on them on the go.
3. Dro3: sorghum porridge that has halwa and basboosa in it too!
Dro3 or Dura3 is a Tunisian breakfast porridge that is made up of sorghum and then topped off with an assortment of goodies such as halwa, nuts, sugar and most interestingly a piece of basboosa. I’ve personally never seen basboosa used like this, but I’m not complaining because I loved it! Even though it is a breakfast item, it can be consumed throughout the day. Each holiday we discover a “find of the trip”, and the find of this trip has to be this right here. Such a great breakfast item and I can imagine it being really good for Sahoor too. This is quite hard to find, but we managed to find a couple popular spots that do it in Sousse.
Two of the most popular places to try it at in Sousse are:
1. Point Chaud. This is on a road full of wonderful authentic Tunisian eats. In fact most of the dishes featured on this post can be found on this street.
2. Bezzin in the Medina. This is probably the most famous one amongst locals. We knew it existed but couldn’t locate it on Google Maps. Thankfully we just happened to stumble upon it while we were walking through the market.
What does it taste like? Tastes a lot like the Chinese sesame porridge with an oriental and floral twist from the halwa and basboosa. Delicious!
4. Chapati: a flatbread sandwich with omelette and tuna.
This isn’t the chapati you think you know. It is not the one found in Indian or Pakistani cuisine. It is basically a flatbread heated on a specific griddle used for chapati, halved and then typically an omelette goes in along with tuna. There is a Mahdia version too that is more like a wrap as it is filled and then closed before it gets cooked.
5. Mlawi: another sandwich but like a wrap.
Yet another sandwich, but this time it comes in a wrap form. We tried this from one of the most popular spots in Sousse. Over 100k followers on social media and packedddd full of locals (we had to wait an hour and a half). Signs of quality for sure. They do two things: chapati (mahdia) and mlawi. But the choice of fillings are numerous and I’m sure you’ll find something to suit your tastebuds.
6. Libanaise: from Am Salem! Like a cross between a flapjack and cake.
We accidentally stumbled upon this one to be honest. There’s a famous shop called Am Salem that does orange juice (which is what we went in for) and these traditional desserts. Initially, we thought it’s something Lebanese, but no Libanaise is the actual name. They’ve got a variety of flavours like chocolate and coconut, but we got the original, which he described as being the mother of all Libanaise. How was it? If you’ve got a sweet tooth like me, you’d love it! It was like a cross between a flapjack and cake. Now, I couldn’t find much information on this in my research other than people trying to recreate the Am Salem Libanaise. But thankfully my lovely followers of instagram and TikTok have given me an insight into the legendary status of this treat and shop. Many have mentioned how they have been visiting this spot for decades and how this shop has been a pillar in a lot of their childhoods. Nostalgia is a common word that came up.
7. Bambalouni: the iconic Tunisian doughnut.
Have you even been to Tunisia if you haven’t tried Bambalouni? Essentially, these are Tunisian doughnuts. It is sprinkled with sugar and is a wonderful little treat for any time of the day. We picked ours up from the legendary spot in Sidi Bou Said (you cannot miss it!). You’ll be smelling it before you even see it. There’s two spots though; get it from the little hole in the wall on the LEFT. That is the original spot that has been around since 1932!!!
8. Brik: a fried pastry with egg inside.
This is a classic must try dish in Tunisia. It is basically a fried pastry that has some of the beloved Tunisian ingredients in it including egg, tuna, mashed potato and harisa for those that like spice. You’ll find this absolutely everywhere. Don’t leave the country without trying it. Most traditional restaurants will be serving it, but locals will tell you the best places to try this at is from the street side stalls.
9. Tunisian breakfast spread from Cafe el Kasbah in the medina of Sousse. Includes bsissa and assida.
We visited the famous Cafe Al Kasbah in the Medina of Sousse to try their traditional Tunisian breakfast spread. It included dishes like Bsissa, Dro3, Assida, Ftaair and a harrisa and olive oil mix that was so good. It had other goodies like cream, cheese, honey, egg and halwa. It comes with an orange juice and a hot drink. We got mint tea with pine nuts and their famous arabic coffee. I was happy we experienced this because we were able to tick off a few Tunisian staples in one sitting. Dishes like bsissa, dro3 and assida are not easy to find. Dro3 we’ve spoken about. Bsissa is basically like a superfood that used to be a very popular breakfast dish, now not so much. It is nutty, bitty and a bit like halwa. Assida is a unique dish that has a pudding like texture but with ghee on it, so a strange sweet and savoury mix. I think this is a famous dish in Yemen and south of Saudi Arabia too.
10. Ojja: the Tunisian shakshuka.
Ojja is a classic Tunisian dish where eggs are cooked in a tomato base. And usually it has merguez (sausages) in it too. Much like shakshuka but with Tunisian character and spices. We wanted to try this at the famous Restaurant Café Seles in the Medina of Sousse, but it was closed for some unknown reason on the day. So, we walked around the Medina and just happened to stumble upon Dar Lella Khadija. And boy were we glad. It’s an old house that has been turned into a restaurant. And you can still explore the place and see how the old rooms were. A beautiful setting for lunch I must say! I don’t think they had a menu. The lady greeted us and asked us what we wanted and we mentioned we wanted to try Ojja and she said take a seat! The rest is history.
Getting there
Google Maps location link: click here
