I’ve done a post on authentic food you should try in Makkah and Madinah; this post is more about the food and drink scene in the two cities more generally speaking. When travelling for Umrah, you are obviously traveling for a greater purpose (spiritual betterment), but you have to eat, right? So, hopefully this post will give you some suggestions on what you can eat and from where on your stay here. This post will be divided into two sections: Makkah and Madinah, and then each section will have a further two sections: near the Haram and away from the Haram. Let’s goooooo!
Makkah
Near the Haram
There are a number of malls near the Haram of Makkah (unlike Madinah), and malls means food courts. So, there’s a good amount of options available to pilgrims that are easy to access and convenient. All your standard big western names are readily available (McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC etc.). These food courts will also have some local spots doing different types of food. What seems to be common is the grilled meat and rice options. You’ll find numerous such places around the food courts all with a similar menu: Bukhari, biryani or kabsa rice with chicken or meat. You’ll find the odd shawarma, kebab and broast chicken spots scattered around too.
Local big names to try that are near the Haram are Al Baik, Al Tazaj and Al Romansiah. Al Baik is now of course world famous thanks to Dubai and TikTok – they do broast chicken and their chicken nuggets are to die for. Al Tazaj is like a fast food chain that is known for their kabsa chicken, but they also do broast chicken. Make sure you try their Basboosa! Al Romansiah is more of a dedicated Kabsa restaurant – they do other authentic chicken/meat and rice dishes too. I would definitely try some of them here. They are probably the most famous and popular restaurant of its type. The one near the Haram is only like an express/tourist branch, so the menu is limited.
Then there’s the “rustic food” options on Ibrahim al Khaleel road. I say rustic, but you know it’s these places that totally taste the best! If you start walking away from the Haram on Ibrahim al Khaleel road, you’ll slowly start to see crowds of people and touristy shops. Once you’ve reached this place, you’ll start to see these eateries. There’s Bengali restaurants, Pakistani restaurants, Bukhari restaurants and broast restaurants to name a few. Take your pick!
The coffee scene is absolutely booming in Saudi Arabia. There’s a couple of standout cafes to try near the Masjid. Camel Step is aesthetic and their drinks look the part, but Cafe Moment certainly is THE one you have to visit. And the reason isn’t even their drinks or their decor; it’s THE VIEWS! You get the best view of Masjid al-Haram. It’s such a nice little getaway where you can chill, drink some good coffee (they have authentic options too) and just people watch or enjoy the majestic views. Highly recommend this!
Away from the Haram
We didn’t get a chance to explore Makkah much to be honest as with most of us the days in this holy city go so fast and you are just super mad busy. So, I’m going to list a few highly rated places you can venture out and try and the dish they are known for if you want and if you get some time.
Abu Zaid – Yemeni breakfast
Al Qarmoshi – Yemeni breakfast
Am Qasem Arika – Arika (Ma’soob without banana – a speciality Yemeni breakfast dish)
Haji – Shawarma
Shawarma Jaha – Shawarma
Shawarma and Sauce – Shawarma
Shawaya House – Shawaya Chicken
Hashi Basha – Hashi (Hashi is baby camel, which is a delicacy here)
Awal & Tali – اول وتالي – Saleeq – this is authentic authentic home Saudi food – very difficult to find outside of a Saudi home. You’ll also find authentic versions of kabsa and Jareesh here.
Jawhara Restaurant For Bukhari and Turkish Cuisine – Bukhari rice and grilled chicken
Ariana Bukhari – Bukhari rice and grilled chicken
B’ir Al Rauhaa’ Kitchens and Restaurants – Bukhari rice and grilled chicken / Kabsa / Mandi
Kabsa Hashi Restaurant – Kabsa / Hashi
Shrimp Nation – the famous seafood boil
Chef’s Burger – Burger
Wister – Burger
Century Burger – Burger
8oz Coffee – speciality coffee
Sip – speciality coffee
RATIO Speciality Coffee – speciality coffee
Dokan Coffee – speciality coffee
Signature Juices – fruit juices
Madinah
Near the Haram
Unlike Makkah, there aren’t any typical malls near the Masjid. So, on the face of it in terms of conveniency, the food scene near Masjid an-Nabawi is not as good as Masjid al-Haram in Makkah. We’ll summarise the main options here. A quick stroll around the exterior of the Masjid and around the hotels, you’ll slowly start to notice many “two hole in the wall shops” – I call them two hole because they literally have two holes. One hole serving shawarma, sandwiches and the like and the other hole serving beverages hot and cold. We had food from some of them, but in all honesty wasn’t too impressed. The queues were mad as this is the closest to the mosque and everyone would come straight after prayer. The prices were unreasonable I thought for the quality. And the quality was dire. The shawarma in particular were dry and really not worth the wait and struggle of ordering.
Al Faris Restaurant is a super popular spot amongst visitors. This is evident as soon as you step foot into the restaurant. It’s located very close to the mosque and offers humble and reasonably priced food. Think Pakistani, Afghan and Bukhari food. Very good for dine in (family room available) or takeaway (close to all the hotels). My personal favourite thing to get from here is the chargrilled chicken with Bukhari rice.
There is an area right behind the Masjid, which is known as the Bengali Market. Here you’ll find a few streets full of elite level authentic Bengali food. They cover breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the food is seriously good. Easy to get to too if your hotel is located at the back end of the Masjid.
Hardees & KFC vs McDonald’s seems to be the battle in terms of western fast food chains. Due to a lack of a mall, the small Hardees and KFC hole in the wall spot right at the back of the Masjid is super super popular. There’s always mad queues here. However, it seems not many know about the McDonald’s, which is great if you can’t be asked to queue up for ages.
There’s this new initiative where there are some small stalls behind Masjid an-Nabawi (adjacent to King Fahd gate I think – right where the hotels are and where everyone chills). There’s a row of little shops on two sides. These little shops sell all sorts – gifts, souvenirs, books, grocery, food and drink. Definitely could do with more food shops though. We found a few good shops – high quality ice cream, fresh pomegranate juice and one selling Baleela (traditional chick pea dish), also someone on my TikTok mentioned that there is one shop that sells Ajwa ice cream! There’s seating down the middle for people to sit and chill, but overall, there aren’t many eating options here, but I do like the concept. There’s a speciality coffee cafe at the end of these little shops too that looks worth trying.
I prefer getting my hotel at the back end of the Masjid as it seems to be the more lively end, so all the above options are for the back end. If you are at the front end, you may have more options including the famous and big Al Baik branch that attracts notoriously large crowds. Notoriously large! Think black stone crowds and that’s no exaggeration. There must be more options there too, but I’m not too familiar with that side of the Masjid.
Away from the Haram
I lived in Madinah for a bit many years ago, so I’m a little more familiar with the food scene of Madinah than I am of Makkah. I also feel Madinah is a little more relaxed and you will get a little bit more time to explore out if you wanted. I still wouldn’t sacrifice prayer time in the Masjid for going to one of the places below. I will list some places you can try out just like I did for Makkah above. The city is also full of speciality coffee boujie cafes, so if you’re a fan, you will not be disappointed. Some of the highly rated ones have been listed at the end.
Abu Zaid – Yemeni breakfast / 7 minute drive from Masjid an-Nabawi
Al Qarmoshi – Yemeni breakfast / 16 minute drive from Masjid an-Nabawi / near Dhul Hulaifa mosque
Shoaib – modern Yemeni breakfast / on the famous Sultanah road / near Qiblatain
Abu Osaid – modern Yemeni breakfast / near Quba
Harraq Shawarma Abu Sayah – supposedly the best shawarma in town / a local type of spot / near Khandaq masjid
Ayedh Shawarma – near Masjid Quba
Al Hetta – more modern shawarma spot / near Masjid Quba
Matam Al Farsi Al Bukhari – supposedly the best Bukhari spot in Madinah / near Khandaq masjid / appropriately named Al Farsi (Salman Al Farisi is heavily associated to the story of the Khandaq)
Al Tazaj – fast food kabsa spot that does broast chicken too / numerous branches
Al Romansiah – the most popular and famous dedicated kabsa restaurant in the country / try kabsa, Mandi, madhbi, shawaya or the Hashi here / about a 6 minute drive from Masjid an-Nabawi
Shawaya House – the most famous shawaya chicken dedicated spot / one near Quba and one near Qiblatain
Hashi Basha – must try the Hashi here (baby camel!) / near Uhud
Shrimp Nation – the famous seafood boil / about a 15-20 minute drive away / near Quba
Bab Al Anbariyah Hijazi Restaurant – Saleeq – this is authentic authentic home Saudi food – very difficult to find outside of a Saudi home / near Dhul Hulaifa mosque
Frawlaty – I love that the Arab world has these fresh fruit juice bars / very aesthetic decor and delicious fresh juice / this is a super popular spot for the locals / on the famous Sultanah road / near Qiblatain
Toastique – modern little boujie sandwich shop / near Quba
Burger Valley – a couple branches / supposedly the best burger in town
Fatinah Cafe – speciality coffee / near Uhud
HBQ Cafe – unique spot specialising in tea and I like how they are named after the city’s famous herb (hubuk) / near Uhud
44X Specialty Coffee – near Uhud
Row specialty coffee – near Quba
TOLS – near Quba
Noon Cafe – near Quba
Mondays and Thursdays
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The deeds are presented on Monday and Thursday. Thus, I love for my deeds to be presented while I am fasting.”
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 747
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani
It is a prophetic action and recommendation to fast on Mondays and Thursdays. Keeping up with this tradition many Muslims around the world fast on these days. To cater for this, local families in both the Masjids (in Makkah and Madinah) provide food for the fasting people on these two days. Of course this doesn’t mean it is only for them. Everyone is welcome to partake in the eating. A simple meal is provided: bread, yoghurt, duqqa mix (a spice mix to be mixed with the yoghurt), dates and a hot drink (tea or Arabic coffee). You’ll find this on Mondays and Thursdays around sunset (Maghreb prayer time). A must experience when here. During Ramadan, this is a daily occurrence.
