Where to Eat in Petra, Jordan?

Visiting Petra - an ancient Lost City in Jordan - is an unforgettable experience. 

However, once you’ve walked along Petra’s Siq, wandered around the magnificent Petra Treasury, explored the famous Petra Royal Tombs, and hiked up to the Petra Monastery, chances are you're going to be tired and hungry!

Middle Eastern food you can find around Petra

Whilst you can take a packed lunch with you, it’s also nice to head to a restaurant where you can sit down (preferably in air conditioning), rest your weary bones, and fuel up. After all,  So where should you eat? 

Well, Wadi Musa (the city in which Petra is located) is full of places to grab a bite, whether you want a sit-down meal, a buffet lunch, or a grab-and-go pizza slice.  Here are seven of our recommendations for tasty fare when you’re visiting this astonishing archaeological site.

1. Palm Court

Top of our list has to be Palm Court since it ticks all the boxes - great food, friendly staff, charming ambiance, and really reasonable prices.  Essentially it’s a no-nonsense eatery with a team of great cooks, with all the traditional Jordanian dishes you’d expect on the menu and a bit more besides.

Every dish is just delightful!

Customers love their Lebanese chicken, shawarma board (served with crispy French Fries), and their Mansaf. There’s a separate menu for vegetarians who can tuck into things like eggplant with pomegranate sauce and vegan moussaka.  

Rounded off with some mint lemonade, you’ll leave smiling (especially when you discover the chef used to work in a few five-star restaurants, which explains why your food was so good!)

Essentially, this is a great value establishment, close to the Visitors Centre.

2. Zawaya

After a long day exploring Petra, you could do worse than eat dinner at Zawaya, another local restaurant serving tasty local food. Specialties there include the Muqlaba, beef kebabs, and chicken away and you do get a lot of food on your plate.  

The Zawaya Restaurant (Image source: Google Maps album, uploaded by the official Zawaya account)

If you’re not into traditional Jordanian food, they also serve burgers and shawarma, and veggies can enjoy the lentil soup and also their excellent tabouli with couscous. Oh, and their banana milkshakes are wonderful and their lemon and mint juice really hits the spot.

With complimentary tea after your meal, accompanied by one of their sweet tooth desserts, what’s not to like?

3. Al Qantarah

If you’re in the mood for a buffet lunch, head to Al Qantarah, which offers customers a wide range of salads, main courses, and desserts, not to mention plenty of fresh fruit. It’s popular amongst tourist groups because it’s a large place and the lunch itself costs only 10 JOD (soft drinks not included in the price).

Hot dishes on the menu can include Kousa Mahshi (a Lebanese dish, featuring zucchini stuffed with mincemeat) beef balls in tomato sauce, and chicken with rice. There are plenty of veggie options too and the salads are plentiful. 

Classic Kousa Mahshi

Al Qantarah also has super clean bathrooms (which are always welcome, after you’ve been trekking for hours). No alcohol is served, but their lemonade is excellent.  And the retro interior, complete with old photos of Petra, is a lot of fun!

4. Reem Baladi

Serving generous portions of traditional Jordanian food (but with plenty of veggie options too), Reem Baladi is a good place to go to eat well (the food can be ordered spicy, in case you have that kind of palette) at very affordable prices.

Great Middle Eastern food

Diners rave about the mixed grill, kofta, and camel meat and the aries (pita bread stuffed with minced meat, herbs, and spices) are excellent. There are salads, hummus, and dips for veggies (as well as vegetables with rice for a hot meal) and you’ll most likely be given complimentary mint tea and baklava at the end of your meal.

Reem Baladi has a large interior (which is kept toasty in the winter) and a terrace, which is lovely for the warmer summer months.

5. Yummy Bites

If you’re tired of eating local Jordanian food, then head in the direction of ‘Yummy Bites’ which is an excellent place to grab sandwiches, wraps, and pizza. The staff are very helpful and the place - located on the main street in Wadi Musa - is extremely clean.  

The local pizza is awesome!

Yummy bites also offer breakfast fare, if you’re looking to load up before hiking around Petra itself. And it’s really good value for money - you’ll pay around 5 JOD for a pizza which will fill you up nicely.  They also serve ‘eureka’ type pastries filled with spinach and pine nuts, shawarma, and french fries.  

6. My Mom’s Recipe

Decorated like the interior of a Bedouin tent, ‘My Mom’s Recipe’ is a welcoming, cozy kind of place with helpful staff and food to suit everyone and whilst it’s not the cheapest option in Petra, it’s certainly worth the splurge. 

My Mom’s Recipe (Image source: The official My Mom’s Recipe Restaurant website)

Meat eaters will enjoy the mixed grill, mistaken (chicken baked with spices), and the kubbeh.  The food comes fast and the service is attentive.  

They also have a separate menu with vegetarian and vegan options and the staff understand the concept of ‘no meat’ - baba ganoush, veggies with rice, falafel, okra, and even a vegan moussaka.  

Oh - and they even have gluten-free bread!  

7. The Basin

Managed by the Crown Plaza resort, the Basin Restaurant has the advantage of being a restaurant inside the actual archaeological site of Petra. This means that if you’re exhausted after walking all morning around the site, you can stop here for a lunch break.

The restaurant is run buffet style and whilst it is expensive by local standards (because of its enviable location) the prices are not exorbitant. There’s a good selection of salads, hummus, dips, and, of course, grilled meats and vegetables.

The Basin Restaurant (Image source: The official Petra Guesthouse website)

You can also sit outside under large tents but in the summer you’re probably going to want to take advantage of the air-conditioning inside!  Even better, the Basin (unlike many restaurants in Wadi Musa) serves alcohol, so you can enjoy a refreshingly cold beer or even a glass of local Jordanian wine.

If you’re interested in taking a trip to Jordan, to visit Petra and perhaps even Wadi Rum, feel free to contact us by email or phone for more information - we offer day trips, two-day trips, and packages with something on the menu for everyone!