Amman · Food
Checked 31 August 2026 · 3 official sources
EAT LIKE A LOCAL
The downtown classics are on the main page; this is the rest of the city's eating, which happens later, further up the hills, and with more meat.
Shawerma Reem, Second Circle
A shawarma counter at Second Circle in Jabal Amman that has been feeding taxi drivers and after-midnight crowds for decades. Small lamb wraps, sold by the piece, eaten standing on the pavement. It runs late and there is usually a queue; the queue moves.
📍 Map · $
Al-Quds Restaurant, King Hussein Street
A long-standing downtown restaurant and sweet shop where mansaf is served properly: lamb over rice, with jameed — dried fermented sheep's yoghurt — poured over it, and flatbread underneath. Mansaf is Jordan's national dish and a celebration food, so it is a lunch rather than a light meal.
📍 Map · $$
Shams El Balad, Jabal Amman
A daytime kitchen above the Citadel view that cooks Levantine breakfast from Jordanian produce — labneh, za'atar, seasonal vegetables, eggs — rather than a hotel buffet. Popular with Ammanis at weekends, so it is worth going early or booking.
📍 Map · $$
Sweifieh and Wakalat Street
West Amman's eating district, twenty minutes by taxi from the centre: grills, Levantine chains, Gulf and Asian restaurants and late-opening dessert shops around a pedestrianised street. This is where the city eats when it is not showing anyone around, and it is where the restaurants stay open latest.
📍 Map · $$