Tunisian food: 8 dishes to try on your holiday

Tunisian food is generous and spicy. Here are eight dishes to try during your holiday.

1. Couscous, often with fish on the coast. The know-how of Maghreb couscous has been on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list since 2020.
2. Harissa, the chilli paste served with almost everything, also listed by UNESCO in 2022.
3. Brik, a crisp pastry parcel, often filled with egg and tuna.
4. Lablabi, a chickpea soup eaten in the morning.
5. Ojja, eggs poached in a tomato and chilli sauce.
6. Mloukhia, a dark stew made with ground jute leaves.
7. Makroudh, a semolina and date pastry, a speciality of Kairouan.
8. Mint tea with pine nuts, to end the meal.

Where to stay to taste it all: Hotels in Tunis · Hammamet · Sousse · Djerba

Street food and snacks

• Fricassé: a small fried bread roll filled with tuna, egg, potato, olives and harissa.
• Kafteji: fried vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, pumpkin, potatoes) chopped together with egg, often eaten as a sandwich.
• Mlawi and chapati: flatbreads cooked on a griddle and filled to order.
• Tunisian salad and mechouia: fresh chopped salad, or grilled peppers, tomatoes and garlic, often topped with tuna and egg.

Sweets

• Bambalouni: sugared doughnuts, sold hot in Sidi Bou Said.
• Baklawa, kaak warka and samsa: almond, pistachio and honey pastries, served with coffee or tea.
• Assida: a sweet pudding prepared for the Mouled, the Prophet's birthday.

Tips for eating out

• Bread, olives and harissa usually arrive before the meal.
• On the coast, fish and seafood are sold by weight: choose your fish and ask the price before it goes on the grill.
• During Ramadan, many restaurants open after sunset; hotel restaurants keep normal hours for guests.
• Most hotels offer buffets with Tunisian dishes. In Tunis, Hammamet or Sousse, try a small local restaurant at least once: couscous is often served on Fridays.

Where to taste the best

Tunis and its medina for traditional dishes, Sfax and the coast for fish, Kairouan for makroudh, Sidi Bou Said for bambalouni and Djerba for its own couscous and seafood.

Quick answers

Is Tunisian food spicy? It can be, mainly because of harissa. Ask for dishes "without harissa" if you prefer it mild.

What is the national dish of Tunisia? Couscous, shared with the rest of the Maghreb, and served with fish, lamb or vegetables.

A Tunisian meal, step by step

A typical meal starts with bread, olives, harissa and a salad, followed by a soup such as chorba or a brik. The main course is often couscous or a slow-cooked tajine, which in Tunisia is closer to a baked omelette with meat, cheese and parsley than to a stew. Fruit and mint tea end the meal, with pastries on special occasions.

Families gather around couscous on Fridays and for celebrations. During Ramadan, the evening meal often begins with dates and milk, then chorba and brik.

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