Tasting Middle Eastern Food at Abunawas Restaurant Jakarta

Are you a big fan of delicious mandi and biryani rice?

With lamb or chicken, both are so good by the way, on top of the rice?

Then join me here in this post as I am taking you to one of the best restaurants serving Middle Eastern food in Jakarta. Abunawas Restaurant.

Are you familiar with the Middle Eastern food? I have been enjoying more and more Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food when I was in New York City. My hubby loves lamb a lot and Middle Eastern food has been very famous fo their lamb menus. Since we lived in Astoria and there are many mosques as well as moslem communities in some parts of if, we also found many restaurants serving these wonderful cuisines and they are halal! Not to mention the famous Halal Guys, the food cart selling delicious chicken and lamb gyros as well as falafel. Oh my... I really miss them! That is why up until now we really miss this type of food.

So back to Jakarta, we do have some choices when it comes to Middle Eastern food. As you have probably be aware of, there are huge Arab communities in Jakarta and they do have their authentic restaurants. This place, Abunawas Restaurant, has been very famous for it Arabian cuisine and the setting as well as the ambience of the place is also beautiful.

When you arrive, the front part of the building is so lovely and it directly reminds of the jazeera, complete with shoe-horse shaped patio and door. As you step in, you will be transported to the Middle East as the coordinated theme and accents used depicts the unique Arabian cultures.




For sure the health protocol is implemented so the mask in obligatory and your temperature will be checked and you have to wash your hands or use the hand sanitizers. and physical distancing is also in place.

Abunawas Restaurant, Jakarta
health protocol is implemented.

As you can see here, the interior is wonderful and I really love the details. It reminds me of La Alhambra in Granada, Spain, as well as La Mesquita in Sevilla, Spain. The fresco, the color choice, the ceilings, the walls.. they are just lovely! I feel so nostalgic when I saw all this beautiful setting. It has wonderful murals and amazing sofa that I would like to bring home LOL. Take a look at them here.

Abunawas Restaurant, Jakarta, Indonesia

Look at the murals!


I am IN LOVE with this sofa!

Now.. Let'
s take a look at the menu here!

As I have mentioned before, they are very famous for their mandi and biryani rice. You can have this rice with chicken, lamb or fish. All of them are so good! There is also Zurbiyan rice but I haven't really tried it.


You can have the menu in individual plate or portion, or the portion for two, which for me, can accommodate 4 hungry people. 

Quarter lamb or chicken over your choice of rice is people’s favorite. You can have mandi or biryani rice, or half - half on them. Complete with spicy sauce as you like it.

Middle Eastern Food at Abunawas Restaurant Jakarta
Chicken over half biryani, half mandi rice

If you order any dippings, like babagamush or hummus, you will get the pitta bread as well. I also tried the cheese samosa and I love it. Tabouleh is so good and fresh, although I would love to have more lemon and fresh tomatoes on it so it has more kick.


I managed to try the smoothies as well. It has I chose the one with peanut butter, which is very nice and creamy. I guess the name of this beverage is Iskandaria Peanut Smoothie. It has a nice ring one it, right! Next time I will try the one with dates I guess!

Iskandaria Peanut Smoothie, anyone?
The restaurant has two floors so you can choose where you are going to eat. You can also have the tables or the ‘tent’ where you can sit on the floor for full Arabian experience. They have private rooms you can use as well. I love the ambience, it’s pretty with fountain, cave-like and tent-like decoration, murals on the wall and Arabic accents.

the tent looks so exotic

It has spacious parking lot, so it won’t be a problem. I am not sure it is disability friendly though, especially for those with impaired mobility. It has spacious room but to reach the second floor will certainly be problematic. I hope they will fix it soon.

So, what do you think? Will you try the food here? I will definitely be back here again soon with my hubby!

Stay safe and healthy, everyone.


23 comments:

  1. Porsinya gedhaaa bin mantab jiwa ya mbaa
    wah, aku sukaaa banget middle eastern food kayak gini.
    Kalo d Surabaya, pusatnya di Ampel.
    super hepiii ya mba, nemu resto masakan Arab

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  2. Bhuaaa aku dibawa jalan2 ke Timur Tengah, bangunannya indah dan langsung deh inget sama jazeera, tema dan aksen terkoordinasi menggambarkan budaya Arab yang unik pisan. Duh apalagi disuguhin nasi briyani ginii, kesukaankuuuu.
    Next kalo ke Jakarta mampir ke Abunawas sambil pake kostum Timur tengah, eeehhh..

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  3. Interior ya cantik banget ya Kak. Termasuk sofa merah yang sungguh eye-catching dan muralnya unik banget. Hidangannya pun enak-enak, udah lama nih aku nggak nyicip nasi mandi dan biryani. Ngebayangin lezatnya sampai ke hati

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  4. Keluargaku juga penyuka menu2 masakan Timur Tengah. Tapi belum pernah sih di tempat yg semewah ini heheee. Bagus banget ya tempatnya. Seperti di istana putri Jasmine nya Aladin.

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  5. Waah...restoran Abunawas ini juara juara juaraaaa...
    Interiornya berasa berada di Timur Tengah banget.
    Dan makanannya, sooo soo yummiii~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cocok banget ajakin keluarga makan di Restoran Abunawas.
      Sajian per-porsinya besar.
      Dimakan selagi hangat sambil bercengkerama. Nikmatnyaaa~

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  6. favorit banget aku tuh nasi biryani. bahkan anakku kalo lagi gak doyan makan auto semangat makannya kalo aku beliin nasi biryani.
    btw, abunawas disebelah mana mba lokasi tepatnya..?

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  7. Duh, makanan timur tengah ya. Udah lamaaaa banget aku gak makan. Kangen deh dengan nasinya, rotinya, karenya, dan daging2 kambingnya. Huhu di sini jauh eung ke resto timteng kayak begini :D

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  8. wah suka banget lihat interior restoran Abunawas ini
    memang dibuat ala Timur Tengah ya mbak
    dan pastinya makanan khas Timur Tengah itu enak enak
    yang bikin pengen itu nasi mandhinya

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  9. Interior restonya cantik banget ya. Pasti betah berlama-lama di situ, suasananya kelihatan tenang banget.
    Porsi makannya banyak banget.

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  10. Beuh jadi pengen makan disana juga deh hihi.. taste makanan timur tengah itu emang menggoda ya.. dari aromanya aja udah khas banget dan yang paling menyebalkan menurut aku adalah.. ngga bisa makan sedikit.. pasti selalu nambah dan nambah lagi karena emang dilidah enak.. dilidah aku lho ya hehe

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  11. It is rich in flavour. Middle Eastern cuisine uses rich, flavorful spices in abundance. Mandi/Biryani, Hummus, Samosa, Pitta Bread....Want to try them all at this Abunawas Restaurant!

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  12. Saya dan keluarga suka banget nih masakan timur tengah...
    Udah lama banget enggak ke resto timur tengah, kangen juga sama dekorasinya yang khas dan mewah...

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  13. Aah jadi pingim mmapir kan nih mak insav...
    Aku suka masakan midlle eastern gini.
    Especially nasi mandi + lamb nya hehehe...
    Yg bikin penasaran iskandarian smoothiesnya juga nih

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  14. aku baru aja bikin rencana sama suami, pengen ih hunting kuliner eh malah PPKM lagi. Lepas PPKM pun ngeri juga mau makan diluar ya kak.

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  15. My hubs and boys love Middle Eastern food Me? Not so much! But the food at Abunawas Restaurant looks amazing though!

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  16. Suka nasi biryani pernah coba bikin dr kemasan instan yg udah ada bumbunya tingal masak. Tapi belum pernah masak d resto asli timur tengah jd blm tahu perbandingannya tp pasti enak yg ori ya

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  17. di aceh ada juga nih restoran timur tengah yang baru buka. pingin kesana, tapi enggak jadi terus. pingin makan nasinya, rotinya, aaah tiba2 saya lapar

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  18. ini masuk makanan faveku nih. entah gimana dulu ceritanya kok bisa suka banget sama masakan timur tengah yg full rempah dan spicy enak. hahaha.. pengen deh cobain ke abunawas kapan2 kalau dikasih kesempatan

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  19. I like this place too, my favorit place is second floor

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  20. saya paling suka nasi biryani mbak, pernah coba waktu teman saya yang berasal dari arab dan tinggal di Indonesia jualan kuliner arab gitu. Wah, porsi besar tuh kayaknya ya mbak ^_^

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  21. ya ampun, nuansanya seperti kita lagi di Timur Tengah. Aku belum pernah nih kesini mbak. Semoga ada rezeki dan waktu biar bisa mampir kesini juga

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  22. We don't have too many places here that have middle eastern food, but we have some. I do love it!

    ReplyDelete

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