Hammamet

Food and Drink

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Le Grand Bleu, on the beach Hammamet Plage. The only restaurant on the beach. The atmosphere is informal and welcoming, the interior loosely divided up into a number of different eating areas with low lighting at night. The chef serves up a high standard of breakfasts, lunch and dinner dishes, crepes, salads, chicken and fish dishes and classic combinations such as mussels and chips.

Restaurant Bar Las Deux Cascades, Avenue Hedi Nouraig, Route Touristique Nord, 8050. Just the place if it's warm weather and you have small children there's mini-golf and small ponds set in a pretty landscaped garden to keep them occupied. And also a small covered area if a breeze blows up. Cooking is competent and fish particularly well handled. (chicken or fish as the main course) along with pancakes and omelettes served up with a choice of fillings followed by various ice creams and pastries.

Touati Ali Restaurant, Ville Arabe, in the medina. This must be the prettiest and cosiest restaurant in the medina with blue and white tiled walls, fruit patterned tablecloths and two seating areas with three tables each. At night it's particularly romantic. Dishes are all Tunisian specialities such as couscous cooked with meat or fish or vegetables, beef, lamb and chicken dishes cooked with spices and served with rice. Flavours are clean and light and the owner chats away in broken English giving tips and recommendations for where to go and where to shop in the Medina.

Sidi Slim, Avenue du Koweit. A stylish, comfortable and efficiently run restaurant offering international and Tunisian dishes. Service is superb. For a starter try the chef's brik, a deep-fried triangular envelope containing a little meat, herbs and a lightly cooked egg. For a dessert treat order the crepes Suzette - made with loving care at your table.

Chez Achour 55 rue Ali Belhaoune. Fish is a speciality in this renowned quaint and cosy restaurant where the atmosphere is a delicious blend of French and Arabic. Inside it's like a rustic French inn and you can also eat outside in a leafy courtyard. High quality and reasonable prices.

Restaurant de la Poste (Chez le Chef), Place des Martyrs. A restaurant with it an unimposing entrance of stairs that you climb up but well worth it for the sea view you can look out over. The choices canter through grilled fish, meat and chicken but they offer a number of specialties including royal couscous for a minimum of four people sharing (the royal bit in this case includes prawns). Puddings are imaginative with some traditional Tunisian ones such as baklava (flaky pastry soaked in honey) and the popular millefeuille, a French cream pastry.

Cafe Les Emins, route touristique, close to the Marina (Hammamet Jasmine). White tiled bar with a cool indoors area and pavement tables serving various Italian style coffees including cappuccino, fresh juices, sandwiches and light snacks, next door is a small shop selling postcards and camera film.

Top Top Tapa Bar, 'Caicco' route touristique, by the Hotel Safa. A sophisticated piano bar for the evening, a restaurant and informal pizzeria serving up a variety of pasta dishes such as pasta al carbonara (with cream), pizza Margherita (with tomato) and various freshly caught fish. The pizzeria has outside tables.

Medium

Restaurant La Medina, Place El Houka, Ville Arabe. Just tucked inside the Medina this spacious restaurant with a terrace and a downstairs serves up imaginative cooking with great style. Best value are the set price menus offering fish various soups, their version of Tunisian Brik (a handkerchief sized piece of deep fried pastry stuffed with seafood), tastira (a salad of finely chopped tomato, onion, parsley) and a wide selection of freshly caught fish followed by exotic ice creams (such as pistachio flavour), and little baskets of fruit.

Pomodoros, 6 Avenue Habib Bourguiba. A modern, sophisticated restaurant with a superb menu featuring fish, meat and many other dishes. Very attentive service from staff who seem eager to ensure that you really enjoy your evening.

Les Cascades, Avenue Dag Hammarjoeld. You can dine by candlelight in a comfortable and lively restaurant with an extensive Tunisian and international menu. The very friendly staff make every guest feel as though they are the most important people there. I've never tasted better escalope Viennoise - even in Austria.

Les Trois Moutons, 3 Centre Commercial. Up the stairs into a large wooden floor room with views over to the Medina this restaurant serves up refined French style dishes with aplomb including lobster, shellfish, crevettes (large prawns) and sea bass. Puddings are imaginative with various combinations of fresh marinated fruit and pastry and exotic ice creams. The set menus are slightly on the pricey side but well worth paying for the quality of the seafood.

Le Baron des Chefs, route touristique farther along from Top Top Tapa Bar. Italian restaurant and neighbouring gelateria (ice cream parlour). The red-carpeted glass fronted restaurant serves Italian dishes divided up into first (prima) and second (secondi) course style menus. They have a good selection of antipasti dishes to nibble on including olives and sliced meats.

Top Tip Restaurants tend to be quite flexible in Hammamet over how you order. You can often order one plate from the set menus that offer two or three courses and only pay for that dish. House wine is always available by the glass though sometimes this isn't shown on the menu.