Benghazi Restaurants

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The last night in Benghazi before we had to leave for the airport for our filght back to Tripoli, we ordered our dinner in a local chicken restaurant in the citycentre. Before dinner was served we could have our last walk in the citycentre.

Like most of the bars and restaurants along this street there were no toilets. So like earlier in the afternoon I had to go to a hotel two blocks in the direction of the seaside for that.

Favorite Dish: We had huge portions of everything, half a chicken for each person, huge salads, a lot of bread. Though it was not my first chicken during this trip, it tasted very well.

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Nice little cosy restaurant at the boarder of the sea. Friendly waiters and clean toilets.

Favorite Dish: Good Arabic but classical Libyan and international food, but this time upgraded by a real maitre d'hotel who did his job perfectly.
Favorite dish is not the exact word - no much choice - but the dish of fish, rice and vegetables was excellent

Mata'am Gharnata is one of the two best Turkish restaurants in Benghazi, It is quite similar to Mata'am Al-Kabeer, with tourist posters of Turkey decorating the walls and a very meaty menu with kebabs and mixed grills. The salads and cheese bread are good too. It is a little bit shabbier then Al-Kabeer and the food is generally not quite so good. But, the grilled liver here is excellent.

If you are staying at the Tibesti Hotel, this is the nearest outside restaurant.

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Mata'am al-Arabi is one of Benghazi's finest and most expensive restaurants. Downstairs it is simply furnished and brightly lit, but upstairs it has a very pleasant interior with soft, red lighting and mosaic tiles. One disadvantage is that it is in a quiet area three kilometres from the city centre. You can get there by taxi easily enough, but it is not so easy to get a taxi back unless you ask the manager to call one for you. If you are staying at the Ouzo Hotel, it is just a short walk.

It's worth making the effort to come here, however, as the chef really is outstanding. The spicy, mixed salad is the best I have had in Libya and the grilled fish fillet is cooked to perfection.

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The Tibesti Hotel's Shahat Restaurant has a reputation for being the best restaurant in Benghazi. Personally, I would say that it is good in parts. It has a nice intimate atmosphere, perhaps a little too dark for anybody with poor eyesight to read the menu. Its location on the thirteenth floor allows for nice views over the 23 July Lake at night, but the curtains are mostly drawn, and the unattractive, bare concrete balcony outside has very high walls, so they don't make the most of it.

The food varies. the Pasta Frutti di Mare is excellent, but I found the Pollo with Almond Sauce inedible. The old, frozen chicken consisted of dark-coloured, tough meat in a totally flavourless, bright orange-coloured sauce. I think it is a case of good chef; bad chef. There are two chefs and the quality deopends on which one cooks your meal.

The menu consists mainly of pasta dishes and pizza. The pasta dishes are priced at 6 to 10 LD while pizzas cost from as little as 5.50 LD for a small Pizza Tibesty up to 25 LD for a large Pizza Frutti di Mare. Main courses range in price from 11 LD for Pollo Contessa, through 14LD for Steak Diana, to 25 LD for Frutti di Mare.

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There are several Turkish restaurants along Gamal Abdul Nasser Street, but Al-Kabeer is the best. The service is friendly and the food is delicious. The menu is in English, Turkish and Arabic. The emphasis is, of course, on grilled meat. Mixed grill costs 12 LD and Turkish kebab 6 LD. The Turkish coffee at 1 LD is the best you'll find in Benghazi.

Make sure you try the mixed salad and the cheese bread. They are 3 LD each. You will probably be served by the Turkish manager, Jehad Yousef Alci, a very nice man who speaks good English. The restaurant is simply furnished, with clean white tablecloths on wooden tables, and the walls are brightly decorated with tourist posters of Turkey. As you can probably tell, I really like this place.

Great food at very reasoable prices. There was only our group in the restaurant at the time, so not exactly what you might call all the rage.

Not only did we have our own tourist police with us, there were three policement standing outside the door too. Was it to protect us from the locals or the locals from us?

Favorite Dish: The chees bread was really yummy. I enjoyed the kebabs too and David really liekd the tagine, although some people found it a little too spicy.

The restaurant is very pleasant with a self-service buffet.

The food was excellent, we had a Libyan soup followed by a choice of lamb, chicken or beef, with several vegetarian options.

The afters which were mainly middle eastern cakes, were to die for!