Friday’s Featured Food: Hummus lunch in Hummus Said Restaurant, Akko, Israel

Humus, humous, hummus, whatever way you want to spell it – it’s somewhat a speciality in Israel and the Middle East. Many restaurants will claim to have the best hummus in the Middle East. Not many live up to that claim. So we decided to head to the famous Hummus Said restaurant in the old city of Akko on the north eastern coast of Israel.

The BEST Hummus in Israel

To get the best Humous in Israel, you should head to the old seaside city of Akko. Inside its walls are more charms than the average Mediterranean resort but the real magic belongs to Hummus Said. This poky wee restaurant nestles itself shyly into a market in the old town. You’ll know it by its queues. It’s busy.

OK so once you’ve found Hummus Said, join the queues with the hoardes of locals and wait in line. It might take you a while to get served and get a table, but once you taste the stuff, you won’t be bothered by the wait, believe me.

Opening hours of Hummus Said

This is important to note. The opening hours of Hummus Said are from 5am until around 2pm. The local fishermen who start work early all head in here at 5am for a breakfast feed before heading out to catch their fish. Owner of the restaurant Mr. Said, opens it early and therefore shuts it early. It’s his niche, it’s his brainchild, so head there early!

What to order at Hummus Said

Once inside and we manage to get a table for the five of us – myself, Panny, our friends Alex, Natali and Oksana. Panny was in good form and managed to sneak to the front to bag us a table within 20 minutes. Hummus is on the menu and we are told that there are three types:

– Hummus (normal) – chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic

– Hummus Ful – topped with a paste made from fava beans boiled until soft and then crushed.

– Hummus Mashawshay – a mixture of hummus paste, warm chickpeas and tahini.

If you’re new to Hummus you can order a dish which contains all three types so that’s exactly what we did!

When I think back on our time in Israel now, it is obvious that this place was the best hummus we tried. It lives up to the expectations and the experience is definitely something I’d recommend.

We drank tea with the Hummus and had a side dish of vegetables. It’s an ample meal for lunchtime for sure.

How much does Hummus in Akko cost?

The best thing is – the value – each dish was 15 Shekels only, which at the time and for Israel prices is really good.

As well as the side dish of vegetables you also get bread to dip into it. Again this is common in Israel.

It’s a fast turnaround in Hummus Said – the queues of people come thick and fast and we did well to get a table and 5 seats. You get served very quickly, you pay at the till on the way out and before you get up, somebody is already waiting for your seat. That shows how busy it is.

After the Hummus Said experience it was time to tour the World Heritage listed city of Akko, which in itself is a travel highlight from any visit to Israel.

If you do ever make it to Israel, please try hummus and make sure you head to Humus Said in Akko and try the hummus there to compare. Many believe it’s the best hummus in Israel and maybe the Middle East. I don;t doubt that for a second. This was a fantastic lunchtime Friday’s Featured Food experience. Thanks as ever to Natali, Alex and Oksana for being such awesome friends (and unofficial tour guides) on our trip to the west coast of Israel.

Friday’s Featured Food is an ongoing regular feature on Don’t Stop Living – a lifestyle of travel. If you have a meal, bar, pub, restaurant, brand or idea that you would like reviewed or featured on Friday’s Featured Food, please get in touch via my contacts page or my advertising page. I’d love to hear from you! I’d also love a free pint and some hummus. Cheers!