Abu Ashraf

Top choice in Nazareth

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This old-time coffeehouse is famous all over town for its katayef (sweet pancakes folded over goat’s cheese or cinnamon walnuts and then doused with geranium syrup), coffee (a special mix of five kinds of bean plus cardamom) and collection of antiques. Ebullient owner Abu Ashraf loves to share stories about Nazareth.

It also has excellent vegetable salads, freekeh (roasted green wheat), labneh (thick yoghurt) and kibbeh (meat-filled cracked wheat croquettes). Built around 1730, this place is not to be confused with a modern copycat of the same name nearby.

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