Abu Zeid – My Very Favourite Fish Restaurant in Haifa

Of the four fish restaurants in Bat Galim, a small insular neighbourhood along the Mediterranean, there is only one to which I now take visitors and guests: Abu Zeid Restaurant. Here is why:

1. The food is good (I don’t eat meat, only fish with scales so I can only attest to the fish).
2. The food is plentiful.
3. The choice of salads that accompany the meal for a small extra cost are always a surprise and always good (and often enough is left over to pack up and take home for lunch the next day).
4. The waiters are gracious and pleasant.
5. I wish I could say it has a view of the sea, but it doesn’t. But, then, the sea is only three blocks away and that’s close enough for an after meal walk, right? So let’s count that as a plus as well!

The current chef is the restaurant founder’s son, Zeid Omar. That explains why the restaurant is called Abu Zeid, because in Arab families, the father traditionally calls himself “Father of” (Abu) his eldest son. Abu Zeid opened the restaurant in 1990 in the same place it is located now. But this is not his first restaurant – the first one he established was in Eilat about 50 years ago.

Zeid has an international culinary history – he studied in Venezuela where he ran a restaurant for about 10 years and has taken workshops and continuing education courses in Turkey and other countries.

The family lives in Nazareth and I, for one, am glad that they make the trip daily from Nazareth to Haifa to run this great restaurant.

You can find more information about what they serve on their website.

Fish and Meat Dishes at Abu Zeid Restaurant