Work through the list in order. Hide the notes when you know what to do.
-
Try Tunisian couscous
Unlike in neighboring countries, Tunisian semolina grains are steamed directly over a spiced tomato-rich broth, giving them a distinct reddish-orange hue. Along the coast and on Djerba, it is traditionally served with whole sea bream or grouper, while inland regions favor lamb, pumpkin, and potatoes.
Friday is the traditional family day for couscous across Tunisia. Look for coastal seafood spots around La Goulette or Houmt Souk for the freshest catch.
-
Try crispy brik à l'œuf
A golden, deep-fried pastry pocket made from paper-thin malsouka pastry dough. It is filled with canned tuna, fresh parsley, capers, onions, and a whole egg that gets flash-fried so the white sets while the yolk remains completely runny.
Eat it hot with your fingers after a generous squeeze of fresh lemon. Biting the corner and sipping the runny yolk without spilling is the ultimate local ritual.
-
Eat a bowl of authentic lablabi
Tunisia's ultimate working-class street food and hangover cure. You break stale crusty baguette into a clay bowl yourself; the cook ladles boiling cumin-spiced chickpea broth over it, adding harissa, garlic, raw egg, tuna, capers, and plenty of olive oil before you stir it all into a thick mash.
Lablabi stalls operate mainly in the early morning and midday. You mix the bowl vigorously with two spoons until the egg emulsifies with the warm broth.
-
Try Tunisian tajine
Do not confuse this with Moroccan stew: the Tunisian tajine is a thick, baked frittata-like pie. Whisked eggs are mixed with shredded spiced chicken or beef, crumbled cheese, boiled potatoes, parsley, and turmeric, then baked until firm and cut into neat golden squares.
Served warm or at room temperature as an appetizer or light lunch, it is one of the few completely mild, kid-friendly staples on a traditional menu.
-
Order ojja with merguez sausages
Tunisia's take on shakshuka: a rich, sizzling skillet of tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and caraway in which eggs are gently poached alongside spicy lamb merguez sausages. The goal is to scoop up the runny yolk and rich sauce with crusty bread.
Served bubbling hot in the pan with a fresh baguette. Coastal seafood towns frequently swap the sausages for fresh prawns or squid.
-
Try street-style kafteji
A legendary street side dish: pumpkin, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and fried eggs are flash-fried, dumped onto a heavy board, and vigorously hand-chopped with two curved cleavers into a chunky, textured mash seasoned with olive oil and spices.
The caramelized sweetness of the pumpkin tempers the fiery green peppers. Order it as a side to grilled liver or stuffed straight into a crusty sandwich.
-
Order grilled salade méchouia
A cornerstone appetizer made of whole sweet peppers, hot chilies, tomatoes, onions, and garlic charred over charcoal. The blackened skin is peeled away, and the smoky flesh is finely chopped, seasoned with ground caraway, and topped with canned tuna, boiled eggs, and black olives.
Look for a deep smoky aroma, proving the vegetables hit real charcoal rather than a flat griddle. It pairs perfectly with warm bread and crisp white wine.
-
Grab a savory fricassé doughnut
A palm-sized savory yeast doughnut fried until golden, sliced open, and stuffed with a smear of harissa, boiled potatoes, flaky tuna, boiled egg, and salty olives. The contrast between pillowy fried dough and pungent filling is addictive.
Found at tiny street-food stalls throughout Tunis and Sousse. Always buy from stands with high turnover where the buns are fried fresh and warm.
-
Try steamed rouz djerbi
The culinary signature of Djerba island. Raw rice, finely diced meat or lamb liver, chopped Swiss chard, spinach, parsley, peas, garlic, and harissa are tossed together raw and steamed as one homogeneous mixture in a couscous pot.
Steaming preserves the vibrant green color of the herbs and allows the rice grains to absorb the spiced meat juices thoroughly without becoming mushy.
-
Try fresh mlawi flatbread
A thin, laminated semolina flatbread stretched with olive oil and griddled on a searing cast-iron dome until flaky and charred in spots. Street vendors fill it hot with harissa, cheese, canned tuna, and scrambled egg before rolling it like a wrap.
The go-to student and worker lunch on the move. Watching the cook stretch the dough on an oiled marble counter with bare hands takes only seconds.
-
Order lamb in a clay jar (gargoulette)
An ancient slow-cooking method: pieces of lamb seasoned with peppers, saffron, garlic, and rosemary are sealed inside an unglazed clay amphora with bread dough, then buried in hot embers. The waiter dramatically cracks open the neck with a cleaver at your table.
The sealed jar traps all moisture, turning the lamb buttery soft while concentrating the herbal tomato jus. Best sampled in traditional restaurants in southern Tunisia and Djerba.
-
Try Mediterranean octopus salad
Octopus from Djerba and the Kerkennah islands is still caught using traditional unglazed earthenware pots. The tenderized, boiled tentacles are tossed with diced raw onion, parsley, crisp tomatoes, preserved lemon, and fragrant cold-pressed olive oil.
Peak octopus season runs from late autumn through winter. Enjoy it cold with freshly baked bread overlooking the harbor.
-
Try date-filled makroudh Desserts and pastries
The national pastry treasure, originally from the holy city of Kairouan. Golden semolina dough is wrapped around a rich spiced paste of local Deglet Nour dates, cut into diamond shapes, fried, and soaked in orange blossom syrup.
Good makroudh has a gritty, melting texture from semolina rather than wheat flour. It stays fresh for weeks, making it the most popular culinary souvenir from Tunisia.
-
Eat a warm bambalouni doughnut Desserts and pastries
A giant, airy ring of fried yeast dough. The baker stretches the wet dough by hand, drops it into a massive bubbling wok, flips it in seconds, and dredges the blistered, piping-hot doughnut in granulated sugar.
The ultimate spot for bambalouni is the cliffside village of Sidi Bou Said. Eat it right on the cobblestones while burning your fingertips; it turns rubbery once cooled.
-
Try rich sesame zrir Desserts and pastries
A rich, velvety paste traditionally prepared for celebratory family occasions, especially following childbirth. Finely ground toasted sesame seeds are cooked with honey and melted butter, poured into tiny glass cups, and crowned with toasted pine nuts and almonds.
Intensely nutty, sweet, and energy-dense. You eat it with a tiny espresso spoon alongside unsweetened black coffee to offset the rich honey base.
-
Taste Tunisian beylical baklawa Desserts and pastries
Distinct from Greek or Turkish varieties, Tunisian baklawa is noticeably crisper, lighter, and less drippy with syrup. It layers dozens of paper-thin pastry leaves packed with finely ground almonds, hazelnuts, or pistachios, perfumed subtly with orange blossom essence.
Buy it by weight in historic medina pastry shops. Because it is less saturated with heavy sugar syrup, it stays exceptionally crisp for days.
-
Drink mint tea with pine nuts Non-alcoholic drinks
A strong, concentrated brew of green tea and fresh spearmint leaves heavily sweetened with sugar. Right before serving, the waiter drops a spoonful of toasted Mediterranean pine nuts into the small glass, which float on top and toast further in the steam.
Sip the hot tea slowly while scooping up the crunchy nuts. More affordable neighborhood tea shops often substitute blanched toasted almonds for the pine nuts.
-
Cool down with citronnade tunisienne Non-alcoholic drinks
Not standard soda lemonade, but a thick, velvety beverage made by blitzing or simmering whole unpeeled lemons. The pulpy juice is strained, lightly sweetened, and touched with a drop of orange blossom water, producing an opaque, refreshing cooler with a bitter-sweet finish.
The ultimate thirst quencher during scorching North African summers. Order it mixed with almond orgeat syrup for a sweet, milky local variation.
-
Drink espresso with orange blossom water Non-alcoholic drinks
A beautiful mashup of French cafe culture and Arab aromatics. Locals order a strong dark espresso (*express*) or a milky coffee (*direct*) and ask for a splash of *zhar* — natural steam-distilled bitter orange flower water.
The floral notes cut through the roasted bitterness of dark North African coffee beans. Glass bottles of floral water sit on the counter in older medina cafes.
-
Taste fig eau-de-vie (boukha) Local alcohol
A clear, potent fruit brandy (around 36–40% ABV) distilled from fermented Mediterranean figs. Created in the late 19th century by the Bokobza family in Tunis, it carries an earthy dried-fig nose without aggressive harshness.
Drink it ice-cold straight from the freezer as a digestive shot, or order it mixed with fresh Tunisian citronnade on a hot evening terrace.
-
Try date-herb liqueur thibarine Local alcohol
A complex, dark amber herbal digestif (40% ABV) originally developed by French Christian White Fathers monks at the Thibar monastery. It features a base spirit infused with local dates, orange peel, and dozens of wild herbs.
Resembling European herbal balms like Chartreuse or Bénédictine, it boasts a rounder, warm date sweetness. Sip it neat at room temperature after dinner.
-
Try local Celtia beer Local alcohol
Tunisia's iconic national beer, a pale European-style lager brewed locally since 1951. It is crisp, light, faintly malty with a gentle hop bitterness, crafted specifically to refresh in North African heat.
Order it in classic stubby glass bottles at casual seaside fish joints. Drink it very cold alongside a bowl of salty peanuts and spicy olives.
