A hot wood-burning oven is the foundation for the best Palestinian food. For those privy to this secret, the city of Nablus offers up Zeit Ou Za’tar.

Part of the Yasmeen Hotel, a renovated 600-year old building in the heart of Nablus’ Old City, Zeit Ou Za’tar is the perfect place for a late-night snack or oven-baked breakfast. What’s on the menu? Exactly what the restaurant claims—fresh baked pastries or manakeesh smeared with olive oil (zeit) and thyme (za’tar) with sesame seeds and sumac. This simple goodness eaten right out of the oven will melt in your mouth. Other breakfast or all-day treats include flat Palestinian country bread with salty white goat cheese, egg, egg and cheese or spinach-filled pastries at $1 a piece.

For the heartier meal, Zeit Ou Za’tar serves Fukhara, a spiced chicken, meat or vegetable dish baked tender in a sealed clay pot for $5-$8. If one is willing to wait nearly an hour (or order before arriving there) there is msa’a’a (Arabic version of Mousaka), a tray of meat and vegetables (Tajin type) or kifta, meat patties and vegetables baked with milk (or any other Palestinian homemade dish you want to order). These are pricier at $30, but reportedly enough to feed four. To top it all off, Zeit Ou Za’tar has some of the cheapest narghilehs (water pipes) priced at less than $2 for a long night of smoking.

While Zeit Ou Za’tar strikes out in the service department (we waited 20 minutes just to see a waiter), I highly recommend the basics. Tea with sage and a couple of pastries will bring Palestine’s natural bounty right to your taste buds. The second-story view over the city and the cool breezes off the nearby mountains are reminiscent of calmer days when Nablus was a regional trade center and the sea was only next door. For the curious, local history is laid out in English in tastefully-done brochures. And for those with fancier tastes, fresh squeezed juice and wine are also on the menu.

Location: Just off Al Khan Street, north of Al Nasr Mosque.

Rating Scale:

++++ next to heaven