Haret Jdoudna

We went to Haret Jdoudna Restaurant in our first night in Madaba, We have guessed that this place will be so touristy because in any maps of Madaba town, this place is always mentioned.
It was a freezing night, good that they have good heaters here and there, even tucked in one room, there is a fireplace with real fire.
This restaurant is decorated traditionally with Bedouin and arabic ornaments such as woven materials, old cutlery and mozaics. It also has a souvenir shop inside.
We ordered:
- hummous (chickpea paste) - the best hummous I've ever tasted!
- grilled halloumi (halloumi is a arabic cottage cheese)
- mixed barbeque, consist of grilled kofta (minced lamb with some spices), chcken skewer and lamb.
- very yummy bread (complimentary)
- Jordanian red wine - Mount Nebo
The dinner costs us 29 JD (~35 USD) not cheap, but worth trying!
The service is great and I still remember the fluffy warm taste of the bread!

The restuarant's atmosphere is great, however, the service and management are appalling. I am an expat in Madaba and I used to frequent Haret Jdoudna because of the relaxing environment. Unfortunately, I witnessed the management and staff treating the locals and expats poorly on several occassions. For example, they discriminate against the locals by only seating them in the back of the restaurant and not in the nicer area with the tourists. However, they all pay the same inflated prices. The management is only interested in exploiting the tourist groups. What used to be a great place to spend the evening has now become an overpriced tourist trap. There are better places to go in Madaba where the service, prices, and food are far better.

The Haret Jdoudna was far and away the best dining experience we enjoyed in Jordan. Located in the heart of downtown Madaba, practically next door to St. George’s Church (home of the famed Mosaic Map), this venue comes highly recommended. The setting is very elegant – a multi-level establishment which mixes ancient Roman and Ottoman themes with both garden and terrace seating options available.

Seems the house specialty is mezza, a Middle Eastern appetizer served either hot or cold. They have a full menu however, and everything we selected was delectable. By Jordanian standards this is ‘medium’ priced…but I’m sure the price would have been about double if ordered in the US. Our waiter spoke enough English to avoid any calamities and the quality of the food in such a delightful atmosphere was a true treat.

Alcohol is served (though we only enjoyed the marvelous tea) and there is a hubbly bubbly bar too – you may know this as shi-sha or hookahs, but it is water pipes with flavored tobacco smoked after dinner in these parts. The restaurant is nestled in a small mall area off the street, so you can even shop while waiting for your entrée to be served. But don’t tarry, the service is excellent and our main courses arrived promptly!