City Restaurants
Sumer Restaurant
One of the oldest and most established restaurants in Latakia, Sumer Restaurant sits on the southern corniche overlooking Al-Qasab marina, the public beach pool, and the open sands of the southern shoreline. It operates both open-air summer terraces and enclosed winter halls — the view is equally good in both.
Sumer serves what many consider the best traditional Syrian breakfast in Latakia — the full spread of local morning dishes eaten against an open sea view that makes the experience hard to replicate anywhere else. The restaurant also has a strong reputation for fresh fish and seafood, making it a natural choice for a full coastal meal from morning through dinner.
Al-Jaghnoun Restaurant
Also on the southern corniche, Al-Jaghnoun occupies a cliff-top position that gives it one of the most dramatic sea views of any restaurant in the city. The name belongs to the family that has owned and operated it for over 40 years — long enough to have served multiple generations of Latakians and visitors who return specifically for this place.
The menu covers the full range of Syrian breakfast dishes and familiar mains, but the restaurant is best known for its fresh and varied seafood. Multiple terraces serve different atmospheres — Diwan al-Khawaja and Terrace Asamina each have their own character — alongside dedicated halls for weddings and private events.
A meal at Al-Jaghnoun is a compact and reliable introduction to what Latakia does best.
Jamal Abu Suweis
The most beloved popular restaurant in Latakia, Jamal Abu Suweis is located in the historic Al-Saliba quarter near a Roman triumphal arch — a setting that matches the timelessness of what is served inside. The restaurant has been refining its hummus, foul, and fatteh for fifty years, and the flavors show it.
What makes Abu Suweis distinct beyond the food is its bread: baked fresh in a traditional stone oven visible from the dining area, served with olive oil in unlimited quantities with every order. That combination — the warm bread, the oil, the hummus — has become as much a signature of the restaurant as any dish on the menu.
Eating at Abu Suweis in old Latakia is one of those simple experiences that turns into a persistent memory.
Seafood Restaurants
Abu Darid Restaurant
Abu Darid sits directly on the sandy beach at Ras Shamra — built on the coastal edge of the ancient Ugarit archaeological site, one of the most significant Bronze Age cities ever excavated. The setting is extraordinary before the food even arrives: front-row tables are close enough to the water that waves reach the first row of seats at high tide.
The fish here moves from local fishermen working off the rocks of the ancient harbor immediately to the right of the restaurant, to your plate within minutes. The freshness is not a claim — it is visible. Abu Darid specializes in seafood across all preparations, but the locally caught fish, cooked simply, is the reason to come.
Rural Latakia Restaurants
Abu Kabi Restaurant – Slunfeh
High in the Latakia mountains in Slunfeh — the most famous summer resort in the region — Abu Kabi Restaurant opens each summer season under the shade of old trees on a terrace with panoramic mountain views extending in every direction.
The menu covers a full range of local dishes, with two specialties that define the restaurant: lahm bil-jarra (slow-cooked meat in a clay pot, a traditional preparation of the Latakia highlands) and the beloved coastal sweet mamoul bil-jibn (cheese-filled pastry). Traditional saj bread baked on site completes the meal.
Abu Kabi also hosts notable celebrations for the major seasonal festivals, particularly the Feast of the Virgin (Eid al-Sayyida), when the restaurant combines local musical heritage with the energy of a full summer crowd. A visit to Slunfeh without stopping at Abu Kabi is genuinely incomplete.
Kilikia Restaurant – Kasab
Near the Kasab village square in northern Latakia — a predominantly Armenian-heritage community close to the Turkish border — Kilikia Restaurant brings together three culinary traditions in a single kitchen: Syrian grilling technique, Turkish preparation methods, and Armenian flavors, a combination that reflects the village’s own cultural history.
The restaurant specializes in grilled meats across every style and cut, served at lunch with the full depth that combination of traditions produces. Breakfast covers all the staples of a Syrian morning spread. The summer season is the primary operating period, but a winter visit — with snow on the surrounding mountains, a fire inside, and kunafa bil-jibn (warm cheese kunafa) on the table — has its own entirely different and compelling appeal.
