Middle East - Anthony Ham [429]
Zekrayat Restaurant ( 459 979; meals S£350-500; 9am-midnight; ) This place would be right at home in Damascus or Aleppo with its blend of modern and traditional, stone-walled decor (think Bedouin cushions and wrought-iron chairs), although the slick young clientele could only come from Lattakia. There are some lovely balcony tables and there’s live traditional music some nights. The food is outstanding with a blend of Western and local dishes, as well as ice-cream sundaes, fresh-fruit cocktails and nargilehs. The smoky taste of the mutabal (purée of aubergine mixed with tahina, yogurt and olive oil) will live long in the memory, as will the mouhammarah (walnut and pomegranate-syrup dip), which no longer appears on the menu but they’ll prepare if asked. Our only complaint? No prices on the menu. It’s off Sharia Adnan al-Maleki.
Mandaloun ( 454 400; Sharia al-Merkan; meals S£500-600; 1-11.30pm) Dress up for this elegant restaurant with stone walls and vaulted ceilings, where you’ll be dining with Lattakia’s affluent cigar-smoking set. The French and oriental cuisine is superb – try the tasty pink lentil soup or hearty traditional French onion soup for starters, and the melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon. There are excellent Lebanese wines on the menu and the service is faultless.
Snack stalls are located around the Saahat al-Sheikh Daher area, where you’ll find fast-food places specialising in felafel, kebabs and shwarma. There’s a good spit-rotisserie chicken take-away (S£150 for a whole chicken plus salad, hummus and bread) next door to the Hotel Riyad.
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DRINKING
There’s a real coffee culture in Lattakia, and many places serve up espresso that could stand up and be counted in Italy.
There are loads of good places around Sharia al-Mutanabi. Some of our favourites include the sleek Lacasta Café (Sharia al-Mutanabi; meal per person S£250; noon-3am), where Lattakia’s multitasking locals sip excellent espressos and puff on nargileh on white-leather sofas, and Olabi Patisserie (Sharia Yousef Shahour; 7am-midnight; ), off Sharia Baghdad, where they’ve free wireless and do great pastries, espresso and hot caramel.
For something a little different, try Prose Poem Café (Qasideh; 10am-11pm), a quiet little café off Sharia Baghdad, loved by a young, professional set and local intellectuals. There’s Arabic poetry on the walls, a well-stocked bookshelf and the murmur of intelligent conversation.
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GETTING THERE & AWAY
Air
Basil al-Assad International Airport lies about 25km southeast of Lattakia. A taxi to the centre of town costs around S£500. There are three weekly flights to Damascus (S£1200), but services increase considerably in summer. There’s also one weekly flight to Cairo.
There’s a local office of Syrianair ( 476 863/4; 8 Sharia Baghdad; 8am-8pm).
Bus
The Pullman Garage is on Sharia Abdel Qader al-Husseiny about 200m east of the train station. Numerous private companies have their offices here.
Al-Kadmous has a 24-hour service to Damascus (S£250, four hours) leaving on the hour; its regular minibus service to Tartus (S£65, one hour) runs between 6am and 9pm, stopping at Baniyas (S£35) en route. There are also four services daily to Homs (S£135, two hours), while Al-Ahliah has four daily buses to Hama (S£180). One or two companies also run services to Aleppo (S£170, 3½ hours), although we recommend you take the train (see below).
Microbus
At the time of writing, the main congregation of microbuses was 1.5km north of the town centre, near the sports stadium. From a huge lot, buses depart frequently for destinations such as Al-Haffa (S£20) for Qala’at Saladin (Click here), and Kassab (S£45, 1½ hours) for the Turkish border. Changes are afoot, with plans to move most microbus destinations to east of the Beirut Garage ( 353 077). Check with the tourist office or Mohammed Ziadeh (Click here) for the latest locations.
Microbuses for Ugarit (Ras Shamra; S£10) go from a back alley down