Hashem, Amman: Downtown’s Table for Seven Decades
There is no printed menu at Hashem, only a short, fixed list of chickpea and bean dishes, in the middle of downtown Amman at a restaurant guides describe as open around the clock.
There is no printed menu at Hashem. The kitchen works from a basic set of dishes that, according to the food site Migrationology, never changes, and each meal begins with onions, tomatoes, mint and bread. It is a short list, served in the middle of downtown Amman at a restaurant that guides describe as open around the clock.
Hashem sits in the heart of the old centre, off Shaaban Street, on Prince Mohammad Street. The seating spills onto the pavement between two buildings, with a smaller indoor area, and the food is prepared inside. Migrationology says it is open 24 hours but busiest in the morning, when breakfast is the draw; The 50 Discovery, the restaurant guide from the 50 Best organisation, also gives it as open 24 hours.
In a photograph from 2014, the restaurant announces itself with a green sign in English and Arabic over a corner shopfront, strings of small flags hang across the street, and a smaller board nearby lists fool, hummus and falafel.
Seven decades, two dates
Hashem’s age depends on whom you ask. Royal Jordanian’s Explore Jordan guide and Migrationology both date the restaurant to 1952. An Arabic information sign photographed in 2013 and shared on Wikimedia Commons, where it is described as showing Hashem in central Amman, gives a different date. It says that Hashem is a social and tourist draw in the middle of the city, run by the Turk family since 1956, and known for the local food of Bilad al-Sham. Because the sources disagree, this story says only what both versions support: Hashem has been serving downtown Amman for around seven decades.
Nothing in the sources found for this story settles the question. What they do agree on is the restaurant’s standing. Royal Jordanian calls it one of the most legendary places to eat in Amman, and both it and Migrationology say that diplomats, celebrities and members of the royal family have eaten there.
The short list
Migrationology lists falafel, hummus, moutabel, ful medames and fattet hummus, and adds that there are probably a few more dishes it missed. The falafel includes a stuffed version, filled with onions and sumac. The 50 Discovery describes the menu as wholly vegetarian: falafel, bean and chickpea dishes and grains.
Falafel and ful carry regional signatures of their own. Wikipedia says falafel is typically made from chickpeas in the Levant and from fava beans in Egypt, where it is called ta’ameya. The same encyclopaedia notes that ful medames, cooked fava beans, is a staple in Egypt, while in Jordan it is prepared like a hummus-style dip, with tahini, garlic, tomato, lemon and cumin.
Several of these dishes belong to the wider Levantine table. Moutabel is a dip related to baba ghanoush, a spiced cousin built on cooked vegetables, tahini and olive oil, and a pumpkin version is a traditional favourite in Jordan and Palestine. Abu Shukri in Jerusalem’s Old City works with many of the same ingredients.
Hashem’s appeal lies in familiar food, served without ceremony.
Fattet hummus is the most layered of them. Fatteh is a family of dishes built on pieces of bread, traditionally a way to use up stale bread, topped with ingredients that change from region to region. In the Levant the base is bread, yogurt, steamed chickpeas and olive oil, seasoned with cumin; fattet hummus uses chickpeas and tahini. It is eaten at breakfast or in the evening, which suits a place that does not close.
How to eat at Hashem
The practical advice from those who have written about it is brief. Bread does most of the work: Migrationology says diners use it to scoop up the dips. The setting is plain, and the attraction is the food rather than the surroundings: the photograph above shows falafel on paper and dips in small bowls on a plastic table covering.
For anyone mapping Arab food heritage, that plainness is part of the point. Hashem is a place where chickpeas, fava beans, sesame and bread are the whole show, and where a downtown address has come to stand for them.
Sources & fact-check9
- Legendary Amman Street Food at Hashem RestaurantMigrationology, 14 October 2026
- HashemRoyal Jordanian (Explore Jordan), 14 October 2026
- Hashem Restaurant - Amman - RestaurantThe 50 Discovery, 14 October 2026
- FattehWikipedia, 14 October 2026
- FalafelWikipedia, 14 October 2026
- Ful medamesWikipedia, 14 October 2026
- MutabbalWikipedia, 14 October 2026
- File:Hashem Restaurant.JPG (photograph of an Arabic information sign)Wikimedia Commons, 24 September 2013
- Hashem, 2 Prince Mohammad Street, Amman (node 1128148805)OpenStreetMap, 14 October 2026
Every name, number and date in this story was checked against the sources above before publication. Spotted something wrong? Tell us — we correct errors openly. See our editorial standards.
