Abu Ashraf

Top choice in Nazareth


This old-time coffeehouse is famous all over town for its katayef (sweet pancakes folded over goat’s cheese or cinnamon walnuts and then doused with geranium syrup), coffee (a special mix of five kinds of bean plus cardamom) and collection of antiques. Ebullient owner Abu Ashraf loves to share stories about Nazareth.

It also has excellent vegetable salads, freekeh (roasted green wheat), labneh (thick yoghurt) and kibbeh (meat-filled cracked wheat croquettes). Built around 1730, this place is not to be confused with a modern copycat of the same name nearby.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Nazareth attractions

1. White Mosque

0.02 MILES

Built in the late 1700s by Sheikh Abdullah Al Fahum – his tomb can be seen through a glass door off the sanctuary – this mosque is known for its long…

2. Centre International Marie de Nazareth

0.06 MILES

Almost across the street from the Basilica of the Annunciation, this stunning complex is run by Chemin Neuf, a Roman Catholic community based in France,…

3. St Joseph’s Church

0.06 MILES

Across the courtyard and a grassy park from the upper level of the Basilica of the Annunciation, this neo-Romanesque Franciscan church, built in 1914,…

4. Synagogue-Church

0.07 MILES

Hidden away in an alleyway off the souq, this humble Crusader-era structure, now a Catholic church, stands on the site of the synagogue where it is…

5. Basilica of the Annunciation

0.12 MILES

Dominating the Old City’s skyline is the lantern-topped cupola of this Franciscan-run Roman Catholic basilica, an audacious modernist structure that’s…

6. Cave of the 40 Holy Monks

0.14 MILES

Under the compound of the Greek Orthodox Bishopric, this network of caves is named after 40 monks believed to have been martyred here by the Romans in the…

7. Christ Anglican Church

0.14 MILES

Consecrated in 1871, this solidly built stone church was only the second Anglican church to be constructed in the Holy Land (the first was in Jerusalem);…

8. Moskubiya

0.21 MILES

Built in 1904 as a Russian pilgrims hostel, this imposing structure now houses a police station.