Cafés play an important role in Syrian daily life, as having an affordable cup of coffee with a friend is the best way to catch up, do business or relax. The city has thousands of places to grab a cuppa, ranging from simple stands to beautiful traditional courtyard cafés and buzzing modern coffee houses that serve all kinds of sweets and meals.
Here are some of our favourites well worth looking up in Damascus; click below for full reviews and details.
In the Old Town:
Al-Nawfara Café
The most famous maqha coffee house has been serving coffee and cumin tea with a puff of shisha smoke for some 250 years, just east of the Umayyad Mosque. In many ways, Al-Nawfara is the living room of the city, with a beautiful open porch offering seating with a view of the crowds spilling down the narrow street and an elegantly cluttered indoor room. The raised chair is for the hakawati storyteller, a rare surviving tradition from the days before Instagram, television and radio.
Café Al-Qishla
One of the most popular cafes in the old town, Al-Qishla consists of a large covered courtyard with a bubbling fountain overlooked by a traditional iwan arch. The relaxed atmosphere attracts all sorts of locals and foreigners to hang out and sample non-alcoholic drinks; we recommend an ice-cold slushy bolo mint lemonade. Snacks like popcorn, crepes, and tasty sandwiches are available.
Al-Manhal Bookstore & Bakery
Al-Manhal is a cafe, bakery and library currently being established by a French-Syrian journalist and an American social entrepreneur with a bakery in Beirut. The name translates to "The Fount" – a place to gather and exchange ideas. Set in a lovely Ottoman-era shop, it bakes artisanal wood-fired sourdough bread, focaccia, cookies, and cakes, all made with organic, locally milled Syrian wheat, along with speciality coffee.
Elsewhere in Damascus:
Ahweh Mazbouta
The lovely and longstanding Mazbouta cafe is known locally for its relaxed atmosphere, its no-smoking area, the coffee and the delicious sweet snacks, including cakes.
Blaque Boutique Café
A stylish and calm cafe just south of Al-Jahez Park. Perfect for conversations with a good coffee or a spot of work on your laptop on the pleasant terrace beneath the trees. There's a good range of speciality drinks and tasty food options like poke bowls, salads and cheese platters.
Error Cafe
Above the Mona Lisa restaurant, Error is a charming student cafe cluttered with comfy old furniture, offering space for calm chats over a coffee or some laptop time. There's a full menu of comforting drinks and snacks, including fruit cocktails, milkshakes, barley drink options, pizza and manakish.
Karma Cafe
'Good starts here' is announced in large letters on the wall of this pastel-painted cafe, and it is indeed a good place to come to your senses with a drink. Have a coffee, a hot and creamy sahlab with cinnamon, milkshakes or cocktails. Brownies, sandwiches, booza ice cream and veggie dishes round off the menu.
Nash Bakery
Dania Ayoubi and her passionate team make some of the city's best cinnamon rolls, carrot cakes, and chocolate chip cookies. You can take away, but you know that sinking your teeth into these pastries just can't wait, so there's seating indoors and outside and a range of hot and cold drinks available too.
R House Coffee
One of the most popular cafes in the new town, R House can be found just off 'restaurant square' and has a bustling terrace with living room vibes inside. Besides the full range of coffee and smoothie options, there are great pastries, pide pies, sandwiches, and salads to nibble on.
Here are some of our favourites well worth looking up in Damascus; click below for full reviews and details.
In the Old Town:
Al-Nawfara Café
The most famous maqha coffee house has been serving coffee and cumin tea with a puff of shisha smoke for some 250 years, just east of the Umayyad Mosque. In many ways, Al-Nawfara is the living room of the city, with a beautiful open porch offering seating with a view of the crowds spilling down the narrow street and an elegantly cluttered indoor room. The raised chair is for the hakawati storyteller, a rare surviving tradition from the days before Instagram, television and radio.
Café Al-Qishla
One of the most popular cafes in the old town, Al-Qishla consists of a large covered courtyard with a bubbling fountain overlooked by a traditional iwan arch. The relaxed atmosphere attracts all sorts of locals and foreigners to hang out and sample non-alcoholic drinks; we recommend an ice-cold slushy bolo mint lemonade. Snacks like popcorn, crepes, and tasty sandwiches are available.
Al-Manhal Bookstore & Bakery
Al-Manhal is a cafe, bakery and library currently being established by a French-Syrian journalist and an American social entrepreneur with a bakery in Beirut. The name translates to "The Fount" – a place to gather and exchange ideas. Set in a lovely Ottoman-era shop, it bakes artisanal wood-fired sourdough bread, focaccia, cookies, and cakes, all made with organic, locally milled Syrian wheat, along with speciality coffee.
Elsewhere in Damascus:
Ahweh Mazbouta
The lovely and longstanding Mazbouta cafe is known locally for its relaxed atmosphere, its no-smoking area, the coffee and the delicious sweet snacks, including cakes.
Blaque Boutique Café
A stylish and calm cafe just south of Al-Jahez Park. Perfect for conversations with a good coffee or a spot of work on your laptop on the pleasant terrace beneath the trees. There's a good range of speciality drinks and tasty food options like poke bowls, salads and cheese platters.
Error Cafe
Above the Mona Lisa restaurant, Error is a charming student cafe cluttered with comfy old furniture, offering space for calm chats over a coffee or some laptop time. There's a full menu of comforting drinks and snacks, including fruit cocktails, milkshakes, barley drink options, pizza and manakish.
Karma Cafe
'Good starts here' is announced in large letters on the wall of this pastel-painted cafe, and it is indeed a good place to come to your senses with a drink. Have a coffee, a hot and creamy sahlab with cinnamon, milkshakes or cocktails. Brownies, sandwiches, booza ice cream and veggie dishes round off the menu.
Nash Bakery
Dania Ayoubi and her passionate team make some of the city's best cinnamon rolls, carrot cakes, and chocolate chip cookies. You can take away, but you know that sinking your teeth into these pastries just can't wait, so there's seating indoors and outside and a range of hot and cold drinks available too.
R House Coffee
One of the most popular cafes in the new town, R House can be found just off 'restaurant square' and has a bustling terrace with living room vibes inside. Besides the full range of coffee and smoothie options, there are great pastries, pide pies, sandwiches, and salads to nibble on.
