Sajiat Al janoob — Restaurant in Maan

The best meal I’ve had during our whole trip to Jordan and Egypt. We asked a local where we could try traditional food in Wadi Musa for dinner and Sajiat Al Janoob was the immediate response.

It’s a 7-minute walk from our hotel and there were closer restaurants (touristy) nearby with good reviews too. But we decided to check it out since it was highly recommended. There was a nice evening breeze and we wanted to walk and explore.

We’re so glad we went because the food was amazing and the service was excellent. I’m back in NYC writing this review and I still crave for their authentic food.

We ordered meat Sajiah, Galayih, Hummus with meat. All were made from scratch and very fresh, flavorful and delicious. It was excellent! Easily the best meal I’ve had during our whole trip. We got extra lucky because they gave us a mix of cold mezzo on the house! (who does that during a pandemic when tourism is low?) — the mezze were out of this world. Yum!!! They also gave us Bedouin tea on the house! Unbelievable - the kindness and hospitality of these people!

The food will speak for itself once you go and try them. What’s an extra perk at this place is the hospitality. You would feel like you’re eating at a local’s home. That’s an experience I always look for when I travel. The guys were all very pleasant and friendly. We had a nice conversation with Ahmed, Hani, and Sulayman about their town, the effects of the pandemic to their livelihood, and despite the challenges, they all had smiles and hope for a better day. It seems that the general motto of the locals is that if they prosper, they want their neighbors to prosper as well. Not only were they excellent chefs, they were good people.

The decor was humble but authentic and clean. They had hand sanitizers at the entrance and wore masks. If you want to try a less touristy, more authentic gastronomic experience in Wadi Musa, this is the place to visit. Say hi to our new friends when you go. Tell them Mary, Roland and Mel sent you. Maybe you’ll get Bedouin tea on the...

I can hinestly say that we made the right choice coming there. We were struggling whether to go there or to Al Wadi but we came to Sajiat. It was the right choice. It was so right, we went there twice :-) I'll start with the fact that food isn't cheap. For the similar quality and size in Aqaba we paid half of that price. In Wadi Musa though all of the restaurant are expensive that way so it is not a minus. Now the food, it was very good, we had lamb (they pronounce it "lamp" in the menu ^-^), sezame and tomato dishes and they were all amazing, very tasty. We had Taboleh, Sezame salad, Mutabal for starters (Taboleh the best one) and Sawani veggie, Galayah with Lamb, Sajiah, Kofta with Sezame (Gelayah, Sajiah and Sawani are the best) and fresh Hibiskus, Lemon with mint and Pomagrane Juice (Lemon with mint the best). Lastly the service, very nice, adorably clumsy but very pleasant. They offered us the first day free tea, probably for us to sit more and attract more tourists but second time we demanded free tea ourselves, and the gave it to us (saying "on the house? of couuurse") :D Overall very good experience, locals go there too, the food is good, service is nice. Highly...

The staff are nice and friendly, but sadly, we were given food that were clearly reheats. We ordered chicken grill and mixed grill and some other dishes. Several of the items on the dishes were plain cold, although they looked as if they had been grilled. For example, the grilled tomato and grilled onion, although it had a black external look of being on the grill, was completely cold. Another dish, sawani chicken (dish with tomatos, potato, and chicken), although it was burnt on the top, was barely warm underneath. Clearly a reheat. Maybe we were just unlucky. Nevertheless, no customer should get yesterday's cooked food (or even older who knows). When we mentioned to the staff that some food was a bit cold they tried to help, which was very nice. In the end, they even offered a 10% discount, even though we really...