Restaurant National – Chez Hamdani

Djibouti City


This perennial favourite specialises in poisson yemenite (oven-baked fish). There are no menus; just choose your glistening beastie (usually sea bream, grouper or barracuda) in the fridge and it’s barbecued a la Yemeni: the whole thing is sliced in half, smacked against the walls of a fire pit and baked to a black crisp.

It’s sprinkled with hot pepper and served with a chapati (flatbread) and a belt-bustingly good mokbasa (purée of honey and either dates or banana). Enjoy it in the colourful dining room. No alcohol is served. It's south of the centre – take a taxi.


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