Sayadieh
The fish dish of the coast: fish over rice cooked with long-browned onions, finished with fried pine nuts. The name comes from the word for fisherman.
- Where to eat it
- In coastal restaurants at Latakia and Tartus and around the fishing jetties. The fish used changes with the season.
- Price
- Variable — ask whether the fish is by weight or by portion
- When it is eaten
- Lunch and dinner; it follows the fishing season
The name comes from sayyad, the Arabic for fisherman, and this is the best known fish dish of the Syrian coast. The colour of the rice is not spice but onion: the onions are browned until they are dark, their liquid goes into the rice, and that is what gives the plate its colour. Baked or fried fish goes on top, and fried pine nuts or almonds on top of that.
What goes with it
A tahini sauce, taratur, comes alongside: tahini, lemon and garlic. That is what cuts the fat of the fish. Some places bring it in a separate bowl, others pour it straight over the plate.
Where to eat it
Along the coast at Latakia and Tartus, in the restaurants around the fishing jetties. The fish used changes with the season, so it is worth asking — there is no fixed species.
How to order it
A portion is usually for one and filling. Settle whether the fish is sold by weight or by portion when you order; both are common on the coast.
Tips
- Settle whether the fish is sold by weight or by portion when you order
- Ask for the tahini sauce; that is what cuts the fat of the fish
- The colour of the rice comes from browned onion, not from spice
- Ask which fish it is — it changes with the season, there is no fixed one
Transparency
- How this was chosen
- Two kinds of record live here: the dish itself, and the place that serves it. Both are chosen and written by hand; ranking is not for sale and there are no sponsored entries. If a price range is not known for certain, it says so. Venues that serve alcohol are not listed on this site at all.
- Facts checked
- August 2026
- Last updated
- August 21, 2026