Amman Restaurant in Fordsburg - The Scribs and Nibs

Have a Jordanian lunch in the middle of Fordsburg at Amman Restaurant, located across from Fordsburg Square. I went to high school in Amman for 2 years, and then spent most of my college years flying back for summer and winter vacation (and always crying when I had to leave). Jordan is still one of my favorite countries in the world.

Amman Restaurant is a happening spot for lunch or dinner. The grill dishes seem to be the favorite among diners, but there are still vegetarian options for peeps for a light lunch.

Parking was a little rough for us because we hadn’t been to the area before; we wanted to park right outside Amman. On our second drive around the block, we got a spot thanks to the attendant who flagged it for us.

Amman is open 7 days a week. Our meal cost around R250.

Fordsburg

Fordsburg is known for being the center for flavors and goods from the Sub-continent. However, there are also some North African and Middle Eastern shops around to complement the Indian and Pakistani vibe. I honestly felt like I wasn’t in Joburg anymore with a shawarma shop and Pakistani sweet shop across the street… Or maybe this is exactly what Joburg is supposed to be. Having lived in both Pakistan and Jordan, I was pretty pleased with the vibe.

Amman Restaurant Vibe

There is indoor and outdoor seating available. We chose to sit outside, streetside. Although it’s by the road, there is a little plant barrier around the seating area. There were families and friends seated around.

The service was good—our food came out in about 20 minutes though the meat dishes will take a little longer.

Amman Restaurant Food

We started off with ordering two mint lemonades—don’t skip this. It was super lemony and minty; perfectly refreshing on a hot day. The drinks must be in high demand because it took longer to get the drinks than the food.

I also ordered an avocado and date drink, and it turned out more like a custard dessert. I wasn’t a huge fan because I wanted something more like a milkshake but those who like custard will probably find it tasty. Plenty of other diners had ordered it.

We ordered hummus, zaatar bread with cheese, tabouleh, and a manakeesh with olives and cheese. It was the perfect amount for two people with modest hunger. I was craving a super lemony tabouleh—and that’s exactly what I got.

Zaatar is a tasty middle eastern spice made with dried oregano, sesame seeds, thyme, and marjoram. It’s good on literally everything. Bird’s Bagels even sells a Zaatar bagel.

The grills look super good—chicken and kebabs looked like the most popular. Get it with a side of fries. They looked so warm and crispy that I almost got an order for no good reason. I love fries…

Amman Restaurant also serves pizzas—these are not your Italian thin crusts. Expect fluffy bread.

What else can you do around Amman?

Check out Fordsburg Square. Stop to get some veggies, some street food, and these amazing nimkos (salty snacks) made fresh! It was pretty calm on the Saturday afternoon we visited and so we walked up and down. Across from Amman, we stopped at Shalimar Delights for some of my favorite Pakistani sweets.