When you come to Akko in Israel, Hummus Said is THE hummus place locals go for lunch. Hummus didn’t say anything, that’s just the name of the founder, “Said” (like Saeed). You’ll taste what ‘authentic’ hummus is like here, and a serving is only 17NIS! Very cheap and affordable!
Location
The store is in the old market. Google Maps location is pretty accurate for now. And remember that you should be there before 2pm! Expect to queue for 10-15 minutes as the place is quite popular.
We came here past 1pm. And there were at least a dozen of people lining up, so we waited for 10 minutes…. most people here were locals, so you know this is the RIGHT place to go.
And voila, nothing fancy inside the shop. But the good thing is that you get a place to sit. I took this picture when the shop was closing.
I bet he is Mr.Said.
Menu?
Hummus Said sells authentic hummus, so you are here for hummus. There are 3 options
- Hummus
- Faal? (some sort of beans)
- Another type of hummus called Moshusha?
Menu is on the wall, this is the price for 1 serving. You can go for half portion (at half price)
I got half portion hummus (left) and that Moshusha thing (right). To me there was no difference in taste, except hummus was finely mashed and moshusha included some chickpeas. But I must say this is the first time that I understood what ‘freshly prepared hummus’ is. You simply know that when the aroma of chickpea is in your mouth!
All of this cost me only 17NIS! 3 pieces of pita, and some salads. We were startving but this was enough for 2 of us. Probably because hummus is filling and plus psychologically hummus to us is not a meal. It’s like eating tofu, just tofu with some bread. (Yes I know there’s ‘tofu’ burger in western wall… but I’m not used to that idea)
What’s offered in salads? Hmmm pickles, tomatoes, super sour olives and onions. It’s hard to pretend that I like olives…. But some people like olives right?
Chili and coriander. Add them! Finally my hummus has some flavor ~
And then I wanted to order tea. When I told this to a waiter, I asked the waiter what that yellow drink is on some other table. He pointed at that yellow drink, and asked me “this?” I said yes. And then he didn’t answer my question…. but later he came back with another glass of this yellow drink. I asked him once again “what is it?” I couldn’t tell from the smell.
Then my mom took a sip. Then 3 seconds later, another waiter who could speak English came to us and said
It’s oil.
🤣🤣 Why is olive oil served in a glass? Maybe it’s beyond his imagination that there are people in this world who don’t know what this yellow “drink” is….
And they were wrapping up at 3pm. While we were still eating, they started to clean up. That’s it! From 3-4pm they are free! And I guess they would sleep at 8pm and get up at 3am for making fresh hummus. I think.
And the bill was….. 17NIS! Was the tea complementary? The waiter said “Included”. I was stunned. No wonder this place is so popular among locals!
Final Verdict
Hummus Said is definitely a chamion in hummus world. If you can only bear to have hummus for 1 meal in Israel, then this is the place to go!
