Tunisian food is well prepared and delicious. Tunisian dishes are cooked with olive oil, spiced with aniseed, coriander, cumin, caraway, cinnamon or saffron and flavored with mint, orange blossom or rose water. Restaurants catering for tourists tend to serve rather bland dishes and 'international' cuisine, and visitors are advised to try the smaller restaurants. Prices vary enormously, and higher prices do not necessarily mean better meals. Tunis and the main cities also have French, Italian and other international restaurants. Self-service may sometimes be found but table service is more common.
Moorish cafes, with their traditional decor, serve excellent Turkish coffee.
Things to know: Although Tunisia is an Islamic country, alcohol is not prohibited. Tunisia produces a range of excellent table wines, sparkling wines, beers, aperitifs and local liqueurs.
National specialties:
•
Dorado (bream).
• Couscous.
•
Tajine (a fish dish).
•
Brik or
brik à l'oeuf (egg and a tasty filling fried in an envelope of pastry).
National drinks:
• Mint tea with pine nuts.
•
Boukha (wine, distilled from figs).
•
Thibarine (wine).
Tipping: 10 per cent for all services.
NightlifeIn Tunisia, the theater season lasts from October to June when local and foreign (especially French) companies put on productions and concerts. International groups appear at the
Tunis Theater and in the towns of Hammamet and Sousse. There are numerous cinemas in the larger cities. There are nightclubs in the major tourist resorts and at most beach hotels, as well as in the big city hotels. Belly dancing is a common cabaret feature and lively local bands often play traditional music. Casinos are also availabe in Tunis, Yasmine, Hammamet, Sousse and Djerba.
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