1,001 Arabian nights and one Locanda in Ramada Olivié Nazareth

The Ramada Olivié Nazareth celebrates local culture with authentic cuisine, a market tour and a folklore evening with a kanafeh workshop and a belly dancer. 

It’s a pampering hotel with a heated indoor pool and Jacuzzi, a sports center, a spa and fine cuisine. One of the highlights is the Locanda chef restaurant, which reopened this week after a renovation and upgrading.

The Ramada Olivié is an Arabian-style boutique hotel with modern comforts and an emphasis on culinary pleasure of tastes and aromas from Nazarene-Galilean cuisine (not kosher). It overlooks Nazareth’s Old City, situated within a short walking distance from the Old City’s churches, markets and alleys. There are 200 spacious rooms, including five elegant suites for families. The rooms are classically designed and have everything one needs for a pleasant stay – comfortable beds, a television, coffee- and tea-making facilities, a minibar and plenty of USB sockets. The bathroom is well equipped and includes a pleasant rain shower, terry towels and bathrobes.

While the main aim of Ramada’s guests is to visit Nazareth, it is definitely a hotel suitable for rest and relaxation. What’s more fun than having a swim in the heated pool or dipping in the Jacuzzi after a tiring day’s trip? At Ramada, the pool is open from the early morning until 10 p.m. There is also a spacious and well-equipped gym overlooking the pool, which offers guests complimentary fitness classes. The Jasmine Spa has four massage rooms, including one double room, offering varied treatments. A pampering hammam complex will be opened here in the near future.

After a fun time in the pool and an excellent massage, we had lunch at the Sultana rooftop bar. There was a selection of salads including homemade hummus, a roasted eggplant salad decorated like a well-tended flower garden, excellent kibbeh and fine grilled meats and fish. We also returned to Sultana in the evening for refreshing cocktails and to enjoy the One Thousand and One Nights- or Arabian Nights-themed performance with a belly dancer in a traditional colorful outfit to the sounds of a Darbuka drum. The guests were fascinated and it really felt like a festival, or as the locals call it “hafla.”  

Locanda

One of the Ramada’s culinary highlights is the Locanda restaurant, located right outside the hotel door, and is open to the general public. The restaurant was recently renovated with an investment of NIS 2 millions. One of the prominent elements of the new design by architect Suhail Nsair was the embodiment of nature inside – the entire restaurant is immersed in vegetation, in bright green colors. Locanda has a balcony with a view of Old Nazareth. The balcony is decorated in an Arabic style with modern touches.

The menu was also renewed and now consists of Nazarene-Galilean chef’s dishes under the direction of chef Rami Abuleil. The cooking is meticulous and high quality, and the menu contains the best dishes of the Arabian cuisine, where maximum attention is invested in the preparation of each dish. The chef himself buys the produce every day from the local market. The restaurant’s vegetables are grown on an organic farm. The dishes are based on different periods in the life of the chef, from the nostalgia of his mother’s kitchen to a modern and innovative cuisine, all the while maintaining an authentic-traditional taste.

Abuleil’s kitchen is a fusion of Arab and international cuisine with a range of flavors – combinations that come from Eastern Europe, Italy, Greece and beyond. For example, the beet carpaccio with purple, smooth shanklish cream cheese with beet mash and touches of blue cheese; or the “Memories of Mama Fatma” dish – stuffed vine leaves and zucchini with tzatziki. The variety of salads is unusual with salty, sour and sweet salads. For example, there is a sour tabbouleh salad, a tomato salad with Burrata cheese and a sweet salad with endive and a variety of fruit decorated with sesame twills. Among the dishes we also found was the Lebanese kibbeh nayeh, from mashed goat and lamb meat – a very picturesque and impressive dish! We devoured the tabun-baked lamb ribs – they were soft and melted in our mouths. The same goes for the excellent saffron freekeh.

Locanda not only has great cuisine, it also has a lively bar. When we ordered cocktails, we didn’t anticipate the dazzling performance the bartender would give us when preparing our drinks – acrobatics of bottles flying in the air and an alcoholic fountain display. We found ourselves getting up a few times to watch him at work – with a new trick for each drink! 

It is worth mentioning that Locanda is available for private and business events of up to 60 guests. From time to time, the restaurant hosts unique concept evenings; learn more on the restaurant’s Facebook page: @locanda.naz. 

BACK TO the hotel; the rich hospitality here also continues over breakfast, which includes several buffets combining Israeli, Arabian and Galilean flavors. It is worth noting the selection of Nazarene sweets, which star in the meal and show off the hotel’s Nazarene expertise.

The hotel is a 15-minute walk from the city’s famous churches and old market. On Saturdays, guests are invited to a complimentary guided tour of Nazareth. Guests can walk through the alleys of the Old City and its historic sites. The tour also includes tastings in famous local bakeries, coffee shops and candy shops.

Ramada Olivié Nazareth, https://www.leshemhotels.com/ramada-nazareth-hotel

Locanda Restaurant, https://www.locanda.co.il/ 

The writer was a guest of the Ramada Olivié and Locanda restaurant.