A Culinary Bicycle Trip Discovering Tunisian Food

A Culinary Bicycle Trip Discovering Tunisian Food

An article about Tunisian food from Nadine (31, USA)…

A Tunisian Mediterranean food:

Traveling and food:


As an avid traveler, I must admit that the main factor that influences my decision to visit a certain country is its food. And I haven’t been disappointed in Tunisia. I was so happy to discover Tunisian food and its rich cuisine during my trip to this beautiful North African country.

With our Australian and Portuguese guests enjoying lunch by Semia at nomadic bike home
Couscous is the most popular Tunisian food
Couscous with Semia in Bardo

Tunisian Mediterranean cuisine:


With the north of the country bordering the Mediterranean, Tunisia has long been a site of trade and migration. That contributed to its culinary traditions. From indigenous Berbers to Arabs, Ottomans, and French. Those who have reached Tunisia’s shores have greatly influenced the Tunisian foods eaten today. With fresh ingredients, featuring the national condiment harissa (unique combinations of roasted red peppers, chili peppers, spices, and herbs) and the world-famous olive oil, Tunisian food lives up to the hype.

Our friends Malek and Akrem eatng one of the most popular tunisian food kafteji and shan tounsi
Our friends Malek and Akrem eat one of the most popular Tunisian food kafteji and shan tounsi
kafteji sandwich is one of the most popular tunisian street food
Kafteji sandwich

Tunisian food in Medina of Tunis:

Tunisian coffee culture:


In addition, the café culture here in Tunis is something special. I’ve spent many days here that started and ended at a café. We spent an enormous time with Capucin (a less-milky cappuccino) or sweetened mint tea in hand with new friends coming and going while talking and playing cards. I’ve appreciated the slowing down of life over a table at the local coffeehouse, the chat with the lively waiters and the reasonable prices of one’s daily caffeine needs. Plus, every café I’ve visited in Tunis is clearly independently owned and has its own batch of regulars to people-watch. coffee is always part of a Tunisian food cycling trip starting from the Nomadic bike Bardo. We usually gather in a cafe and then ride to one of the popular restaurants and then we end up drinking tea after lunch or dinner.

Drinking coffee in cafe El Enba one of the most popular cafes in medina with nomadic friends.
Drinking coffee in cafe El Enba one of the most popular cafes in Medina with nomadic friends.

Oldest cafe in Africa and Tunisia:

One of the most delightful (and historical) cafés that I’ve visited was the Café de la Vigne (named for the grapevines winding up and down the alleyway where customers sit). One rainy morning, a few of us made the four-kilometer trip by bike from Bardo to the Medina of Tunis, where we rewarded ourselves with a day of culinary exploration, beginning with coffee and tea at this unique spot. It was a day full of different Tunisian food dishes with many new friends. The nomadic bike team organises tours to the medina starting from their shop in bardo.

the iconic kafteji plate added to it some vegetables at the top, one of the most popular Tunisian foods
The delicious Kafteji plate added ti it some vegetables as an extra topping
Discover the Medina of Tunis by Bike

Tunisian kafteji:


With our thirst satisfied, we darted through the Medina on our bikes, dodging tourists and craft vendors, ending up at what must be the most delicious, cheapest lunch in the city: the kafteji sandwich at ” Fawzi 500″. Kafteji is a classic Tunisian street food made of fried vegetables and eggs, mixed together and eaten with a baguette. The sandwich version puts that mixture into the baguette (plus a few French fries) and you’ve got yourself a quick on-the-go lunch. Each sandwich set us back only two dinars (about 70 U.S. cents) and we were privileged to see how fresh the food we were eating was. Other than kafteji you can try an other street food called Lablebi not that far from Nomadic bike.

Kafteji is one of the most popular Tunisia. Street food
Enjoying Kafteji with Alyssa and Malek
Kafteji plate is one of the most important Tunisian street food dishes
kafteji plate in Tunis
Tunisian plate a mixed fresh vegetables, olive oil, Harissa and Tuna accompanied with a kafteji plate and baguettes. These 2 plates considered as the most popular Tunisian street food.
Tunisian and Kafteji plates

Tart El-Medina:

Just down the street was our dessert, a contribution from the world of French pastry at Tarte el-Medina. Delicious tarts filled with nuts, fruit and chocolate awaited us as we guarded our bikes on the busy street. in the last few years many tart shops opened in the medina and it is also accessible to ride to these tart shops from Nomadic Bike.

A tart place in medina of Tunis became popular among Tunisian youngsters as a dessert.
visiting a tart place in the Medina of Tunis next to the Kafteji shop Fawzi 500
Tart from Tartinos made of fresh fruits
A tart from Tartinos added to it some fresh vegetables and it cost only 1 dollar

Tunisian Garlic ball:

Biking sure does work up the appetite, so we landed at one more fast food stopover on the trip back to Bardo. This dish wasn’t for those who are less garlic-inclined, as it was described to me as a “garlic bowl”—and that wasn’t far from the truth. Tunisian fast food seems to involve a lot of (fresh, delicious) baguettes, and the same went here, as we dipped into a bowl of garlic, tuna, olives and more.

Garlic ball is one of the most popular Tunisian street food
Garlic ball in Chikibiki restaurant city center of Tunis
Garlic ball is one of the most popular Tunisian street food dishes
With Alyssa at Chikibiki restaurant enjoying Garlic ball
We tried the Chikibiki garlic ball in tunis center
An other place where we tried the garlic ball un Rue de Marseille Tunis center

Tunisian Lemonade:

A refreshing citronnade (Tunisian version of lemonade) was the perfect end to this second lunch. Made by soaking whole lemons (skins included, but no bitter pith) in sugar and blending the mixture, citronnade is a lemon lover’s dream. Frosty, frothy and sweet-and-sour, it’s the ideal choice to drink before one last go-round on the bike.

An old Tunisian food: biscuit with lemonade
Alyssa tried the biscuit called boulo and a fresh lemonade made from Tunisian Lemon fruits harvested in the capbon region
The Tunisian Boulo is originally from Italy
The boulo biscuit is originally from Italy


Adventure and good food are always around the next corner when traveling with the Nomadic Bike team.

Café de la Vigne

Cycle from Nomadic Bike: 5 kilometers

Hours: Every day 6am-5pm

Keftaji place

Cycle from Nomadic Bike: 5 kilometers

Tarte el-Medina Am Naceur

Cycle from Nomadic Bike: 5 kilometers

Garlic bowl/ Patisserie Naouri: citronnade place

Cycle from Nomadic Bike: