Qeimarieh Croissant and Tandoor bread – cheap & Delicious street food in the old city of Damascus

When you walk in the street of Qeimarieh in the old city of Damascus, you will see  many people from all walks of life carrying in their hands pieces of croissants or Tandoor bread or pieces  of pastry with a scent that reaches you even from a considerable distance and makes your mouth water.

This street is full with many restaurants and fast food and ice-cream shops, so people call it the  food street.

In 2014, Dania Al-Na’aal and some of her schoolmates were sneaking out of their school in Al-Qosor neighborhood to go to the  Qeimarieh Croissant shop to eat a hot Croissant.

“This shop was the only one that opened at 8:00 am in the morning and most of the school students come to it to buy Croissants before going to school. It was always crowded, so some of my classmates and I would sometimes sneak out of the school to go to this shop to eat Croissant….It is very delicious,” she told Syria Times.

Miss. Al-Na’aal, 22-years old, added that the amazing taste of the Qeimarieh Croissant has not changed henceforth.

“This shop reflects the heritage of the old city of Damascus, and I would always see foreign visitors  coming to this shop to try the croissant…Actually, when I come to this street,  I always buy a croissant to eat it even if I am full,” she stated.

Mrs. Dana Hatom , was with her husband and child and they were buying several pieces of croissants while Syria Times was doing interviews there.

“ I am used to coming to this shop  because the taste of its croissant is number one in Syria, and I do not forget to take a few pieces with me to eat them for dinner….The taste of the dough and the stuffing is amazing,” she said.

There was also a 60-year-old woman, Mrs. Karemeh Yousef Slebeh, who had come from Hama to Damascus in the company of   two ladies and they decided to walk in the alleys of the old city on Friday.

“It has been a long time since I came to Damascus.. I am now in the Qeimarieh Street because I want to enjoy the beauty of the old city and to eat croissant and tandoor bread- fresh and delicious…I remember that once someone told me that the workers in this shop inherited this career from their grandfathers,” she said.

The Qeimarieh Croissant shop has a Facebook account that encourages people to come and try their products.

Mr. Mahmoud Bayyom, who was with his friend near the shop, said: “ I am from Aleppo  and I read about this shop on FB and people are recommending it, so I came to try it.”

10 workers are working in the shop, which was opened 25 years ago in the above mentioned street, according to Mr. Mazen Sh’hadeh ,  who is working there

“ The  Qeimarieh Croissant was made for the first time in 1920, and its taste and the quality distinguishes it from the croissant being made in other shops. The price of the one piece has increased from 1500 Syrian pounds to 2300 Syrian pounds in a year due to the hike of the prices of raw materials. However the  good reputation of this shop due to its delicious products has led to an increase in its visitors , who come from all Syrian governorates and abroad to try it,” he told us.

Mr. Sh’hadeh indicated that besides  croissant, which is available with several stuffing such as cheese, chocolate, olives and thyme, the shop offers Western pastries such as “chocolate donuts” and “Éclair” and all kinds of cakes.

Around 100 meter away from this shop, there is an ancient Tandoor oven, which offers hot bread with black seeds and pies.

Mr. Younes Idelbi, the son of the owner of the Tandoor oven shop said: “ We inherited the shop from our grandfathers in 1925 and it dates back to 1875 .  It still maintains the old ancient  architectural style that reflects the period in which it was built, and the workers make tea by using an ancient teapot…. The ancient decoration of the shop is attractive to all those who come to the street.”

“We  only made Tandoor bread and bread with black seeds; however now we offer 30 items of pies stuffed with cheese,  mortadella, red pepper and Mozzarella besides the bread….People love the pies and they order them,” he added.

Mr. Idelbi, who completed his study at the Faculty of Information, spends all the time in the  shop to preserve the name of the Qeimarieh Tandoor, which has become popular.

“Many people come from other countries to try our bread and to see the mechanism of our work….. As you see our items are handmade and this is the idea which people accept, he said, pointing out that he received offers to open branches to the Tandoor bread and pies in Brazil, Dubai, America, Algeria, Kuwait and other countries in the Gulf region.

“I am not interested in these offers now because I have to closely observe the work in the main shop to preserve its reputation…. There are no other branches to our oven in Syria, but there is a plan to open another branch in Damascus,”  Mr. Idelbi clarified, noting that the number of main workers in the shop is 3 and it increased to 6 due to the increasing demand for bread and pies.

The price of pies ranges from 3000 Syrian pounds to 5500 Syrian pounds, while the price of one piece of bread is SYP. 1000.

In the past , the shop opened  from 2: 00 am until 12:00 at noon , but now it opens from 10:00 am until 10:00 pm .

On Thursday, Friday and Sunday and during holidays, it stays  open until 12:00 midnight.

Nowadays the cost of eating at home is higher than the cost of eating out , especially in the  Qeimarieh food street.

The street was named after the Great Qeimarieh School, which was established during the Ayyubid era by Prince Nasir Al-Din al-Qeimari in 650 AH.

Reported by: Basma Qaddour