Street Food Tunisia. These three words are something to get excited about.
After travelling around this country for many weeks, the variety of street food in Tunisia is fantastic.
We may earn affiliate commissions from websites we link to, at no cost to you. Click here for details.
From street sandwiches, deep-fried snacks, and flavourful bowls of steaming soup – street food in Tunisia is readily available and super affordable.
My 8 Favourite Street Food Tunisia Snacks
1) Malfouf Sandwich
Sandwich shops are never too far away in Tunisia, and they’re the absolute best!
A few different types of bread are used for street sandwiches, but Malfouf is my favourite. You can get a freshly cooked flatbread loaded with your desired ingredients for less than a dollar.
These include omelette, tuna, cheese, mayonnaise, parsley, diced onion, fries, olives, and harissa (chili paste).
Don’t worry, you can ask for it without the heat, but I’d recommend going for it. Harissa in Tunisia is always fresh and so flavourful!
2) Fricasse
The fricasse can only be described as a savoury doughnut filled with mashed potato, tuna, olives, hard-boiled chopped egg, and harissa.
You can find sandwich shops and street food vendors churning these out at lightning speed.
This appears to be a much-loved street food Tunisia snack. What’s not to like, though?
They’re super cheap, filling, easy to buy, and quickly be on your way.
3) Lablebi (Lablabi)
This is quintessential street food in Tunisia. A spiced chickpea soup and common breakfast food in Tunisia.
Lablebi is a meal intended to provide sustenance for cold weather, and the ingredients used to create the dish are quite simple and cheap.
But, by no means does this make the dish bland. Lablebi was one of my favourite street food Tunisia snacks on my travels there.
So, what is lablebi? It’s a dish of stale bread covered in a spiced broth with freshly cooked chickpeas.
The best part is the half-cooked egg (optional) and the flavourings on top to boost the dish.
These include olive oil, harissa, fresh cumin, and lemon juice. Once you mix all the ingredients, get a spoon and dig in.
Recommended posts about Tunisia
4) Bambalouni
This indulgent snack is a cross between a deep-fried pastry and a doughnut. This is the ultimate street food Tunisia snack of them all! The bambalouni is sprinkled with sugar and sometimes honey is drizzled over it.
They are best eaten the moment they’re removed from the fryer. This is when they’re super fresh, still crispy, and warm.
We tried bambalouni as part of our delicious included breakfast at our boutique hotel in Tunis, Dar Ben-Gacem.
Read more: 20 popular breakfast foods in Africa
5) Brik
A deep-fried snack loaded with a variety of fillings. This savoury, stuffed “pastry” originated in the Ottoman Empire where it is known as ‘borek’.
The two most common shapes are the cigar and triangle-shaped brik.
Ingredients inside the brik include egg, fresh parsley, tuna, potato, and cheese. Brik tastes best when they’re piping hot, and the fine pastry flakes away as you munch your way into it.
Don’t forget to squeeze some fresh lemon over the top before consuming, it makes it so much better!
6) Baklava
A sweet that is as much loved here in Tunisia as it is in many other Middle Eastern or North African countries. I ate loads of it both during my travels in Libya and Algeria.
If you’ve never tried baklava, you haven’t lived!
You can buy this yummy street food Tunisia sweet for about 1 dinar per piece ($0.30), and like many other sweets in Tunisia, locals buy them by the boxful.
Get Connected with eSIM
Get connected easily on your travelsābuy an eSIM! It works like an app: buy it, download it, and get connected in minutes! Itās easy, affordable, and convenient. Keep your original phone number, too!
7) Corne de Gazelle
I discovered these unique-looking sweets in the city of Tatouine. There is a fabulous sweets shop across the road and over to the right from our recommended accommodation for the night at Auberge Alferdaous.
This pastry is filled with crushed nuts and sesame and then soaked in honey.
They’re very rich, delicious, and shaped like a gazelleās horn, hence the name.
- š„ Hot Tip: Book accommodation on Booking.com
- š Book your tickets online: We use Viator and GetYourGuide
- š Stay charged: This Belkin Power Bank is essential!
- šø Join a Group Tour: View our tours OR search Tourradar
- ā Get Connected with eSIM: Easy and affordable! View eSIM
8) Pastries
Breakfast is always easy to find in Tunisia because a good patisserie (bakery) is never far away. Take your pick from pain au chocolat, pain aux raisins, croissants, or a crusty baguette.
Baked goods in Tunisia are very affordable. Expect to pay around $0.20 for pastries or less than $0.10 for a baguette.
The best thing about patisseries is that you can generally get an espresso or cappuccino at the same time.
Interested to know how I seek out the most popular street foods or local dishes in the countries I visit?
Learn more in my post on 7 Tips: how to find the best food when travelling the world.
Have I missed your favourite street food in Tunisia? Tell me about it in the comments below.
Travel Tips for Tunisia
We wrote helpful travel guides and tips for Tunisiaāthis country is so diverse!
When planning your trip, we recommend you read our 10 best tips for independent travellers to Tunisia. This post includes essential things to know that will make your travels here much smoother.
Our perfect 14-day itinerary for Tunisia is a detailed guide to visiting the best parts of the country.
We wrote this comprehensive post about how to visit El Jem Amphitheatre, what an incredible site!
Our post explaining 8 of the best street eats in Tunisia cannot be missed, and we recommend these top 5 things to do in Tunis Medina.
Tunisia features on our list of the 10 best food countries in Africa, offering some of the most popular African breakfast foods.
Our Food Map of Africa is interesting because it explains what they eat in all 54 nations.
Youāll need to stay connected while travelling in Tunisia. We recommend eSIM. Itās easy, reliable and affordable. View eSIM options in Tunisia.
If your travels in Tunisia are part of a larger global adventure, then a Global eSIM may be the answer. It connects you in 124 countries, offering data-only eSIM and data/call/text eSIM. The Global eSIM has been a game-changer; we couldn’t imagine travelling without it now.
Want to travel in Tunisia with like-minded travellers? View the best deals on group adventures in Tunisia.
Check out our best-ever travel tips compiled from more than twenty years of experience.
Travel Planning Resources
āļø Flights: We use Skyscanner to book cheap flights worldwide.
šØ Accommodation: Booking.com is our preferred platform for booking hotels and accommodation. We use Vrbo to book apartments and long-term stays.
š„ Travel Insurance: We recommend Heymondo (Get 15% off Heymondo) & SafetyWing
š Transportation: Trainline is the best website to reserve trains. We use Omio to book transport worldwide. For travel in Asia, we use 12Go.
š Car Rental: We use DiscoverCars to book rental cars worldwide.
š« Group Tours: We now offer Group Trips; view them here! Alternatively, we recommend searching the Tourradar website. For Europe, Expat Explore is a good choice. *Get 5% off when you quote code VERYHUNGRYNOMADS to your Expat reservations agent. (*Valid for new clients only).
šø Day Tours & Trips: GetYourGuide & Viator are the only two platforms you need.
š Lonely Planet: The Best Range of Travel Guides & Ebooks, and FREE Shipping! (use code RACHELDAVEY10 for a 10% discount)
š Luggage: Osprey Farpoint 40L Backpack or Samsonite Luggage Range.
š What to Pack: Donāt forget your Universal charger and a good power bank. To help you pack the essentials, here is our ULTIMATE Packing List for all Travellers.
š¶ Become a House Sitter: Join Trusted Housesitters and enjoy FREE accommodation worldwide. Use our invite to receive 25% off your new membership.
š° Send Money Anywhere: WISE & Revolut are the best online accounts that let you send money, get paid, and spend money internationally. Both are so easy to use and way cheaper than any bank transfer.
š¶ Stay Connected: Airalo eSIM lets you get connected when you land at your destination. We LOVE this product! Use code MARTIN9009 to get $3 off your first Airalo eSIM (new users only) OR click here to SAVE 15% off your eSIM(valid till 31/12/2025).
ā Check out our Travel Gear and Travel Resources for more valuable tips to save you money!
