Taybeh Al Manara

Al Manara, a Luxury Collection Hotel (Marriott) sits at the mouth of the Saraya Lagoon — a purpose-built resort district south of central Aqaba — and its signature restaurant Taybeh Al Manara is the most ambitious kitchen in the city. The name means ‘delicious’ in Arabic. The restaurant runs as a modern-Jordanian tasting room that takes the classical mezze and grill repertoire and treats it with European technique: compositions are built, plates are assembled, and the sauce work is closer to a Parisian hotel than a traditional Amman mezze house.

The dining room is the most striking in Aqaba — a double-height space with hand-laid Levantine tilework, black-walnut joinery, and a full wall of windows onto the Saraya Lagoon. Tables are widely spaced. Service is Marriott Luxury Collection standard: general manager on the floor, sommelier attached to each table, and an intelligent wine list that properly rotates Jordanian, Lebanese, and European selections.

Signature dishes include a mansaf deconstruction (the Jordanian national dish, reset as a three-component composition with saffron rice, slow-braised lamb, and a jameed-cream emulsion), a kibbeh nayyeh tartare presented as a single perfect portion with house-made pita crisps, and a Red Sea lobster shaqarieh (a Bedouin-Jordanian yogurt stew, reconceived for fine dining). The tasting menu is 65 JOD for six courses; with wine pairing 95 JOD.

Allocate 2.5 hours for the tasting menu. Reservations 2 weeks out for weekends. The hotel is 15 minutes by car from the city centre, at the south end of the Saraya Aqaba lagoon district — a destination evening rather than a walkable one. Valet parking at the hotel entrance.

Taybeh Al Manara is the client-impression room in Aqaba. The Luxury Collection-branded hotel setting, the architectural quality of the dining room, the tasting-menu format, the professional sommelier service — every element signals investment and a level of dining culture that carries well with international business guests. Book the tasting with wine pairing for the clearest version of the kitchen's ambition. Private dining rooms are available for parties of 8–16.