Carob House بيت الخروب

Amazing food here. Traditional Jordanian cuisine mixed with their own flavors and creativity. Best food we have had in Jordan. The atmosphere is really cool and the flavor of the dishes excellent. Service is also great. We can’t recommend it enough!

14/10 - best food I ate in Jordan. Went twice in one week. Besides the food itself , the chef / wait staff was so kind and attentive. Cute little boutique in the front for thoughtful gifts :)

When you’ve lived somewhere 16 years you think it has no surprises left to offer. Today Carob proved me wrong. A delightful place visitors and residents alike can be pleasantly surprised. Unique flavors in a lovely garden. The Carob ice cream with brownie is a MUST.

Possibly the best food I had in Jordan - excellent menu with a mix of traditional and modern Jordanian food. Probably worst part of the experience was figuring out what to order as so many options looked great (so go ahead and over-order). Really nice outdoor seating with attentive staff - has a small shop inside with local ingredients and other items. If there's one place in Madaba this would be it - even worth making a detour if you have the chance.

We had a nice brunch here. Food was amazing. Recommend to try the orange coffee frappé as well. Lovely atmosphere , friendly staff , good service.

Excellent food (all organic with a zero waste policy). Everything is housemade, from the meal to the decoration. The cuisine is still Arabic style but closer to gastronomy (a change to the typical traditional food we had throughout our stay in Jordan). Portions and price are good. There is alcohol (wine and beer) for those who wish some.
We recommend the Caroub chicken, the orange braised lamb and the stuffed vegetables !
Cheers to the staff and their chef (she!). Keep on doing this!

I had the most enchanting evening at Carob House! The romantic ambiance created the perfect backdrop for a memorable dining experience. The waitstaff was not only incredibly helpful but also delightfully sweet, enhancing the overall atmosphere.

The presence of alcohol added an extra layer of sophistication to the evening. Now, onto the main event - the braised lamb with plums. It was nothing short of phenomenal, a burst of flavors that left me craving more.

The Carob root salad was delicious, but be warned, it's so satisfying it might fill you up quickly! As for the eggplant fatteh, it was good but didn't quite reach the same heights as the other dishes.

Overall, Carob House is a hidden gem with a truly romantic setting, excellent service, and standout dishes like the braised lamb that make it a must-visit.

After a long day of visiting various sites from Amman to Jerash all the way to Madaba, we were looking for a nice meal and relaxing place. After passing several typocal turistic restaurants around town, we knew this is not the place for us, and my wife dig through the web suggestions and we went straighy to Carob. This was a lightning strike in all senses. We got in when it was completely empty and with great music in the background it was just the place I needed at the moment. Great and welcoming young and skilled waiters attended us quickly and brought water and prepared our table in an instance. We ordered the most amazing hummus with lamb, and we have never eaten anything like it in any oriental restaurant around the many countiries in the region (or anywhere else). They served the fantastic carob sauce along with the great olive oil and amazinh pita bread. I could eat that hummus for the rest of my life.
After our main courses arrived, lamb in orange sauce and lamb in plum sauce we sat in awe. These were really generous portions which you will never see in any fancy high end restaurants. Food was A-ma-zing!!! We were full but could not resist to order some sweets (in form of) carob brownie with icecream and theis Carob baclava which were not only so tasteful but also arranged with a lot of style and class (just like every portion we ordered). We followed the meal with fantastic Jordanian merlot and ended the evening with few shots of espresso so we can drive further our way towards the dead sea. I will use any other opportunity whenever return to Jordan to come back and repeat this amazing experience. Must repeat again that hummus was a Out of World class

Not only the best dining experience in all of Jordan, but also the most inspiring one. Meeting and discussing with Rakan (the owner) about (his) holistic approach to sustainable farm-to-table community and permaculture (you can google it) was captivating. A highly recommended visit for anyone looking for good, healthy and sustainably produced food, with great local wines and cosy atmosphere. Thank you Rakan for making our world a better place for all - present and future generations.

Wow - what a fantastic lunch! Stylish place, great team and the concept of the menu is outstanding! Absolutely recommended! 👍👍👍👍👍

Excellent food and service! All dishes are healthy yet super tasty! Highly recommended!

After landing in Jordan, we stopped by the town of Madaba and were looking for somewhere to break bread and man was this place awesome! The atmosphere was unreal and the relaxed ambience was exactly what we needed while on vacation. The service was excellent and the food was all made in house, fresh. I ordered the brazed lamb and it literally came off the bone 😋

Appetizers and dessert were also great and this is a place worth going to, especially if you have a group as the portion sizes are meant for sharing.

The best food we had on our trip to Jordan. Yes you pay more but it’s worth it! A brilliant restaurant. Their vegetarian and vegan dishes were so delicious. Also the decor was lovely and the staff were so friendly. And just 30 minutes from the airport. Perfect.

This place is heaven
The food
The quality
The variety
The presentation
The love in each bite
The staff
The chef

Everything is so from the heart.

I’m speechless

This is a review for the Carob Farm and Carob House, because I was lucky enough to visit both last week, and to witness farm to table in action.

Where to start with such a special experience...

"Farm to fork" : the aspirational promise of weaving a golden thread from sustainable, ethical farming to fresh and healthy dining.

Rakan's hearty labour of love bridging a regenerated and restored family farm with his 'cozy chic' restaurant in Madaba is Next Level Inspiring... It is a celebration of life, pulled into life through stubborn hard work.

Rakan spent months during COVID on a deep dive into soil nutrition, seeking ways to revive dry and dusty soil, degraded by years of chemical agriculture. He now nurtures a permaculture garden, woven with new forest cover to moisten and feed the soil. His little Eden is now 5 times more productive than neighbouring, chemical dependant farms.

The educational farm tour ("for survival not for leisure") begins with an invitation to feel the soil 'before' and 'after' Rakan's journey, comparing arid dusty soil, with richer, moist earth! Next, we follow Rajan's Odyssey of experimentation, weaving reading and review, with hands on practice, and a daily ritual of discussions with local farmers.

We see the permaculture mounds in action; learn about the 'chicken tractor' which moves chickens around the farm so they can happily spread their nutrient rich poo; touch and smell incredibly rich compost.

The pinnacle is to witness the system of harvesting the slim ration of rain which blesses the land only 2 or 3 times per year. We learn the spell of Slow, Spread and Soak!

And then... we head from Carob Farms مزارع الخروب to Carob House بيت الخروب restaurant, to enjoy one of the best meals of our lives!

The food was absolutely fantastic. So, so delicious. It is honestly no exaggeration that this was one of the most memorable meals of my life. It was gastronomically, intellectually and spiritually delicious and filling.

Carob is Farm to Fork for a livable future. A great day in great company, 🏡👍😎❤ with rich lessons and new friendships to fertilize our own work, and take to plant back home. 🙏🙏🙏

Being a former restaurant owner for 20 years, I think I know what I’m talking about when I dine in one.
Carob House is a must visit, I highly recommend it. Healthy delicious food, beautiful friendly atmosphere and staff, the dessert yum yum yum out of this world. I’ll be back again.
Thank you Rakan!

Impressive restaurant, would strongly recommend. We came on New year’s day, it was windy and cold outside, and we were happy to find a cozy and warm dining area by the wooden stove. Dishes are brave and tasteful. I particularly enjoyed the leek and fennel hummus with pomegranate sprinkled on top, the lentil soup (much lighter and subtle than what I have tasted in the past), the nabulsi cheese cooked in ghee with scrambled eggs on a bed of splendid sourdough. Very interesting artwork, funky music and smily and attentive staff all contributed to a very satisfying experience.

I encouraged the owner to publish a recipe book, I would certainly buy it and cook from it + would love to learn more about the farm to table ethos of the place. After more than 25 years of visiting Amman and Madaba, I am so sad to see the beauty of the surrounding hills being swallowed up by urban expansion and would love to see more such initiatives to preserve whatever is left.

The place is really nice and cozy, the food was delicious and the staff are friendly. Rakan took the time to go through the menu with us which was very nice of him.

My only constructive feedback, while the food was delivered with care it took longer than expected and some items are over priced.

We had a delicious and unique lunch served outside. Very friendly staff.

If you're trying to decide if it's worth a visit - just look how long each review here is and how many different people decided to take the time to write a thorough review. This is special. They create a significant experience. I wouldn't miss it and can't wait to visit again.

We love food, we love it even more when it's seasonal, local and traditional, and we can't help ourselves when we hear the stories behind the food, the farming and the people. This is exactly what Rakan and the innovative chef Sara do in Carob House, and what Rakan and Abdu do in Carob farm. What a special experience!

Rakan, the person behind all this, is a fascinating man, that decided to switch up his career to create something he believes in and fight climate change with a sustainable and economical model for food production. He spended so much time with us, before, during and after our meal, explaining every little detail behind the place, the rational and the food. He gave us the feeling that he has all the time in the world even though it was a rush hour in the weekend, and he somehow manages to give this exact feeling to every guest.

Before the great dinner we had here we visited Carob Farm, where Abdu gave us a super-interesting tour. He explained about the unique farming approach they use there, how important are biodiversity and symbiotic relationships between different plants, and how they plan to plant food-forests across Jordan. This tour made our dinner even more delicious!

If all this is not enough - know that they also collaborate with local artisanals and actively promote the preservation of traditional old cooking methods.

I could write a lot more about this place, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Make your visit to Madaba unforgettable and visit them. It's worth it.

Oh, and no matter how full you are - do not miss the Carob ice cream for dessert!

Rakan, Abdu and Sara - thank you so much from all four of us 🙏