As lunchtime approaches, the tables around what appears to be a small ethnic grocery store gradually begin to fill up. It’s always like this — the routine repeats itself at the Mercado de Arroios, where Zaytouna has become the go-to destination for anyone seeking the bold and stimulating flavors of Middle Eastern cuisine.
And in the case of this Palestinian restaurant, as one would expect nowadays, eating here is also taking a political stance. On Zaytouna’s Instagram, posts calling attention to several contemporary causes — from gender issues to the blockade on Cuba and, of course, Israel’s violent intervention in Gaza — share the timeline with photos of the restaurant’s dishes.
Dishes that earned Zaytouna — “olive” in Portuguese — a spot on the list of Lisbon’s Top 101 Restaurants, a partnership between ImmigrantFoodies and Mensagem de Lisboa.
here the 101 TOP
When Zaytouna first opened its doors in 2016, initially only as a spice market, the world — always turning with wars and conflicts — seemed slightly less turbulent than today. But that was only in our short-sighted Western view.
For Palestinian Hindi Mesleh, what we now frequently hear in the news — discrimination, persecution, massacre — was already part of daily life in Gaza, where he was born 42 years ago. In 2013, the construction of a wall by Israel — the apartheid wall — made life virtually unbearable, forcing him to leave, first for Brussels and, three years later, for Lisbon.
With a degree in documentary production from Dar al-Kalima University in Ramallah, Hindi captured the rising tensions in his final project. That was the last time he sat in the director’s chair. As an immigrant, he followed the script reserved for so many others: where a foreign degree is worth almost nothing.
In Brussels, he worked maintaining apartments — ironically living up to the semantic vocation of his surname Mesleh.
“In Arabic, Mesleh means something like fixer in English,” he explains. “Literally, my name means the Indian who fixes things,” he jokes.
Once in Lisbon, Hindi swapped maintenance for food service. First came the grocery shop, and two years later, the market gained indoor tables, a terrace, and started serving lunch and dinner — quickly becoming a reference not only for Palestinian gastronomy but for the richness of what is often called “Arab cuisine.”
And so, the man who fixes things also began fixing the lives of Lisboetas looking to satisfy their appetites with true Middle Eastern comfort.
Art on a plate, at a price you can afford
As lunchtime progresses, the restaurant is filled with the aroma of spices — from starters such as Arabic breads, hummus, tabbouleh, and falafel — all prepared in an open kitchen run by a serious yet passionate chef, separated from the shop and tables only by a counter, allowing every scent to be shared among the customers.
Zaytouna’s routine is demanding. Besides the chef, a friendly server completes the team — who never stops for a single minute. Even with the small team, orders arrive quickly and piping hot, like Makdous, a dish of smoked aubergine stuffed with peppers, walnuts, tomatoes, and tahini sauce.
A dish that you start eating with your eyes. In fact, most of Zaytouna’s menu looks like it’s been hand-designed by an artist — and in some cases, it almost feels wrong to spoil the artwork with a fork. A useless hesitation, because resistance is impossible.
The minimalist staff is certainly one of the explanations for another of Zaytouna’s strong points: the affordable prices. Despite the sophistication in preparation and presentation, the idea seems to be to bring the food served on the streets of Palestine to Lisbon — or even the feeling of sharing a family meal in a Palestinian household.
“All the recipes are mine. I’ve always loved cooking — both with my family and in a restaurant I once had in Ramallah,” says Hindi in fluent Portuguese, which he learned soon after arriving, through a three-month private course.
“I had to learn Portuguese quickly, to start selling,” he explains. The shop helped a lot in that process, he adds, along with the help of his Portuguese girlfriend.
In perfect Portuguese, Hindi also explains the choice of the name Zaytouna — the olive tree — as part of the restaurant’s activist DNA. “In our culture, the olive tree is a symbol of resistance,” he says.
That resistance is also present in the drinks menu, where next to the aromatic, refreshing rose lemonade is Palestinian Coke — an Eastern alternative to the world’s most famous soft drink, which appears on activist boycott lists not because it is made in the USA…
“But because Coca-Cola directly funds the Israeli army,” stresses Hindi, posing for a photo wearing a T-shirt featuring the watermelon, the symbol-fruit of Gaza — carrying the colors of the Palestinian flag and used as an “alternative flag” in protests where the official one is banned.
Resistance as the main course
The routine is just as demanding for the owner himself. Hindi works an average of 16 hours a day, dividing his time between Mercado de Arroios and Cascais, where Zaytouna opened a second branch in 2020 — in addition to providing Middle Eastern products such as Palestinian Coke to other Lisbon shops and restaurants.
This wholesale side of the business is key to keeping restaurant prices low. “Because we get products almost at cost, we can maintain affordable prices — which is important to our philosophy of building a community around the restaurant,” he says.
That “community” found a somewhat more conservative profile in Cascais, less concerned with global tensions — and the exhausting daily commute is leading Hindi to consider closing operations there and reopening the second location in Graça, near his home in Beato.
It would help reduce the intense physical exhaustion — barely concealed beneath Hindi’s constant friendly smile — which would be understandable enough just from what is happening in Gaza, starting with the family he left behind in Palestine.
A declared ceasefire in the Middle East is always welcome, but experience has taught him that peace is a very fragile thing. “I’d like to believe the killing has stopped, but deep down I think it will never end,” he reflects.
The last time Hindi visited his family in Palestine was in 2023. “For the first time, I was afraid to go,” he confesses.
He finds comfort in Lisbon’s sunshine — a relief from the burdens that weigh on him. “The weather was a key factor in leaving Brussels. I was allergic to the cold and the gray skies,” he says. That’s what tipped the balance toward Lisbon.
“I wasn’t sure between Spain and Portugal, but they told me getting my papers here would be easier,” explains Hindi, who has been waiting for Portuguese citizenship since 2022.
“It seemed easier to do the paperwork — but it wasn’t,” he admits, without hiding his disappointment.
A sadness that quickly fades from the face of this restaurant owner — whose business is named after olive trees, just like Palestinians themselves: a symbol of resistance.
O jornalismo que a Mensagem de Lisboa faz une comunidades,
conta histórias que ninguém conta e muda vidas.
Dantes pagava-se com publicidade,
mas isso agora é terreno das grandes plataformas.
Se gosta do que fazemos e acha que é importante,
se quer fazer parte desta comunidade cada vez maior,
apoie-nos com a sua contribuição: