My Amman Life

I am not one to complain, but if there is something that does bother me about Amman, or Jordan in general, it’s that wherever you go you end up inhaling second-hand smoke (not to mention smelling like an ashtray). Though the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) is trying to promote the smoke-free movement with their “Smoke-Free Zone Certificate” program which they launched in 2014, as a way to “encourage companies, institutions and restaurants to provide a healthy and smoke-free environment for their employees and customers and is a practice of communal commitment”, it’s still hard to find a place in Jordan to have a drink or bite to eat without a smoker in sight.

There are many reasons why I don’t smoke, but a main factor is of course to avoid the life-threatening effects, but the problem is that just being surrounded by smokers is harmful for the health… Did you know second-hand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer? Source: Center for Disease Control

Because of this, and the fact that the KHCF 2016 list of Smoke-Free Zone Certificate winners only included one restaurant, I decided to investigate places in Amman that I can go without having to worry about smoke.

Below you will find a list which I will continue to update as I find more of tobacco-free spots across the city (I really hope this list gets longer quickly!) And don’t worry, I’ve made sure my list doesn’t include the places with these so-called “non-smoking sections” which are always conveniently one table away from the smoking section.

Smoke-free Restaurants

in Jabal Amman

• Wild Jordan – Local Cuisine – off Rainbow Street
• Shams el Balad – Breakfast & Brunch – off Rainbow Street
• Da Esmat – Italian Cuisine – 1st Circle

in Abdoun

• Primal – Paleo, healthy
• Melograno – Italian Cuisine.
• Little Italy Pizzeria – Italian Cuisine. Comment: only the lower level is smoke-free
• Wox and Company – Indian, Japanese, Chinese
• Foodsmith – Grille – Taj Mall
• Fatty Dab’s Burger Shack – Burgers

in Weibdeh

• Jasmine House Art & Food – Italian Cuisine & Art Gallery

Smoke-free Dessert Shoppes

• Four Winters – Ice cream – Abdoun and The Boulevard (Abdali) locations
• The Cake Shop – Sweets – various locations across Amman (Abdoun, Dabouq, Al Rabieh, Khalda, 7th Circle)
• Hala’s Treats – Sweets – 34 Hasan Barqawi Street
• Cereal Killer Cafe – Cereal – Sa’d Abdouh Street next to Java U, Abdoun

Smoke-free Coffee & Tea Shoppes

• Rumi Cafe – Primary location: 14 Kulliyat Al Sharee’Ah Street. Secondary location: on the second floor of the Shoman Foundation Library
• Mindhub – Abdulla Bin Rawahah Street, Al Hussaini Complex, Al Rabieh
• Caffé Strada – Jabal Amman (off Rainbow Street)
• Fann wa Chai – Coffee Shop & Art Gallery – Weibdeh
• Starbucks – various locations around Amman
• Costa Coffee – various locations around Amman
• Almond Coffee House – Zaal Abu Tayee Street (off Mecca Street). Comment: only the lower level is smoke-free
• The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf  – Dabouq location completely smoke-free. Two other locations in Abdoun with the lower levels being smoke-free.
• Boutique Bakery – Kulliat al Shareea 32, Jabal Weibdeh
• Books@Cafe – Fawzi Al-Qawekji Street, Abdoun

Other Smoke-free Establishments

• Shoman Foundation Library – Jabal Amman
• German Jordanian University – School – Amman Madaba Street
• The Amman Marriott (Lobby) – Hotel – Shmeisani
• Carakale Brewing Company – Brewery – Fuhays

Do you know of other smoke-free locations in Amman? Comment below!