PETRA, Itaewon: My No. 1 Middle Eastern Spot, Settled by One Plate of Hummus

Petra is the name of an ancient city carved out of red rock in the middle of the Jordanian desert.

Itaewon has a restaurant with the same name. It's a 5-minute walk from Noksapyeong Station, on the second floor of a building. And it's where I settled my Itaewon Middle Eastern food rankings. No. 1: PETRA. The deciding blow was the hummus.

A 30-second glossary

• Hummus (홈무스 / 후무스) — boiled chickpeas blended smooth with tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. The Middle East's national dip. On Korean menus you'll see it as hommuseu or humuseu.
• Tahini — sesame paste, the backbone of hummus.
• Baba ganoush — a roasted eggplant dip.
• Labneh — strained yogurt thick enough to call cheese, served as a dip.
• Noksapyeong — the Line 6 station one stop from Itaewon, and the closest station to PETRA.

Hummus first

PETRA's hummus comes spread across the plate in a swirl. Golden olive oil pools in every groove, chopped parsley sits in the center, and red paprika is dusted over the top. Take a bite and it's remarkably smooth and creamy. Behind the nutty chickpea flavor comes a fresh lift of lemon, so it never gets heavy, however much you eat.

Hummus's partner: bread

Hummus isn't meant to be eaten on its own. It's meant to be scooped up with torn bread. The flatbread comes baked golden with a sprinkle of herbs. Tear off a piece, aim for a spot where the olive oil has pooled, and load it up with hummus. The bread is slightly crisp outside and chewy inside, a sturdy base for all that creaminess.

A rice dish to fill you up

Once the hummus and bread have woken up your appetite, it's time for rice to fill you up. Yellow rice comes piled with crispy fried onions and chopped herbs. There's a gentle waft of spice, but nothing overpowering, so even Middle Eastern food first-timers can dig in comfortably.

What other diners say

Naver Place, as of September 2026. Naver's review keywords, roughly translated:

• ⭐ Visitor rating 4.64 · 705 reviews
• 🥇 "The food is delicious" — 427 people
• ✨ "Unique menu items" — 315
• 🙂 "Friendly service" — 152, "Generous portions" — 117, "Fresh ingredients" — 116
• 📝 Most-mentioned topics in reviews: taste (320) > satisfaction (219) > service (90)

Naver Place's one-line summary reads, roughly, "Korean-style Middle Eastern food, easy on the spices." That's exactly how it felt to me. There's no better place to start with Middle Eastern food.

Menu and prices

Menu	Price
Hummus	₩9,000
Baba ganoush (roasted eggplant dip)	₩9,000
Labneh (yogurt cheese dip)	₩9,000
Falafel	₩8,000–₩12,000
Miza (미자)	₩11,000
Tabbouleh salad / olive salad	₩9,000
Tahini salad	₩12,000
Pita (bread)	₩2,000–₩4,000
Jasmine rice / saffron rice / couscous	₩5,000

Order two or three dips (hummus, baba ganoush, labneh) with bread on the side, and you've got a Middle Eastern spread for the whole table to share.

How to order (even with zero Korean)

• Hummus is 홈무스 on the menu. Say "Hommuseu hana-rang pita juseyo" (홈무스 하나랑 피타 주세요) — one hummus and pita, please.
• With a group, go for two or three dips plus bread, then add rice or couscous (₩5,000) to fill up.
• Eat it the right way: tear the bread, find the olive oil pools, scoop.

Visit info

📍 PETRA (페트라) · 33 Noksapyeong-daero 40-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul (2F)

• 🚇 Getting there: Noksapyeong Station (Line 6), Exit 1, about a 5-minute walk (around 180 m); or Itaewon Station (Line 6), Exit 1, about a 9-minute walk
• 🕐 Hours: daily 11:30–21:00
• 💰 Price: dips ₩9,000, rice and couscous ₩5,000, bread from ₩2,000
• ✅ Good to know: Wi-Fi
• 🗺️ Maps: Google Maps · Naver Map — Google Maps finds the spot and handles subway routes in Korea, but for walking directions Naver Map is more reliable.

Looking for one more meal around Itaewon? Up the hill in Haebangchon, there's The Back Food Truck.

Jayden's verdict

A piece of bread, a scoop of hummus. Funny that a restaurant named after a desert city is where I learned what luscious means.

• Hummus: ★★★★★
• Bread: ★★★★★
• Coming back? Yes. Next time, the full spread with baba ganoush and falafel.