Blida eats the standard Algerian repertoire of the central coast: couscous (especially on Fridays), chorba frik (lamb-and-cracked-wheat soup), mechoui (slow-roast lamb), and the local pastries that the city has long been famous for — qalb el louz, baklawa, and the rose- and orange-flower-water sweets that draw on the surrounding flower farms.
The restaurants around Place des Martyrs and along Boulevard Larbi-Tébessi are mostly gargotes — quick, cheap, working-day places serving grills, salads, and a daily plat du jour. For something more substantial, head into the surrounding mountains: the villages above Chréa have a string of restaurants serving Atlas-style grills and tagines, often outdoors under pines.