With white tablecloths, a sexy atmosphere and excellent service – Mona is easily included in the list of the best restaurants in Israel. Chef Moshiko Gamleli (Bar 51) has created a place that can equally skillfully serve a couple on a romantic evening, a lone drinker at the bar or a family of gluttons. The menu draws inspiration from cuisines around the world and translates them into fluent Jerusalemite.
Mona, Shmuel Hanagid 12, Jerusalem
Satya
Chef Ilan Grossi is one of the fathers of the new Jerusalem cuisine and his restaurants are always crowd favorites. The food is local and seasonal and reflects a love for hospitality and an understanding of the tastes of the Jerusalem crowd. Satya is one of the few restaurants in Jerusalem that serves shretz and is open on Shabbat, a breed that is becoming extinct in the troubled city.
Satya, Keren Hayesod 36 Jerusalem
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Chakra
The old bar-restaurant does not try to reinvent the culinary wheel, and perhaps this is precisely the reason why it remains relevant and beloved. On the menu you will discover dishes you have already met in a thousand restaurants (hello beetroot and blue cheese carpaccio) and classics carefully executed alongside seafood, which, as mentioned, is hard to find in the capital. You should grab a chair by the bar and watch a place that has been running for years like a well-oiled machine.
Chakra, King George 41 Jerusalem
Chakra Restaurant’s Tuscan dish. Photo: Or Ben Hakon
aso.studio.salon
Cafe-salon culinary-deli of Eyal Assolin, a food expert at Ramah Avrio. Sea fish ceviche and pakos, spaghetti in bacon butter with sage, garlic and white wine and other dishes that combine familiar ingredients in an unusual way reflect an attempt to present a different Jerusalem cuisine, More daring and free. On Fridays the place operates in a brunch and delis format and in general it is worth following, because Assouline is an extremely creative person.
Aso Salon, Yanai 3 Jerusalem
Rohan
You could call it a Poppina branch, but Rohan is more of a lounge bar than a restaurant. Chef Oral Kimchi has created sexy and contemporary bar dishes, including a representation of Redifine Meat, which go well with cocktails based on local ingredients, for example gin from the new Thinkers distillery. The atmosphere is chic and designed as expected from a Brown chain hotel, and if you decide to stay the night – Kimchi also signed the breakfast.
Rohan, 41 Hillel St. (corner of Ben Sira), Jerusalem
Spinach adsorption and redifine mit. Rohan (Photo: Anatoly Michaelou)
the kiosk
Confectioner David Laur’s bakery in Mebasheret is a magnet for foodies. In the kiosk, an extension opened for the benefit of the residents of the city center, you will find savory and sweet pastries as well as baguette sandwiches and stuffed croissants, toasts and handmade sweets.
Gideon Garden, Bekaa, Jerusalem
Chestnut pastries at the kiosk (photo by Gal Calderon)
Afa’im farm
A café-deli based on the produce of an Afaim farm for sustainable agriculture – a model that deals with the chain of growth and food production from the seed stage to the plate, and assimilates the values of organic, fair trade and animal friendliness. Mashek Afaim branches are characterized by a nostalgic design and a menu where you can always find something delicious, from breakfast and good coffee to a cheese platter and a glass of wine.
Mesk Afaim, Beit Hakarem 19 Jerusalem
Mashek Afaim (photo from Instagram)
cymbal
Chef Avi Levy’s shawarma (the publisher) raises the bar when it comes to street food in the capital and offers juicy cuts of meat and vegetables grilled on an open charcoal grill. We would be happy to have a branch in Tel Aviv, just saying.
Mitzla, Jaffa 105 Jerusalem
Cymbal (photo by Anatoli Michaelou)
Tacos Luis
A cute little authentic taqueria where you can eat tacos made from handmade corn tortillas, with different fillings including meat, fish and lots of more and less spicy sauces.
Takos Lewis, Shlomzion Hamalka 11 Jerusalem
Holy coffee
There is really no need to expand on the institution of Itzik and Keren Kadosh, Oshiot Confectionery and Communication. The line is always long but at the end there are boutique desserts, sexy yeast cakes, favorite pasta dishes and the glitterati that have already entered the pantheon, the bride from Istanbul for example.
Kadosh Cafe, Shlomzion Hamalka 6 Jerusalem
O2
In every discussion about chef restaurants in Jerusalem, the same names come up, but it’s time for someone to talk about O2. The restaurant at the Inbal Hotel is led by chef Nimrod Norman (formerly Ana), who created a kosher meat menu that does not make any concessions. Since this is Jerusalem after all, until August 4th the restaurant serves a special fish menu for the nine days – a period of mourning for the destruction of the Temple in which meat is rarely eaten.
O2, Jabotinsky 3 Jerusalem
Focaccia Festival at the Inbal Hotel
Regardless of the restaurant’s activity and following the successful soup festival from the winter, the hotel itself is now hosting a summer festival with a similar concept: a free buffet of vegetable dishes in various preparation methods and focaccia (NIS 95 per person).
Focacchus Festival, Inbal Hotel (PR photo)
Televia
Below the Jerusalem Theater is a wine bar or gastro bar in Tel Aviv terms, whose name has preceded it for many years. In the morning you can enjoy here a plate of salted fish, Eggs Benedict or French toast, and at noon the kitchen switches to a brasserie phase. The success led to the opening of other businesses under the Talvia umbrella: a French patisserie with a local angle, an ice cream parlor and a Fringe restaurant that is appreciated in its own right.
TeleviaShopan 5 Jerusalem
zuni
A long-time bistro that experienced Jerusalem in all its ups and downs during its years of existence and survived to tell and preserve the sanity of the city. Onion soup and caesar salad, BLT and hamburger, cordon blah and stroganoff are examples of classics that always go well with a glass of wine and a friendly atmosphere. The brunch alone is a good reason to go to Jerusalem, an excessive display of carbohydrates, eggs and desserts.
15 Yoel Moshe Salomon, Jerusalem, 02-6257776
Will you drop by for brunch? Zuni (photo by Shay Nyborg)
Rachel on the boulevard
It is true that in practice it is a sandwich, but the sandwiches that Rachel Ben Elul prepares from Master Chef are anything but food “on the road”. Spreads, vegetables, cheeses and herbs are piled on top of each other and create a challenging but delicious mega-sandwich. A place that justifies standing in line, even though it’s easier for Tel Avivians to drop by the branch in Sarona Market.
Rachel Besdra, 13 Ben Maimon Boulevard, Jerusalem, 02-6644122
Rachel Besdra in Sharona Market (Photo: Assaf Karla)
Mahane Yehuda Market
Almost every week, new restaurants and places of entertainment are opened in the market, joining the old players (Mechanioda, Azura, Stakiyet Hatzat). If you decided to jump to the market – and how could you not – here are some stations that you should pay attention to.
A timeless classic. Mahane Yehuda Market. Photography: Avishai Teicher
Archanto
Minimalism is the name of the game at the Argentinian food stand of chef Lux Citronovich, who grew up in the youth department of “Mechanioda” and was in charge of the “Hasadana” restaurant before setting out on his own. Handmade empanadas and pulled chicken and meat sandwiches that go great with draft beer are a kind of mast for those who have not yet tasted.
butcher
There are few places that demonstrate what new Israeli cuisine is better than this bakery, which combines a basic Syrian/Kurdish dish called Shamburak with pickled vegetables, spreads and chutneys in the style of Indian Judaism. The result is a simple, quick, surprising and happy place that we would be happy to find like it in Tel Aviv.
An impressive and satisfying dish. Ishtabah (photo: Dror Warshavsky)
Sabih Aricha
The number of synagogues in Jerusalem can be counted on one hand. The best dish is found at Itay Aricha on Agrippa Street and it easily rivals the fancy Sabih establishments from the center. Eggplants that are fried the moment you order, warm pita bread that never tears and a variety of toppings and everything is minimal, fresh and precise.
Devini pita bar
Dini Cazorla, a former media personality and Master Chef contestant, has entered the most appropriate niche in Israeli cuisine today, who in a small shed on the outskirts of the market assembles soft pita breads filled with thin steak, harayma, cauliflower and a vegan mix, with lots of spicy and fresh herbs. Regular customers swear by the pita chips, and whatever you do – don’t forget to order arak mixed with Rosetta.
Pizzeria Flora
A graceful bar and a small menu are the basis of this restaurant, whose name has already broken the borders of Jerusalem thanks to excellent crispy pizza and pasta dishes reminiscent of a trattoria in Italy. Flora pizza with fresh rocket and Aperol spritz against the background of the hustle and bustle of the Mahane Yehuda market (or without the hustle and bustle at a branch in the neighborhood) are a good little carbohydrate and alcoholic pleasure.
Pizza Flora (Photo: Noam Frisman)
Azura
There is no one who does not know you Azura, and not only Jerusalemites. The name of the old restaurant is carried by foodies who come to devour a sofrito with a taste of longing and nostalgia. A place of honor is reserved for Cuban soups that are served against the background of the aroma of wicks.
Ezra (Azura) Scherpler in the restaurant kitchen in the 1960s. Photo courtesy of the family.
have mercy
We only have two words this time: rice and beans. And those who don’t know should be ashamed of themselves in the corner.
Rahmo (photo by Ron Yarkoni)
Machaniuda group
Mahane Yehuda market is synonymous with chef Assaf Granit’s group: Makhanioda restaurant and Yodel’a bar, the vegetarian-vegan plant and GG Kovala, a sandwich stand with kovna-challah pastry that also came to Sharona Market. Just to stay in the loop you owe yourself a taste of at least one of them.