About “Colombo – Daily Kitchen”
chef: Ori Cohen
Kitchen type: Eclectic Mediterranean
Menu type: noon and evening
Number of dishes on the menu: 5-9
price range: NIS 40-130
kosher: No
exterior design: Little son of his father-in-law
Address: The Ghetto Fighters Kibbutz
phone: 050-5296633
Days and hours of operation: Monday-Wednesday: 12:00-15:00, 17:30-20:00, Thursday: 12:00-15:00, 18:30-24:00, Friday: 11:00-14:00
Reserve a seat: No
“Colombo – Daily Kitchen” is a canteen owned by chef Uri Cohen, located in Kibbutz Lohami Hagaot, where he lives with his family. Colombo started as a “hole in the wall” near the kibbutz farm, through which Cohen sold three different daily dishes. Six months later, when the demand increased, Cohen moved to a permanent residence in an abandoned shack, which had previously been used as the kibbutz’s doghouse. The concept: a daily changing menu, served to diners at a small counter overlooking the open kitchen.
Every day, five-six dishes are offered with creative names, written in chalk on a blackboard. The daily menu is sent to a growing WhatsApp distribution list (if you want to know what to eat, send a WhatsApp message to the restaurant and the menu will be sent to your mobile). On Wednesdays there is an excellent hamburger menu, and on Fridays the place offers hummus, sabih and schnitzel in challah.
On Thursday evening, the dining hall becomes a real restaurant, with a larger menu, more complex dishes, waiter service, lots of alcohol and happy music into the night.
Why did we choose him?
Cohen cooks whatever he wants. His range of cooking styles is wide and his hand is good and generous. “Mediterranean with touches of everything”, he defines his food: Asian, European, French, Levantine. This can be a great street food dish like a pita kebab, a hamburger in a bun or a challah schnitzel, a homemade dish like Moroccan couscous, or a more complex chef’s dish such as a locust skewer on black risotto with Jerusalem artichoke whipped cream and steamed broccoli. And that’s the beauty here: every day is something different.
bio chef
Uri Cohen, 37, was born and raised in Jerusalem to a cook mother of Moroccan descent “who didn’t let her into the kitchen,” he says. At the age of 25, when he left home, he started cooking for himself, for him and his friends. “I prepared several elaborate Friday dinners. The partner of one of the friends who stayed with me was the chef of the ‘Roof Top’ restaurant at the ‘Mamila’ hotel in the capital. After the meal he approached me and said: ‘Come cook with me.'” This is how Cohen’s professional cooking career began: he worked for two years as a sous chef in Millima, from where he continued to the kitchen of the “Mechanioda” restaurant, where he worked alongside Uri Navon and Asaf Granit. “I learned everything I need to know there,” he says.
He came to the ghetto fighters kibbutz because of love. In the Galilee, he began working at the Akkaian “Savida” restaurant owned by his brother-in-law, which was closed. Later he was appointed chef of “Banchala” in Nahariya. After four years, when he realized that the time was ripe for a place in his image and likeness, he resigned and opened “Colombo”, named after the affection he was given as a child in a neighborhood in Jerusalem.
The flagship dish
● “La Boqueria”
“La Boqueria”, named after the popular food market in Barcelona, was the dish that made me fall in love with the place. Fried broken potatoes are sauteed together in smoked butter and seasoned with paprika, shrimp, rocket and sun tomatoes (cherry tomatoes dried on the spot). All this goodness goes into a pita with slightly spicy chipotle aioli and a spoonful of crème fraîche on top (NIS 50).
The Instagram portion
● “El Amin” – sashimi of marinated salmon, za’atar oil, toasted sesame, meiri cheese, Tassos olives and a toasted bagel
A dish of raw fish, which is an homage to Cohen’s childhood in Jerusalem. “In the wee hours of the night, after going out full of alcohol, we would go to the ‘El Amin’ bakery in the east of the city, buy fresh and hot pretzels with sesame seeds, sour cream, triple cheese and thyme, go to the ‘Bell Garden’ and break down our manch,” he recalled . In the Colombo version: slices of pickled salmon, Meiri cheese, za’atar oil, toasted sesame and hot pepper served with toasted pretzels. This colorful dish gained a lot of likes on the place’s Instagram account (NIS 62).
The dessert
● Decomposed lemon tart
During the week, the place offers two “sweet bites”, Pahzania and Melbi, NIS 15 each. Shani Dahan, a confectioner who also works there, is responsible for both. On Thursday evening, the dessert menu also expands to millefeuille – layers of mascarpone cream and crispy puff pastry, with berry or strawberry coulis (purée), and a crumbled lemon tart made of lemon cream, topped with broken meringue, crumble, raspberry coulis and fresh raspberries (NIS 35).
The wine menu
Also in the field of wine, Cohen does what he wants and offers a limited menu of glasses and bottles, in three price levels: cheap, medium and expensive. His food is accompanied by wines from three Israeli wineries he likes – “Tulip”, “Luria” and “Chateau Golan”, to which he added two or three imported wines: a French Chevelli and an Italian Primitivo. On Thursday evenings, Cohen pours ouzo for chasers at the expense of the house, which go well with the “mechaniuda” atmosphere of the place.
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the service
The service here is self service. On Thursday evenings, when the buffet turns into a crowded restaurant, there is full service, matching the place: light, efficient, but not invested or polished at all: you take an order, bring the food to the table, and finally clear it away.
what else did we eat
“El Amin”: Sashimi of white tuna (Palmod) with za’atar oil, toasted sesame, Meiri cheese, Tassos olives, toasted bagel – NIS 62
Locust cigar with “tahigurt” (tahina-yogurt) and tomato salsa – NIS 48
“Havasta”: crab borax with crab bisque – NIS 72
Sirloin on gnocchi in beef stock, glazed carrots, Turkish spinach and bone marrow – NIS 136
Decomposed lemon tart – NIS 35
Total for 2 diners (without tip and drinks): NIS 353