Jerusalem Travel Forum

Arriving in Jerusalem on Tuesday, August 12. Traveling with my wife and 3 daughters (10, 10, 13); we are the kind of people who open to all sorts of adventures and are definitely not your typical tourist. (At least I think so.) We like to eat good, interesting food, be it topnotch street fare or fine dining. In Jerusalem (and then Haifa and Tel Aviv) we have high hopes of enjoying not only the history, the people, the landmarks, etc. but also good food and wine (for the parents, that is). Mediterranean, Israeli, Oriental (Moroccan, Tunisian, et al.), whatever.

I'd welcome your top-10 list of restaurants and food stalls in a range of prices. And where do I buy good wine in Jerusalem?

Thanks in advance.

Steven

The best restaurant in Jerusalem (and possibly in Israel), in my opinion, is Arcadia. It's in 10 Agripas st. Phone number 02-6249138. The place is beautiful and serves top food (top price as well...).

For Morrocan food, you should try Darna. It's on 3 Horkanos st., phone number 02-6245406. You can see their WEB site at: http://www.darna.co.il.

If you want to try a cheap Hummus place, you should go to one of the famous places in the Old City. There are quite a few, but the most famous one is Abu Shukri in 10 Ha-Gai st, phone 02-6271538. It's right next to the 5th station of the Via Dolorosa. Just ask someone in the market how to get there. This place is all about Hummus, it's perfect for a light meal while touring the Christian Quarter. Another famous Hummus place in the market is Lina, phone number 02-6277230.

The best sushi place in Jerusalm is Sakora in 31 Yaffo st., phone 02-6235464. The restaurant is located in a little alley branching out of Yaffo st., this alley is full with restaurants and is a nice place to explore at night. Also, the nearby area of Nachalat Shiva is a nice area to explore at night. On the same alley, you can try traditional Jerusalem Jewish Shpharadi food at Barod, phone 02-6259081.

A nice restaurant, located in a beautiful building is the 3 Arces restaurant in the YMCA building. It's on 26 King David st. (across the street from the King David hotel), phone 02-5692692. You can check out the menu at http://rest.co.il/sites/Default.asp?txtRestID=5316&txtNavID=3&txtItemID=251537 and see some photos at: http://rest.co.il/sites/Default.asp?txtRestID=5316 also you can take a virtual tour at: http://rest.co.il/img/virtual/5316/.

For a cheap popular eatery you can try Sima at 82 Agripas st. (next to the Machane Yehuda market). This is one the famous places to try what's known as "Jerusalemite Mix" (Me-orav Yerushalmi). A slection of different organs mixed on the grill. Another places in the same spirit not far from there are "Midnight Steakhouse" (Steki-yat Chazot) on 123 Agripas st and Imma (mother) on 189 Agripas st.

For southern-Turkish food, you can try Pasha on 28 Pierre Kenig st., phone 02-6482220.

A very nice and picturesque coffee shop is "Tmol Shilshom" on 5 Solomon st., phone 02-6232758. It's located in a beautiful court and is about books.

There are plenty of wine stores in Jerusalem. One you might try is Eden on 31 Yaffo st., right next to the restaurants alley.

Damn!

I'm copying all this down myself, for future reference.

Toda.

M

Leave some room in your baggage for some wines from the north. You are going to be in Haifa and hopefully in the Galilee too and we sport some great wineries. Not far from Zichron Yaakov is the Tishbi Winery:
http://www.tishbi.com/clients.asp
We have many boutique wineries in the Galilee area as well as some of the bigger names in Israeli wines.
Great restaurants up here too but shall not ramble forth in the event that you are not getting up this far north.

Hi and Shalom:
If you are looking for good wine you have come to the right place....in the last 20 years the wine culture of Israel has blossomed. Take a look at the following blog page:http://www.israeli-wine.org/ (the list is not inclusive by any means, you will find much information there as well as on my pages where I talk about dozens of vineyards we have personally visited as well as some of the wines of Israel.
Some of our favorites are Tishbi (already mentioned), Dalton and Galil in the far north, Amphorae and Agur in the more central area, and Yatir and Sde Boker in the south.
Enjoy !!!
Martin

The leading food and wine reviewer in Israel is Daniel Rogov. He has a site dedicated for Israeli wines and dining. According to him, the best wine stores in Jerusalem are:

Avi Ben: Rivlin 22 and Gvat Shaul 40, Jerusalem ***
Shahar: Rehov Agron 1 and Emek Refa'eem 29, Jerusalem. **

You can find his wine page at: http://www.stratsplace.com/rogov/israel/i_wine.html (or go to the home page at: http://www.stratsplace.com/rogov for the full thing).