Where to Eat in Jerusalem – Falafel, Vegan and International Eats

Where to eat in Jerusalem

Jerusalem is a city full of amazing halal, kosher, vegan and international food. You will never be short of somewhere amazing to eat in Jerusalem.

Quest for the 7 Shekel Falafel by Sharon Cracknell

Having just finished a tour of Jerusalem Old City with Sandemans, our funny guide Atay suggested an amazingly cheap place to eat falafel.  I’ve been living off these chickpea balls in Israel for the last two weeks as it is the only food I can afford here.  Now this place has no name and if you don’t turn to look behind you when you pass it you’re too late!  It’s in the Muslim Quarter on the way to Damascus Gate through the fruit and vegetable market.  When you reach the steps on the slope that take you past the fruit stalls and you see the ladies sat on their stools selling parsley and coriander (no sprigs of Rosemary for sale as it grows in wild bushes everywhere!).  Turn around!  There is an unmarked shop that sells just falafel.

You don’t get to choose your salad fillings.  The guy at the counter asks just “spicy or non spicy?”.  That’s your only option.  I plumped for spicy as I love a chilli kick in my food.  The price?  An unbelievable 7 shekels!!  My cheapest falafel purchase in two weeks has been 17 shekels.  Woohoo!  7 shekels makes a thrifty Yorkshire lass like me me very very happy.

The Israelis have a very bizarre custom off ramming cold chips into the falafel pitta bread sandwich which again formed part of my sandwich.  It was very tasty even if the “spicy” version had no fire whatsoever.  For 7 shekels how can it be a bad thing?  Filled my stomach until I had to take out another bank loan to pay for an evening meal!

Jacko’s Street – Recommended by Debbie Kandel

My favourite place to eat in Jerusalem is Jacko’s Street, a trendy kosher bistro near the Machaneh Yehudah shuk area. It offers an eclectic, vibrant menu in a relaxed and fun environment.
Jacko’s has a unique ability to appeal to many different audiences. In the early evening, the restaurant is busy with an older English-speaking clientele. As the night goes on, the lights dim, the music turns up and the Israelis come looking for more of a party atmosphere while they dine, especially those sitting around the bar. In my opinion, the success of Jacko’s Street is the understanding that it is important to offer people more than just great food.

The menu is constantly changing but luckily most of my favourite dishes seem to remain. The asado on a Jerusalem bagel is a rich and slightly sweet starter. The tuna fricassee is a high class version of the traditional Tunisian sandwich made with raw red tuna and each mouth is a delight, even if it is a bit messy to eat!
For main course I normally get either the ‘entrecote’ served with ‘chimichurri’, grilled vegetables, ratte potatoes and truffles or the juicy prime beef hamburger which is in my opinion the best gourmet burger in Jerusalem.
The chocolate dessert is always a big hit and they also have a great cocktail menu including one with tahini and date syrup.
Jacko’s Street
Aggripas 74, Jerusalem

Debbie Kandel
https://singleintheholycity.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/debskandel/ 

Where to eat in Jerusalem – The Village Green Vegan Restaurant (My Choice!)

I have been struggling with painful endometriosis lately, and vegan or vegetarian food is much easier to digest for me. But, it wasn’t difficult to find somewhere amazing to eat in Jerusalem. I was so happy to find the Village Green vegan restaurant on Yafo Street in Jerusalem.

My choice was the Butternut soup – delicious and creamy. This had to be ordered with my signature drink to follow – a hot chocolate! I quite fancied a vegan or gluten free cake to follow, but time did not allow as we were sadly heading back to the airport.

The prices at Village Green are very reasonable. It costs around 30NIS for a soup and around 40NIS for a main course including pizzas, salads and lasagna. They also do a lovely fresh Quiche. The pastry is made with whole wheat flour and extra virgin olive oil and is filled with various vegetables, milk, cheese and free range organic eggs. You can choose from Mushroom, Spinach, Broccoli, Tomato and Basil.

If you would like to read TripAdvisor Reviews on where to eat in Jerusalem, click here.
If you have any fabulous places to eat that you would like to share, please comment on my blog. If you are in Israel, you might also like to read about Tel Aviv. Have a great day everyone!

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