THE FIVE BEST CHEAP EATS
(Before you check out our recommendations for restaurants and bars in Jerusalem, you might want to check out this article on tipping in Israel.)
Pasta Bar (Italian & Kosher) 8 Hatut Street in Mahane Yehuda, Sunday-Thursday (8:30-24:00), Saturday (19:30-24:00). Phone Number: 077-5464633
Restaurant Bar, Coffee Shop: Italian Soup & Pasta Bar.
Special Note: Pasta & sauce to your choice starting at NIS 19. Also Abraham Hostel guests will get a complimentary Limoncello drink with their meal provided they show proof of their stay at the Hostel with one of the Abraham Hostel maps readily available at the reception or traveler centre's desk.
Directions: Take HaNevi'im Street, cross Jaffa Street (HaNevi'im becomes Ki'ach and Ki'ach becomes Agripas) make right from Agripas to Ets Chaim, left on HaTut
Humus Ben Sira (Hummusiya & Kosher) 3 Ben Sira Street, Sunday-Thursday (11:00am-3:00am), Friday (11:00am until one hour before the Sabbath). Phone Number: 054-7542954.
Special Note: This Hummusiya restaurant is run by former art students and is in the midst of "hipster ground zero." Ben Sira skews young and is kosher. Most dishes are under NIS 40.
Directions: Take Jaffa all the way down, yield right on Shlomtsiyon HaMalka, make right on Ben Sira
The Marakia (The Soupery)
4 Koresh Street, Sunday-Friday (6:00 until the last customer leaves), Saturday Night (after Sunset). Phone Number: 02-6257797
Special Note: The Marakia offers a variety of soups: sweet potato, chick pea & vegetable,green beans and zucchini. They also have home-made pesto. You can get complementary bread with their lentil soup for about NIS 28. Abraham Hostel Guestswill receive a 15% discount off the bill provided they show proof of their stay at the Hostel with one of the Hostel maps readily available either at the reception or traveler centre desks.
Directions: Take Jaffa Street all the way down, make right on Shlomzion HaMalka than make left on Koresh
Midnight Steakhouse (Steak House & Kosher)
123 Agrippas Street in Mahane Yehuda, Sunday-Friday (19:00-1:00), Friday (11:00-17:00), Saturday (19:00-1:00). Phone Number: 02-6244014
Special Note: Eastern barbeque type, specialize in meat dishes referred to as: "Mizrahi" or Middle Eastern style, Kosher, prices are mid-rage to expensive.
Directions:Take Jaffa Street, make right on Beit Ya'akov, left onto Agripas Street
Hashamen (The Fat One) Shlomzion Hamalka. One of the few restaurants open until 3:00. Middle Eastern Style and Kosher. Phone Number: 02-6522525
Special Note: For about NIS 35-40, you can get lamb or turkey schwarma with an unlimited access to their toppings.
Directions: Take Jaffa Street north to Sderot Weizman or Weitzman Blvd.
THE BEST FIVE RESTAURANTS
Vaquieiro (Cuisine: A mainly, South-American style barbecue or Brazilian style Churascuria) Kosher.
54 Hanevi'im Street, (near Zion Square). Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 12:00-16:30. Saturday after Shabbat. Phone Number: 02-6247432. Reservations are necessary. Fixed-priced dinner NIS 140 ($35/L18). American Express, Diners Club and Mastercard.
Special Information: All you can eat, buffet style. Sample of six meats for NIS 25 ($6.25/£3.10). Dinner menu will consist of rib eye steak, chicken wings in peach sauce, Goose legs in orange sauce; Bobotee (A South-African dish of oven-baked dark Turkey and dried fruit); wines and tempting desserts are displayed. Located in a charming, 19th-century mansion separated from a street by a walled garden.
Directions: Leave hostel, make right and go down on HaNevi'im up until you reach #54.
Eldad Va Zehu (Cuisine: French, Mediterranean & Kosher)
31 Jaffa Street, Feingold Garden. Hours: Sunday to Thursday: Noon to midnight, Friday:Noon-15:00. Phone number: 02-6254007. Reservations recommended for dinner. Main courses NIS 54-140.
Special Information: Famous for its meats, best chunk of sirloin; an excellent goulash; or flavorful lamb kabob or chicken, all served with French sauce; Goose-filled dates; goose elder in calvados and veal brains in lemon parsley sauce, fois-gras in a Calvados-based sauce are among the entrees. Decor consists with all manner of antiques from a bygone era, including radios, phonographs, typewriters, lamps and more.
Directions: Go south on Jaffa Street until you reach Eldad Va Zehu until you get to 31 Jaffa Street.
Canela (Mainly French with an Israeli twist & Kosher)
8 Slomzion Hamalka: Hours: Sunday-Thursday 12:00-15:30 & 18:00-23:00, Friday from 12:00 to Shabbat: Phone Number: 02-6737393
Special Information: Chef restaurant. Main dishes like: Duck Breast with Berry Sauce with Sweet Potato Cream and Bok Choy & Grilled Filet of beef in Red Wine Sauce with Potato Rosti for NIS 144 are served. A menu of boutique wines; Bustany Tabor and wineries in the Golan Hights are available.
Directions: Take Jaffa down south from the the hostel, make right on Shlomtsyion Hamalka up until you get to #8.
Lavan (Dairy restaurant with Italian dishes, non-kosher because of their breakfasts)
11 Hebron Road, Old Train Station, Abu Tor: Hours: Everyday 10:00 until the last customer departs.
Special Information: This dairy restaurant is located in the "Jerusalem Cinematheque." Starters include: Sardines on bruschetta with aioli, Tapenade and root vegetables, asparagus on polenta and parmesan. Main courses are entrees such as: Fish meat balls and
Okra Pasta allo Diabolo. Main courses go for NIS 45 to around NIS 100. Reservations are recommended. The alcohol menu tends to run into the mid NIS 30 range.
Directions: Go south on Jaffa Street, make right on Shlomo Hamelech (which turns into David Hamelech). Make left on Sh.A. Nachon from David Hamelech, go over the overpass to Highway # 60, go down steps and make an immediate left to the path leading to the restaurant inside the Jerusalem Cinematheque.
Mahneyooda Restaurant (Non-Kosher) Menu changes daily depending on what is seasonal. renown for its seafood and gourmet meat entrees
Special Information: 10 Beit Yaacov, Mahane Yehuda: A real Chef's restaurant! Hours: Sunday-Saturday: 12:30PM-4:30PM., 6:30PM.-12:30AM. Reservations must be made well in advance. Average meal price: 100 NIS.
Directions: Walk up Jaffa Street, make left onto Beit Yaakov Street until you reach #10
Abraham Hostel's List of the Five Best Museums in Jerusalem
Yad Vashem: The Holocaust Martyr's and Heroes Remembrance Authority
Ha Zikaron. P.O. Box 3477, Jerusalem 91034, Israel. Phone Numbers: 02-6443400 or FAX number: 02-6443443. Hours: Sunday-Wednesday:(9:00-17:00), Thursday (9:00-20:00), Friday (9:00-14:00). Yad Vashem is closed on Saturdays and on all Jewish holidays as well.
Special Information: Free to enter. One of the most reknown institutions of the Holocaust in the world. The fairly recent exhibit of the physical annihilation of Thracian Jewry (The Sephardic Jews of German Occupied Bulgarian territory) during World War II is especially powerful because the names of many of the victims have been retrieved from actual photographs taken by their Nazi captors, as they were being deported to Auschwitz. The exhibit ( as well as all the exhibits which chronicle the Holocaust here) are haunting, moving & thought-provoking.
Directions: Take Jaffa Street north from the Hostel, make right on Giva't Shaul, take right from there onto Shderot Herzl, make left on HaZikaron up and until you get to 3477. Take shuttle from the street that takes you to the museum itself.
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum is located on 7117 Ruppin Boulevard, near the Knesset. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 10:00-17:00. Tuesday: 16:00-21:00. POB 91710: Phone Number: 02-6708811, FAX Number 072-2-6771332. Please note that the museum is closed on Tuesday mornings.
Special Information: The Israel Museum is ranked as one of the world's leading art and archaeology museums in the world.
Directions: Make a left on Hanevi'im Street from the Hostel (which than becomes Ki'ach after you cross Jaffa Road) after that, you make a left on King George, make right on Bezalel, than make left on Sderot Ben Tsvi, make right on Derech Ruppin. Go until you get to 7117 Ruppin Street.
Islamic Art Museum 2 Ha Palmach Street, Rechavia. Phone number: 02-5661291. Sunday-Thursday: 10:00-19:00; Friday, 10:00-16:00; Saturday and holidays: 10:00-16:00
Special Information: Adults/NIS 40; students/NIS 30; children, teens and seniors/NIS 20
Directions: Go south on Jaffa Street, make right on King George (which then becomes Keren Hayesod), yield right until you get to Shalom Aleichem Street, make right onto Ze'ev Zabotinsky (which becomes HaNassi Street), make a left on HaAri street until you reach HaPalmsch, continue on the street until you reach the museum.
Museum on the Seam
4 Chel Hadasa Street, POB 1649, Jerusalem 91016. Phone number: 02-6281278; Fax number: 02-6277061. Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 10:00-17:00; Friday: 10:00-14:00, Closed on Saturdays
Special Information: Adults are NIS 25; students NIS 20; senior citizens and soldiers are free. Groups are asked to schedule their visit in advance by calling: 972-2-6281278 ext 4; or by booking form. Museum on the Seam explores aspects of Israeli society and the Human Condition generally by focussing on contradictions within both through its various art exhibits. The ultimate goal of the museum is: "To reinforce the aspirations to strive for greater equality between human beings."
Directions: Leave the Hostel, Take HaNevi'im down slope and eastward untill you reach Chel HaHandassa, make a right until you reach the Museum.
Ticho House 9 Harav Kook Street. (Temporary Art Exhibitions, Classical Music and small Cafe within the Museum). Hours: Sunday,Monday, Wednesday & Thursday: 10:00-22:00; Tuesday: 10:00-22:00 and Friday: 10:00-14:00. Closed on Saturday. Phone numbers: 02-6245068 & 02-262441861 for the cafe.
Special Information: Free to enter. Current exhibits include: "The Other Woman," a look at female beauty as depicted throughout the ages; "The Art of Asia" exhibit.
Directions: Go eastward on HaNevi'im Street until you reach HaRav Kuk, make a right and go to Ticho House.
ABRAHAM HOSTEL'S FIVE BEST BARS IN JERUSALEM
The Birman: Sunday to Thursday; 14:00 to 3:00. 8 Dorot Rishonim Street, City Centre. Phone number: 02-6236115
Special Information: The Birman is located in the city centre close to Ben Yehuda street. Heavy on jazz, also ragtime, blues, classical and soul. A good atmosphere. All welcome.
Directions: Walk down Jaffa Street right onto Luntz Street, walk up past the restaurants straight in to Dorot Rishonim. The first pub on the left is Birman.
Barood (meaning "gunpowder" in Urdu): Monday-Sunday; 12:30-01:00; Sunday the place is closed. 31 Jaffa Street. Phone number: 02-6259081.
Special Information: One of the oldest bars in Jerusalem. A large variety of alcoholic beverages are served. For example, they have 10 different kinds of absenths available.
Directions: Go down slope on Jaffa Street until you reach 31 Jaffa Street.
Uganda: 4 Aristobolus Street; Sunday-Friday: 12:00-3:00; Saturday: 17:00-3:00. Phone number: 02-6236087.
Special Information: A lot of Bezalel art students call this bar "home." Alternative music scene. Among the alcoholic beverages sold, the Palestinian bear,"Taybeh"is a favorite. Uganda is known to be a "Hipster" bar.
Directions: Walk down Jaffa Street until you see Coffee Bean, turn left onto Heleni Hamalka Street, walk uphill and take the first left, turn into Aristobulus Street. Uganda is on your right.
Bolinat
Special Information: 24 hou a day, 7 days a week. Half Bar/ coffee hang. Good sandwiches & salads. Good WIFI connectivity. 6 Dorot Rishonim; Phone Number: 057-9438502. Bolinat gives a 30% discount off the first drink toAbraham Hostel guests provided that they bring & show the Abraham Hostel map to the bar.
Directions: Go downslope on Jaffa Street up and until you reach Lunz Street than make a right on Dorot Rishonim until you reach the bar.
Sira (The D1): 4 Ben Sira Street; Phone number: 02-6234366. Open 7 days a week; hours: Open 7:00 PM., until the last customer leaves.
Special Information: One of the most well-known, "gritty" and Populor bars among the local, young "alternative" crowd. Reasonably priced drinks. Palestinian "Taybe" beer served. "Electronica" music played frequently.
Directions: Walk down Jaffa Street until it splits in two. Take the right fork, Shlomzion Hamalka Street, and walk down a little bit until just before the bus stop, and you will see a small street to your right, Ben Sira Street. Walk down, Sira is on your right, you will see most people are outside.