20 Best Restaurants in Jerusalem, Israel

In an old stone house with a delightful back garden, 1868 is Jerusalem's most innovative, exacting kosher restaurant, on par with the city's best. Chef Yankele Turjeman combines the flavors of the city with high-quality ingredients and exquisite cooking techniques to create an unforgettable dining experience. Most of the fruits and vegetables are organic, and the menu changes monthly to incorporate the best of the season. If it's on the menu, don't miss the charcoal-grilled veal sweetbreads, served with steamed slices of baguette and pickled onion. The duck is spectacular, served with fruits of the season. The whiskey selection is endless, as is the list of local Israeli wines. Cocktails are beautifully balanced and are also served alongside tapas versions of the menu at Zuta, a jewel box of a cocktail bar at the back of the restaurant.

This venerable pastry shop and café run by Itzik and Keren Kadosh is known for its array of airy croissants and inventive pastries, with an annual focus on doughnuts made during the Chanukah season, filled with fruit-based creams and topped with handmade confectionary.

Despite being one of the city's best-known restaurants, Chakra still feigns anonymity: its name is nowhere in sight. It draws a lively thirtysomething crowd of hip Jerusalemites who appreciate the tasty fare from the open kitchen. The tables are arranged around the striking semicircular bar, and the patio enjoys a park view. Daily specials enhance the expansive menu, which changes every three months. Some good starters include focaccia, calamari with labane, or black tiger shrimp with chili. Try the sea bream, grilled to perfection on a mound of mashed cauliflower and wild mushrooms. The well-stocked bar includes Israeli boutique beers and bitters, along with a list of expertly balanced cocktails.

This is where Jerusalemites go to have a loud, raucous good time and eat great Israeli food all in one fell swoop. It's all about the twists on local meat dishes, especially the meat-stuffed ravioli and asado risotto. Be sure to check out the hidden bar, Jacko's Son, behind the "fridge of Tequila bottles." It's tough to score a reservation, so call way in advance.

On the edge of its namesake market, this restaurant is considered one of the best in Jerusalem, possibly the country. Celebrity chef Assaf Granit grew up in Jerusalem and pays homage to the city's colors and cacophony in his elegant dishes. You can wait for your reservation across the street at Yudaleh, a lively cocktail bar by the same owners. Once in, grab a seat at the bar to watch the exuberant chefs slice, dice, and sauté while banging on the pots and pans to the beat of zippy music. The menu changes twice daily, but nearly always includes chamshuka, a fusion of chopped meat and hummus; a creamy polenta topped with crisp asparagus, mushroom ragout, and shaved Parmesan; and a raucous dessert ceremony of ice cream flung on tables covered in aluminum foil. To enjoy the full range of flavors, order the tasting menu. Reserve at least one month in advance. 

Nestled into a stone-walled garden, Mona has a working fireplace and a tree growing through the indoor section, creating a rustic setting for eminently modern Israeli cooking. Start your night with the light red tuna sashimi with chili or the award-winning crab bisque. Do not miss the beautifully prepared beef fillet with sweetbreads and purple cabbage. Vegetarians will seek refuge in various thoughtfully prepared salads. For dessert, try the sour cream and Szechuan sorbet over nectarine compote. Wait until later in the evening if you just want to order cocktails based on homemade liquor at the excellent bar. Brunch on Saturday is particularly decadent. Reservations are essential on weekends. 

Nadi has great food all day but shines in the morning, when the breakfast plates come crowded with mouthwatering spreads of sun-dried tomato, olive tapenade, local cheeses, tuna, and tahini, all meant to be slathered on fabulous sourdough bread. Other offerings are delicious, colorful salads; earthy asparagus and spinach pasta; shakshuka made out of tomatoes, spinach, or beets; croissant sandwiches; quiches; and fresh coffee.

On the top of the Mamilla Hotel, this open-air restaurant lays claim to one of the best views of Jerusalem, and you can enjoy it from a cushioned chair as you sip spiked iced tea and dine on seared sea bass or grilled lamb chops with Swiss chard. The extensive wine list features more than 20 local boutique labels. During the Sabbath, the Rooftop serves a cold menu of salads and fish. The atmosphere is lovely and the view is unbeatable, so advance reservations are a must in summer.

The name—a Hebrew literary phrase that translates roughly as "yesteryear"—is a clue to the character of the place. A tiny passageway leads to a rear courtyard and an iron stairway, which takes you up to this funky restaurant and bookstore in two separate rooms on the top floor of a 19th-century house. Hosting Hebrew (and occasionally English) poetry readings, lectures, small art exhibitions and modest book parties, T'mol Shilshom has long been a popular spot for folks who enjoy lingering over a novel. No meat is served, but choose from a tempting selection of salads, pastas, and fish dishes. Desserts are luscious, and the array of hot drinks served in chunky ceramic mugs is always welcome on a rainy day.

On a hillside opposite Jerusalem's Old City, this is one of the best spots to dine when the stone walls reflect the golden sunset. The menu is heavy on meat and draws from Mediterranean influences. For starters, try the leek patties or the earthy bean soup with truffle oil. Ceviche is served with grated tomatoes, a nod to Yemenite kitchens. The standout dish is shpondra, or thin rib, cooked for seven hours. Vegetarians will find grilled artichokes or black risotto with mushrooms. Desserts are tasty, and the extensive wine list features local and foreign bottles. Look around while you dine; Touro is underneath the Jerusalem Press Club and is frequented by prominent local and foreign journalists.

The name means "red" in Hebrew, referring to the 150 kinds of wine that decorate every wall in this large yet cozy restaurant. The menu has roots in Mediterranean kitchens, and includes loads of meat and seafood options. Try the fantastic Jerusalem mixed grill—it's a gussied-up version of the city's famed street food. Desserts include tahini ice cream and a dark chocolate, gluten-free "Nemesis cake." If you're seated at the bar, look up: when Adom moved to the First Station complex, the old restaurant's plates were converted into intricate light fixtures. Don't arrive Friday evening without reservations.

This popular eatery with a geometric mirrored ceiling is steps from the King David Street hotel district. The steaks are among the city's finest, as are the desserts, including dark-chocolate mousse and fresh fruit over tapioca pudding. The staff is helpful and friendly, and the knowledgeable sommelier will guide you to unusual Israeli vintages.

It's hard not to wolf down these pita sandwiches stuffed with seared entrecote, osso buco, or fried red mullet, and there's crispy cauliflower too. Shots of arak are available as well, on the house.

Share a long wooden table with university students at this restaurant named for a soup pot and enjoy an ever-changing menu of hearty soups and stews served with white bread, butter, and pesto. Shakshuka (a tangy dish of eggs, tomatoes, garlic, and onions), interesting salads, and other vegetarian and vegan options complete the menu. There's a piano in the corner, a box of old records, and a chandelier made of spoons. In winter, ask about live jazz in the evening, usually Wednesday.

The sign is only in Hebrew at this hole-in-the-wall stand, which features what many say is the best sabich in the city. The Middle Eastern street food staple has thin slices of fried eggplant combined with hard-boiled egg and your choice of greens, wrapped in a laffa (flatbread) or stuffed into a pita, then topped with tehina and/or amba, a tangy, pickled mango sauce. If you haven't yet been introduced to sabich, this is is the place to be initiated. The hours? Until the eggplant runs out. There are vegetarian and vegan options.

With wooden tables in the tile-floored dining room and under the trees in the nearby square, this is one of the few full-service restaurants in the Jewish Quarter. The modest menu ranges from fresh salads to salmon burgers, and there is beer and wine. Try one of several fish dishes, or just enjoy a coffee while you rest from your tour of the Old City.

This farm-to-table café situated in the Hansen House complex in the German Colony neighborhood offers fresh salads, goat cheeses, and baked vegetable dishes served in a cozy setting of vintage tables and chairs. The other Offaime locations are in the Israel Museum and Beit Hakerem.

This cozy restaurant bar pays special attention to vegetarian and vegan entrees, alongside carefully concocted cocktails. The Jerusalem Mix, a tempeh and portobello mushroom dish served on a grilled pita with tahini is a wonder. Be sure to order the polenta fries.

You'll probably smell this eatery long before you see it: rich stews of eggplant, potatoes, and meat cook all day on kerosene burners, and the aromas waft into the Machaneh Yehuda market, taunting passersby. Try the stuffed grape leaves, scoop up hummus with freshly baked pitas, or order beef heaped over rice for a meal that will stick to your ribs.

The son of a prominent family of Iraqi bakers founded this airy, spacious bistro featuring fresh breads, pastries, and pastas. It's considered a top spot for brunch as well as Italian-style aperitivo in the evening, and the large wooden communal table is the perfect way to share a light meal with strangers. Try the salad dressed in Campari vinaigrette, the focaccia dotted with goat cheese and dates, or the ricotta gnocchi. If you're just passing through, consider taking home some of the expertly selected prepared foods and local offerings, like Israeli wines, olive oils, and liquors.