Middle Eastern Food and other Jerusalem, Israel Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: Armenian Tavern

You'll find the Armenian Tavern right along, where else - the Armenian Patriarchate Road, a few blocks to the right of the Jaffa Gate entrance. I love the decor of this place, and the fact that it's got so much Armenian flavor to it. The salads are great and the food in general is pretty good.

It's definitely a place to visit for lunch or dinner - especially since there aren't too many decent restaurants (in my opinion) within the Old Walled City.


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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: Armenian Patriarchate Road
Directions: Turn right inside Jaffa Gate, a little ways down the Armenian Patriarchate Road

Restaurant Name: Armenian Tavern - 2



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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter

Restaurant Name: Amigo Emil

We were so excited to find this place, even if it was our last night in the Old Walled City. Our dinner could not have been better and the service was fantastic...the hospitality that is served here is second to none.

I loved the cozy vibe of the place, and the fact that the doors to the restaurant were right in the middle of vendor stalls and an internet cafe; if you don't know of its existence, you'd probably pass right by. One of the staff at the Lutheran Guest House gave us a heads up on this place and I'll forever be grateful and only wish we'd known of it sooner. Once you're inside, you'll be taken with the cavernous walls and exotic Middle Eastern decor. Toward the back of the restaurant are some steps leading to a sunken area with pillows and a fireplace...a perfect area to take dessert and coffee or to chat over a glass of wine after dinner is finished. David had some of the best garlic chicken EVER...I had a tasty omelette.

The menu is in Arabic, Hebrew and English and I'd like to add that the owner himself made sure we felt at home here. Our waiter was attentive and sincerely friendly and as I said, the food was rivaled only by the decor. We lingered for a bit here and it was actually the perfect ending to our stay in the intimate Old Walled City.

(I only wish I had a photo that does it justice...camera was starting to go on the blink)


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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 02-628-8090
Address: Al-Khanqa Street, Christian Quarter, Old City

Of course I have no idea what the name of this restaurant is but if you can read Arabic, then you tell me....
Point is, David and I enjoyed the falafel sandwiches (rivaled only by the people watching!) so much that we ate lunch here every day! The owner has a few plastic chairs set up behind the cooking area so we ate there and it was so much fun to hear him calling out his sales pitch over and over as the crowds of locals scurried by on foot. I especially remember a group of Palestinian girls who appeared to be returning home from school; they joined us behind the cooking area and ate their falafel sandwhiches quickly. Meanwhile, we just sort of hung out here because the people watching was so classic....the smell of the falafel cooking, the sound of the owner shouting out in Arabic, the kaleidescope of people passing by in a hurry to get to wherever it is that they were going....it was sensory overload and we just loved it! The guy in the photo is the owner.


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Theme: Local
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Directions: Muslim Quarter

Restaurant Name: Yerevan

We sort of discovered this place by accident but for David, it was the best accident that could have happened! We'd been shuffling back and forth through the Muslim Quarter, sometimes peering through a half-closed window of any number of special cafes where the older Palestinian men smoke their narghila pipes and drink their thick Arabic coffee full of hel (the kinds of cafes where women aren't allowed inside and even the non-Muslim male tourist would stick out like a sore thumb).

David was dying to try the narghila pipe but we didn't want to look like eager idiots out to exploit a cultural commodity. We ended up shuffling toward New Gate in the Christian Quarter and discovered this very nice cafe.

Not only do they serve tasty pizzas and delicious pistachio milkshakes here, but they were more than happy to fire up the narghila pipe for David - even showing him how to do it for future reference. Nice owner, and great music too.

It's funny - when we entered, we were the only non-locals in the place (as you can see it was fairly empty). The owner and his friend were listening/watching the latest popular Arab music videos. As soon as we sat down, the owner turned the videos off and put on some kind of Western music. We told him we wanted to hear the Arabic music and see the music videos, so he put them back on. Very accomodating place.


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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: corner of Freres Rd. and Bab El-Jadid Rd. in the C
Directions: Near New Gate

Restaurant Name: Yerevan - 2



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Theme: Eclectic/International
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: corner of Freres Rd. and Bab El-Jadid Rd. in the C
Directions: Near New Gate