7 Best Restaurants in Center City, Jerusalem

Jerusalem is famous for its Kurdish kubbeh soup, made with softball-size meat-and-semolina dumplings, and Azura is the perfect place to try this classic dish. Tucked away in a plaza off the Machaneh Yehuda market, the cavelike kitchen is packed with massive pots simmering on kerosene burners. Try the velvety beet kubbeh soup, or the tangy hamusta soup made with lemon and chard. Delicious hummus is made daily, and on some days the oxtail stew has the pungent flavors of the market. If weather permits, grab an outdoor table to watch groups of old Iraqi men drink coffee and play backgammon on the benches nearby. The restaurant closes when the food runs out, so don't arrive too late.

Chef Moshe Basson, repeated winner of international couscous contests, has mined the kitchens of older Jewish and Arab women to revive nearly forgotten recipes and ingredients. Grab a seat on the outside patio, adjacent to the Old City walls on one side and overlooking the picturesque Hutzot Hayotzer artists colony on the other. The appetizers are all tasty, but try the crepelike pastilla filled with duck confit and pumpkin jam, or the extraordinary stuffed mallow leaves (instead of the more conventional grape leaves). Two exquisite mains include traditional makloubeh with chicken and rice, and the clay-baked lamb with okra. Vegetarians will find plenty of options, and there are a few tasting menus if you want to try it all. Finish with unusual desserts and herbal tea. If you're in the mood, ask Basson to share some of his culinary lore. 

When aficionados of local standards like garlicky hummus, skewered shish kebabs, fried chicken schnitzel, and bean soup argue hotly about the merits of their favorite eateries, Pinati—which means "corner" in Hebrew—comes up as a leading contender. It's now a chain, but this simple downtown spot remains a convenient place to rub shoulders with locals while eating expertly prepared food. Not for long, though: your table will soon be in demand, and you will have to share at peak times.

Jerusalemite Daniella Lerer combines her family's Sephardic culinary traditions with modern Israeli cooking techniques and personal favorites from two decades in the business. Reservations are a must for Friday dinner and on Saturday, when there are often live performances outside. Starters include pickled herring, boyikos (cheesy biscuits), and pastelikos (dumplings stuffed with seasoned ground meat). Main dishes include sufrito (braised dumplings with Jerusalem artichokes) and shrimp in wine and lemon. For dessert, look for the traditional sutlach, a cold rice pudding topped with cinnamon, nuts, and halva. Barood's other face is its well-stocked bar serving more familiar fare like spareribs and sausages, along with homemade citrus schnapps and 20 other flavors of schnapps.

All walks of life share elbow space at this casual eatery's long bar inlaid with Armenian painted tiles. The hummus here is especially tasty and is served from morning until well after midnight.

With a name that means "Mom," Ima honors the owner's Kurdish-Jewish mother, who inspired many of the excellent traditional Middle Eastern offerings served in this century-old stone house just a few minutes from the Machaneh Yehuda market. This is a great place to try Kurdish kubbeh soups, made with beets or pumpkin and blessed with softball-sized meat-and-semolina dumplings. The modest array of salads includes hummus and baba ghanoush, as well as stuffed grape leaves, stuffed vegetables, and wonderful kibbeh (seasoned ground meat deep-fried in a jacket of bulgur wheat). 

Down the block from the Machaneh Yehuda produce market, Agrippas Street has some of Jerusalem's best-known greasy spoons. Loyalists claim that Steakiyat Hatzot, which means "Midnight Grill," actually pioneered the local favorite known as Me'orav Yerushalmi, or Jerusalem mixed grill—a substantial and delicious meal-in-a-pita of cumin-flavored bits of chicken hearts, livers, and other organ meats. A bulging pita sandwich, eaten standing up, will set you back about 54 shekels; you can also sit down at a table in the well-decorated dining area and pay about twice that amount for skewers of grilled meat, duck breast, or fish. There are plenty of vegan and children's options.