The Best Restaurant in Center City, Jerusalem

Background Illustration for Restaurants

The area extends from the Machaneh Yehuda market and Nachla'ot neighborhood, through the central Downtown triangle, to King David Street. The range is vast, from funky budget or takeaway joints to upscale fine-dining specialists, from Middle Eastern food to European cuisine, and several surprises in between. Nonkosher restaurants do a roaring trade on Friday night, after the Sabbath begins, when their kosher counterparts are closed and the city streets quiet.

Dolphin Yam

$$$

Hebrew for "Sea Dolphin," this lively eatery serves some of the city's best seafood. The decor is pleasant enough—pale yellow stucco walls, recessed wine racks, arched windows, and an outdoor patio—but the food is what draws the mixed clientele, including plenty of families. Start with appetizers like the excellent wild roasted eggplant with tahini and pine nuts, then move on to the shrimp in a mushroom-cream sauce or the drum fish in a tasty broth. You can also experiment with the generous seafood platter for two that includes crab, scallops, and calamari.

9 Ben Shetach St., 94147, Israel
02-623–2272
Known For
  • Seafood platter
  • Family-friendly
  • Shrimp in mushroom cream sauce
Restaurant Details
Reservations essential

Something incorrect in this review?