16 Best Restaurants in Jerusalem, Israel

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.

On a quiet alley off the main East Jerusalem thoroughfare, this white-tablecloth restaurant in a hotel by the same name has long been popular with journalists, NGO workers, and local families, who flock here for pizzas from the olive-wood-burning brick oven and Palestinian favorites. High wooden ceilings, stone walls, and a simple outdoor garden create a lovely setting perfect for groups of any size. Enjoy a glass of wine or local beer along with the tasty mansaf, a regional lamb dish cooked in yogurt; or the mulukhiya, an earthy vegetarian stew served over rice. Save a little room for the complimentary Arabic sweets and hot tea served at the end of the meal by friendly waiters.

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. 

This Tunisian hole-in-the-wall offers pillowy hand-rolled couscous, slow-cooked stews, and zingy tuna and egg sandwiches, served outside on tiny tables or packed up to go. There is no menu, just whatever owner Motti Hadad is cooking in the closet-size kitchen.

Jaffar specializes in kunafe, the Nablus sweet made of goat cheese topped with syrupy semolina crumbles. You may be tempted to split your first plate, but the treat soon grows addictive. Jaffar also makes sheets of golden baklava topped with nuts. It's a landmark, visited by locals and tourists alike, so anyone in the Old City can help you find it.

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.

In the heart of the Old City, this place has some of the best hummus in town, served fast to locals crammed around rickety tables under fluorescent lights. Enjoy the excellent falafel, eggplant salad, and labaneh (a slightly tart yogurt drizzled with olive oil and spices). Eat family style and don't order too much, as you can get additional portions on the spot.

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.

Steps from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Palestinians crowd into this tiny, bare-bones spot to tuck into hammam mehshi, or stuffed pigeon. It's a delicately flavored specialty served with salads and rice. You can also opt for stuffed chicken, grilled lamb chops, or fried liver, all made fresh by the friendly proprietor. Get here early—it closes at 6 pm.

Part coffee shop, part bookstore, this spot has an endless trove of literature exploring the Arab-Israeli conflict from a Palestinian perspective. Take a volume upstairs and peruse it over a lunch of a savory manaqeesh bread topped with thyme and olive oil, freshly made labaneh cheese, or salmon sandwiches. Turkish coffee is brewed fresh on an orange camping stove. Ask about upcoming lectures and movie screenings.

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 an upstairs dining area, Lina offers a respite from the hubbub of the Old City. Hand-ground hummus is the main event here, and you can order it topped with chickpeas, fava beans, or pine nuts. You can also sample the yogurt-cheese called labaneh and wash it down with freshly pressed fruit juice.

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). 

Just inside the Jaffa Gate, Nafoura offers a tranquil courtyard for alfresco lunchtime dining. Your table might even lean against the Old City wall. The pleasant if unremarkable interior is a comfortable refuge in inclement weather. Start with the traditional array of salads, enough for two people to share. Focus on the excellent local dishes (hummus, eggplant salad, tahini, and so on). Ask for the kibbeh, delicacies of cracked wheat and ground beef, or the Armenian sausage. From the typical selection of entrées, try the lamb cutlets or the grilled sea bream.

Steps from the Old City, this East Jerusalem landmark has been in business for decades—a thank-you note from President Jimmy Carter proves it. Traditional fare like stuffed carrots and onions, or musakhan chicken cooked in sumac and onions, show Palestinian home cooking at its finest. Starters like the hummus or the eggplant spread are reliably executed. If owner Zuheir Izhiman is around, ask him to share his years of local lore.

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.