Ein Kerem is one of the most beautiful areas to visit, especially when the trees are in bloom. But until now, kosher products have been minimal at best. Now, a new dairy restaurant called Hatzar has opened on the main street of Ein Kerem, offering carefully prepared food and slightly different options than most dairy restaurant menus in Jerusalem. If you sit on the top floor, you can also enjoy a great view.
It can feel like every dairy restaurant in Jerusalem offers the same menu: pizza, pasta, salads. At Hazar, the menu is different enough to make it interesting.
“Our concept is to use ingredients that are common in the region, such as eggplant, beets and zucchini, to create great dishes.”
Eres Shabot
“Our concept is to use ingredients that are common in the region, such as eggplant, beets and zucchini, to create amazing dishes,” said chef Erez Shabo.
Enjoy a quirky dairy meal in Jerusalem
Three of us dined. Among them were my beloved husband, who gave her beautiful flowers from her children for Mother’s Day, and her friend Erica, who was visiting from America. Shavo told us to choose what we wanted, not him.
We started with two appetizers. Her Twelve Gods Pastry with Feta and Honey (NIS 48) Philo Pastry and French Her Mashed Sautéed Mushrooms (NIS 56) cooked in butter, shallots and parsley on a bed of her potatoes. Both dishes were excellent, served with honey slightly sweet pastries and savory, umami mushrooms.
Agreeing on a healthy diet (but a small agreement at best), I ordered the Roasted Beet and Mozzarella Salad (NIS62) with baby leaves, endive, apples, fresh mozzarella and other delicious ingredients. It was a good portion and more than enough for the three of us.
We (of course) had to try a pasta dish and chose the ravioli with polenta and parmesan in salsa rosa sauce (NIS 74). Although it is fresh pasta, it is not made in-house, but by a company specializing in fresh pasta. I love polenta, but I was afraid the carb-heavy stuffing on top of the pasta would be too heavy, but it wasn’t. It was the first time I had polenta in pasta and it was delicious.
As a service to everyone, I also sampled a thin sourdough pizza. There are 8 types of pizza, and the size is enough for 2 people to share. We chose the zucchini and goat cheese (NIS74) and it was one of the best pizzas he’s had recently.
For the last dish, I wanted to try something from the fish menu. I wanted the Sea Burger (NIS 85) which is a mini burger made from fish but it was not available so I had the Fish Cigar (NIS 68) with tzatziki and salad. They were 3 long cigars, delicious, but the quantity would have been better suited for an appetizer than a main course.
The food was so good that I would love to go again, but the service was lacking. It was amateurish and some servers didn’t know the menu very well. They also brought me food, so I was a little impatient because I wanted to eat it before it got cold.
Hatzar Ein KeremEin Kerem’s Hallomime StairsPhone number: 02-535-3000Hours: Sunday-Thursday noon-11pmFriday (Special Brunch Menu) 9:30 – 14:00Kashrut: Jerusalem labinate (most products are mehadrine)
I was a customer of that restaurant.