Quite a few restaurants have not survived the Corona crisis, it has been written and talked about quite a bit.
In the respectable niche of kosher restaurants it seems that the problem was even more serious.
The costs of operating a kosher restaurant, especially in hotels, are very high, and in an area where even the profit is minimal - it is an almost impossible challenge.
However, there are quite a few surprises, most notably the Jerusalem restaurant that has given us one of the most fun culinary experiences in recent months - 02.
The restaurant is located in the Inbal Hotel, one of the most beautiful in the capital, which has also recently been renovated, and as I got closer and closer to the restaurant itself and the table, I removed some prejudices I had about hotel restaurants.
The 02 menu, created by Chef Nimrod Norman, spoke to me and required me, in a completely seductive section, to try all the first courses and take the risk that I would not have room left for the mains and fur desserts as well.
I did so, and it was definitely a worthwhile decision.
02 Jerusalem, Photo: Gil Aviram
These are a total of seven dishes of different sizes, although they all came together under the "first" category.
It started with hot sourdough bread (NIS 26) and a spicy collection that is prepared on the spot (NIS 18).
These are things that are hard to fall for, but still, there are places that fall.
The bread was delicious and fresh even though it was not baked on the spot, and the spicy ones, assuming you are a fan of the genre, will take good care of your airways.
Next in line was a horseradish pepper with bonfire kohlrabi and roasted sesame seeds (NIS 56) that surprised with its flavors, and from there, for the sake of clearing the conscience and a vegetable lover, we switched to salads.
The crispy leaf salad (NIS 64) also looks like a "regular" dish with a slightly puzzling price, but when the dish arrives at the table it turns out to be a refreshing and huge surprise in size, so much so that we asked to leave it on the table for the main course as well.
Afterwards he came to the table and proved a success spicy tomato salad with nuts (64 shekels).
A meal you must not miss, Restaurant 02 in Jerusalem, Photo: Gil Aviram
The highlight of the first, and in my opinion also of the meal in general, came at the meat stage.
The plate of roast beef sirloin (NIS 68) was served with mustard, plums and pickled onions, which completely changed the combination of parmesan and balsamic that comes in other restaurants and gave the dish a different, more beautiful character, and of course - no trace of it left in a short time.
The next dish - lamb neck shawarma (NIS 68), is a dish that is a.
Can certainly hold at least a pop-up of its own;
B.
Made us doubt the need for the main courses and ordered three more units from it, thus ending the evening.
It really is a dish that has been prepared and assembled perfectly - from the tender meat that melts in your mouth, through the saluf that collects everything, and even the pistachio cream that at first seemed strange and unnecessary.
This is not an exaggeration for the purpose of the article, but really a dish that can not be stopped eating, and I would not object to it at any given moment of the day, every day.
At the end of a light rest and quite a bit of wine, we managed to make the transition, both mentally, to the main stage, and even there we had a difficult job ahead of us.
The first dish we chose was a portion of vagio (NIS 63 per 100 grams), which is in the specials in the meantime but will soon be regularly added to the restaurant's fall menu.
To be honest, there is not much to write about Vagio, and this is absolutely the biggest compliment one can give, because it was everything we expected from Vagio - soft, mellow, perfectly roasted, and mostly finished quickly - and joined the no small list of dishes we wanted to order again if we did not want Dessert.
02 Jerusalem, Photo: Gil Aviram
At the beginning of the evening, the restaurant manager told us that the place boasts local ingredients, a Jerusalem style if you will, and that everything that can be prepared on site is made on site.
All these promises were drained into the fillet dish for Barak Meadow Blanco (NIS 142), which arrived at our request with an insanely delicious unloading.
In light of everything we ate that evening, we can say that satiety definitely knocked on our door, but the dish looked great and we felt it was a shame to give it up.
Having no choice, we pounced, and another empty plate joined the collection.
Such are we - do not like to leave work to dishwashers.
Another thing that is recommended to dwell on instead is the matter of the toppings, on which it is evident that each of them, even the simplest, is invested and tastes in an unusual way.
The chips on the spot, all chips, are handmade and fried twice.
We couldn't stop eating the small potatoes in the confit, and the mushrooms with the glazed shallots were surprising in taste.
We did not find anything to be disappointed with.
Towards the end, we were attacked by the difficult dilemma of "did we go wild anyway, maybe we should order more vagio instead of dessert?", But the feeling of exaggeration, combined with the fear of talkbackers asking "why didn't you write about desserts ???" Hazelnut praline (NIS 42), and sabusa marmalade with pistachio and roasted coconut, along with ice cream (NIS 32).
By and large, we can say that they were delicious and we ate them, although we would argue that this is the stage in a meal where we were no longer completely clear, due to overeating.
The clearest sign of a meal that can certainly be summed up as one of the most successful we have experienced recently.
do not miss.
02, Jabotinsky 3 Jerusalem, Inbal Hotel, Kosher