One could call Yuval Vaisberg an entrepreneur, even though he is all of 22 years old. Proprietor of the recently opened Besh in Kiryat Sharon, Yuval told us he began his working life at the age of 14, doing the night shift at a Macdonald’s to gain experience in the mysteries of serving food to hungry patrons.
Besh is situated in a parade of shops and restaurants on one of the main drags of Kiryat Sharon, a 20-minute drive from our home in South Beach, Netanya.
Two shwarma stands turn around in the small back area of the eatery – one for beef and one for chicken. We chose one of each. My companion agreed to have the meat-in-pita option (NIS 48), while I chose the chicken-on-plate option (NIS 68), eschewing all carbohydrates.
I did, however, taste the ubiquitous french fries, which had a certain novelty about them, as they had been tarted up with added spices – I detected chili and paprika. This certainly made them more interesting than the standard variety.
Some excellent small salads arrived in conjunction with the meat and chicken.
What else is on the menu?
“All salads are freshly made here,” emphasized Yuval in his perfect English, learned from watching American thrillers on Israel television.
The side dishes included fried cubed eggplant, spicy carrot, sweet carrot with cucumber, cucumbers fresh and pickled, shredded cabbage, and a large helping of hummus, very creamy with a garnish of Yemenite s’hug, not for the fainthearted.
My companion thoroughly enjoyed his pita filled with loads of thinly sliced beef, dressed with a large quantity of tehina. There was an inevitable dribble aftereffect, but fortunately a large number of paper napkins were available to maintain a facade of propriety.
My meal arrived on a tray and had a massive amount of thinly sliced chicken from the revolving stand. It was pleasantly spicy without being harif (too spicy).
As though this were not enough, Yuval also sent over what he called “sambusak” but were actually two very delicious crispy rolls filled with shredded turkey. He called the filling “confit” and told us it had been cooking all night and was flavored with an assortment of spices. These were served hot and were truly a delicacy (NIS 13, NIS 18, or 2 for NIS 30).
There is no alcohol served at Besh, so we made do with Diet Sprite. Maybe that’s something they should reconsider.
For Yuval it is important that he get feedback from his clients, and he asks everyone what they think of the meal, the service, and the general atmosphere. The replies are invariably positive.
It was altogether a very pleasant evening out, with good food and a pleasant ambience. The quiet background music added to the oriental atmosphere of the place and did not detract at all from the experience.
- Besh
- 60 Tom Lantos Blvd.
- Netanya
- Tel: 077-938-6485
- Open: Sun.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri., 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sat. night in summer.
- Kashrut: Netanya Rabbinate.
- Besh also does takeaway on Fridays between 8.30 am and 3 p.m. under the supervision of Rabbi Mahmoud
- Wheelchair accessible.
- The writer was a guest of the restaurant.