First of all, the owners of Muu get points for the name of the restaurant (even if it is borrowed from a steakhouse in Portugal). Secondly, they get points for their location – in the First Station, meaning those of us who live in south Jerusalem (and why would you want to live anywhere else?) can easily get there.
Thirdly, they get points for the food, which is very good. Unfortunately, they lose points for the service, which was amateur and had too few wait staff to handle the customers. My foodie son and I waited ten minutes by the hostess sign at the entrance before anyone noticed us and told us to sit wherever we wanted.
There are three areas – an outside area, a VIP room, and inside next to the half-open kitchen. We chose to sit inside, and the welcoming modern design of the restaurant, including a pretend fire, caught our eye. Liran, the manager of the restaurant, helped us choose dishes that would showcase what the restaurant could do. He added that Muu is the only restaurant in the area with Mehadrin Yerushalayim kosher certification.
We started with a citrus salad, (NIS 69) which was a large and refreshing serving of arugula, onion, kohlrabi, apple, cranberry, and citrus in a citrus vinaigrette. Next, we shared a beef fillet carpaccio (NIS 89) which was a generous portion of paper-thin filet mignon with toasted brioche, tartar sauce and confit garlic. We enjoyed it very much.
For main dishes, we shared the Muu Burger (NIS 79) which like all of their burgers, is made with meat ground in-house. The meat was good quality and served medium-rare, which is how I like my burgers, although it might be a little undercooked for those who prefer medium. It came with a large portion of very good chips.
We also shared a 300-gram entrecote steak (NIS 169) which was served with potato wedges, demi-glas and garlic confit. The steak was cooked a perfect medium-rare and had been aged a week. It cut easily and was very good. The other steaks available include entrecote on the bone, Denver cut and Tomahawk. There is also a children’s menu.
Great food bogged down by poor service
Unfortunately, the service was not as successful as the food. The waitresses were teenagers and did not seem familiar with the menu.
Next to us was a large party of nine, a family with several married adult children and a very cute baby who had come from Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem to have dinner together. They waited a full 40 minutes for their orders, and after their food came, there were quite a few mistakes with their burgers and toppings. They were growing quite frustrated, and the waitress did not know how to help them or answer their questions.
I do want to mention that the restaurant has only been open for three months, and that quite a few restaurants have had trouble hiring qualified wait staff as many young people were called for reserve duty. But I had a sense that the wait staff had not received enough training in both the menu and in serving.
As food prices have risen everywhere, going out to a restaurant has become an expensive proposition, and service is as important as the quality of the food. I felt the prices were a good value for money and enjoyed my meal. I encourage them to work on the service.
- Muu
- First Station
- Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 12 noon – 11 p.m.
- Saturday night: opens half hour after Shabbat
- Kashrut: Mehadrin Yerushalayim
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.