The Jerusalem Street Food Festival at the Inbal turns a lot of assumptions on their head. First of all, it’s not in the shuk (the Mahane Yehuda market) but in the pleasant outdoor courtyard of the hotel. Secondly, the food is dairy, not meat as is much of the typical shuk food.
The price (NIS 127) includes all you can eat of the food but does not include drinks or dessert.
The setting is lovely – outside in the courtyard enjoying the breeze Jerusalem offers at night, with tables spaced far apart, and the excellent service the hotel is known for.
Enjoying food at the Inbal
The meal starts with a warm Jerusalem bagel (a smaller version of the one you can buy in the Old City of Jerusalem) served with the classic za’atar spice wrapped in a twist of newspaper. Alongside are several small salads including a marinated red pepper one I really enjoyed, a tzatziki which was very garlicky and very good, and a salsa. You can ask for as many refills on the salad as you’d like.
Once you’re ready, there are three stands set up along the side: a tabun for savory flatbreads, a falafel station, and one offering fish cakes and mushroom shwarma.
Some of the flatbreads had fillings like cheese or spices, but they had been sitting under a heat lamp for a while and didn’t have that fresh-from-the-oven taste.
Things improved at the falafel station. As some of you might know, my son owns a falafel food truck in Hawaii and prides himself on making excellent falafel. The Inbal’s was almost as good as his (OK, I might be a little biased here). It was crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and not too spicy. I tried the regular-sized falafel ball although they also had larger ones with either onion or cheese inside. A similar dish has recently gone viral on TikTok – and if I’ve heard of it, then it’s really made it.
The last station has both mushroom shwarma, which was nicely spiced, and my favorite of the evening: fish cakes, plated on newspaper with roasted vegetables (move over Eyal Shani). If I wasn’t so full, I would have gone back for another portion.
Dessert is not included in the price, but it is a nice mix of watermelon, homemade malabi with lots of pistachio nuts, and a semolina cake.
Overall, a lovely evening in a lovely setting, and a good chance for non-meat-eaters to experience the flavors of the shuk. The festival runs until the end of August.
- Street Food Festival
- Inbal Hotel
- Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 6 p.m. – 11 p.m.
- Kashrut: Jerusalem Rabbanut
The writer was a guest of the festival.