Like many Israelis, Bar Laros has spent much of the past year in and out of miluim (reserve duty). He has always worked in restaurants and food-related industries. But it was in Gaza during Hanukkah, he says, that he decided that life is short, and it was time to realize his dream to open his own place.
“I understood that I’m 30, and I don’t know what will happen in the future,” he said. “I promised myself that I would open my own place, and I did just a month ago.”
That story alone is a good enough reason to patronize Lilian, a small café-bakery on Hess Street near the King David Hotel. But the food and pastries are the other reason. The menu is tiny – just three sandwiches, two salads, great pastries, and excellent coffee. What more do you need?
I met my good friend Fran Kritz for lunch there. We started off at a table outside, but it was quite warm, so when a table opened up inside, we moved. Fran ordered the Caesar salad (NIS 48), which was a generous portion of lettuce, purple onion, Parmesan, a soft-boiled egg, and brioche crumble. Very yummy.
I tried the other salad on the menu – a huge portion of wheat berries, pomegranate, za’atar, spinach, walnuts, and labaneh. It was a bit sweet from the pomegranate and a bit sour from the labaneh. Just a lovely combination and something different from those found in most cafés.
I didn’t try the sandwiches, but they offer an egg salad with onion jam (NIS 44), a Gruyère with honey cream (NIS 44), and a smoked salmon with dried tomatoes and cream cheese (NIS 48).
Now for the fun part that is worth every shekel and every calorie. The pastries are outstanding, with the brioche dough like a cloud and not too sweet. Most pastries are NIS 26 and a decent size but not huge, so you don’t have to feel too guilty about eating them.
Outstanding pastries
We tried a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, an apple brioche, and my favorite – a “brioche sucre,” which had marzipan and blueberries. Bar’s secret weapon, by the way, is his girlfriend, Roni, who is responsible for brioche dough at Harim Bakery (also high on my list).
Who is Lilian, you may be wondering. Lilian is Bar’s grandmother who recently passed away.
“She was Tunisian, so this wasn’t her type of food at all, but she loved cooking and loved hosting,” Bar said. He has put her picture in a prominent place in the café.
In the next few weeks, Bar hopes to open two evenings a week serving wine and French-bistro type dishes. If they’re anything like his baked goods, it will be worth the trip.
Lilian
2 Hess Street
Hours: Monday –Thursday, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Friday, 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
Sunday – closed
Kashrut: Rabbanut Jerusalem
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.