The ’hood is what those of us living in south Jerusalem call our neighborhood, and we take great pride in our neighborhood affiliation. Buchman’s Diner is on Emek Refaim across from Bagel Café, and the bright red vinyl stools and booth benches are reminiscent of the American diner of my Long Island childhood.
Owners Lior and Matan Sivan (who are twin brothers) are passionate about their new place, which opened just two weeks ago. The diner is bright and fun, with the menu in both English and Hebrew in a lovely mural on the wall, as well as on a tablet at the entrance. And don’t miss a visit to the bathroom, where the décor is something I’d never seen before.
When you sit down, you are offered coffee on the house, a nice touch that feeds into the diner vibe. We went for an early dinner, and the coffee was weak, which Lior says is intentional, as it was evening; they make it stronger in the morning. He also said that each booth will soon have a jukebox, and there will be movie nights on Thursdays. Sounds like fun.
Now for the food
Part of the menu verged from diner food, which didn’t bother me, since the vibe is still of a diner. Some of the things I tried were really good, while others needed improvement.
I started with the fried mozzarella sticks (NIS 25 for three pieces). I’ve never met a mozzarella stick I didn’t like, and this was no exception – it was fresh, and the cheese was hot and gooey. The only thing missing was the marinara sauce – the dish was served with a packaged garlic sauce that didn’t add much.
My husband ordered the onion rings (NIS 32), and here was our first disappointment. While the portion was huge (as most of Buchman’s dishes are), the onion rings were the frozen ones you can buy in the supermarket.
We moved on to the pizza, which was made in a tabun oven that heats to 600 degrees. We tried a pizza with olives and fresh tomatoes (pizzas range from NIS 49 to NIS 70), and it was excellent. The other two Buchman restaurants are pizza places, so they know how to do pizza. I highly recommend the pizza and chuckled at the creative names, such as “Oh My Goat.”
My husband wanted to try the Mac-n-Cheese (NIS 56), which was more of a pasta dish with cheese sauce than the baked mac and cheese we are used to, but it was still good. Lior wanted us to try the onion soup, which was made with fresh onions, but I found it a little watery and wanted cheese and croutons to sprinkle on top. Overall, dinner was a mixed bag.
Things definitely looked up when it was time for dessert. The New York cheesecake (NIS 42) was homemade and drizzled with raspberry jam and mini marshmallows. The vanilla milkshake had the addition of malt and was served in a large glass with lots of whipped cream and syrup. Worth every calorie and every hour at the gym I’ll have to log to make up for it.
When we arrived, there were just three other customers – a somewhat frazzled mom celebrating her nine-year-old son’s birthday with one friend. There were balloons on the floor, which the staff had brought out with the dessert as they sang “Happy Birthday.” The boys said they loved the food.
By the time we left, the small place was full.
The other thing I didn’t enjoy was that everything was served on paper dishes with plastic cutlery. If you’re going to have a sit-down restaurant, I’d much prefer real dishes and silverware.
Overall, my experience was mixed. Lior and Matan are enthusiastic young men, and Buchman’s Diner adds something new to the restaurant scene on Emek Refaim. I think that with some changes to the food, they will succeed, and I wish them good luck.
- Buchman’s Diner
- 51 Emek Refaim, Jerusalem
- Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Kashrut: Rabbanut
- Phone: 073-730-9889
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.