The view from Veranda, which is on the terrace of the David Citadel Jerusalem hotel, is simply breathtaking. The night we visited, the walls of the Old City were lit up in purple, my favorite color.
The only thing that rivaled the view was the service. Now, I always get good service, as the restaurant knows I am writing for The Jerusalem Post. But I saw that every table received excellent service.
The couple next to me was celebrating a birthday. She received a dessert on the house, and all the waitstaff sang to her. The waiter told me she had also come last year and sat at the same table.
The clientele is mostly haredi and the prices are relatively high
Another note about the Veranda. It has very strict kashrut certification and is an excellent choice for those who eat only mehadrin. As the website says, “Meat approved by Rav Rubin and Rav Landa. Shmita lehumra. Close supervision. Bishul Beit Yosef. Under the supervision of the hotel’s rabbi, Rav Y. Lishner.”
Given this certification, it’s natural that the clientele is mostly haredi and the prices are relatively high. Meat with this certification is significantly more expensive than meat with a regular rabbinate certification.
The dishes were all presented beautifully
The menu was designed by chef Kfir Mysnikov, who stopped by to say hello as well. He said he tries to combine tradition and modernity.
The dishes were all presented beautifully. The menu is not huge, but as I have written before, I’d rather have fewer dishes done well than some of the huge menus in Israeli cafés that are more pedestrian.
There menu is relatively small, with a page of specials. My husband and I ordered appetizers from the specials menu.
I chose the beef tartare (NIS 98), which was chopped raw beef with cornichons, capers, shifka pepper, and truffle aioli served on a bone marrow bone. It was something I would never have at home, and it was excellent.
My husband had the salmon crudo (NIS 88), which was three small tarts filled with salmon, shallots, and green onion.
Chef Kfir also sent over the beef sashimi from the regular menu (NIS 105): cold-smoked veal, forest mushrooms, vinegar, shallots, portobello mushrooms, pomegranate concentrate, micro roquette leaves, and pine nuts, served with Italian bruschetta. The combination of flavors was unique.
For the main course, Cliff tried the Veranda’s Asado Cut (NIS 185), which chef Kfir told us takes three days to make. The result is shredded short ribs terrine, smoked in apple tree charcoal, with wild mushroom demi-glace sauce. It had much less fat than asado usually has and was excellent.
I went for the Lutetia Ribeye Steak (NIS 305), aged entrecôte grilled over charcoal with spice rub and garlic confit, cooked to a perfect medium rare. The aging gave the meat a depth of flavor, and I enjoyed every bite.
For dessert, we returned to the specials menu and shared a Dubai chocolate bar (NIS 56), a dark chocolate base with pistachio cream and kadayif, which gave it a nice crunch.
Overall, an excellent meal that I thoroughly enjoyed in a beautiful atmosphere.
Veranda
David Citadel hotel
7 King David Street
Jerusalem
Open: Sun.-Thurs., 6 p.m.- 10 p.m.
Tel: (02) 621-2396
Kashrut: Meat approved by Rav Rubin and Rav Landa.
Shmita lehumra
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.