In recent years, quite a few restaurants have opened up in the First Station, but until now there were only a few restaurants that were mehadrin. One of those restaurants, Lechem Basar, is one of the better mehadrin steakhouses in Jerusalem.

When I found out that Fiori had become mehadrin, and I decided to check it out because I have always liked the ambiance at the First Station.

My wife and I arrived in Talbieh around 7pm looking forward to a nice evening together and a fun culinary experience. Parking can be a real challenge unless you know about the parking lot hidden behind the First Station. The entrance is on Derech Hebron St. If you’re coming from David Remez Street, make the right on Derech Hebron, and you’ll see a small road that forks off to the right about 80 meters from the traffic light (note that this is a paid parking lot during the day).

The Ambiance

The First Station is an outdoor mall with a boardwalk. Fiori is surrounded by windows and is located smack in the middle of the boardwalk, providing a view of the historic train station and all the passers-by.

The dining area

Fiori’s dining area is not large, and the space between the tables is not so spacious, but we did not feel cramped. When we arrived, we found that the place was packed, but fortunately a table had just opened up.

Fiori’s open kitchen

We immediately noticed the kitchen which is open to the dining area. At the entrance to the kitchen is a deli-type refrigerator with a large assortment of cheeses that can be bought and taken home. A green chalkboard hangs from the ceiling with various messages and drawings on it. On the surrounding walls are shelves with a large selection of wines and liquors.

The Cuisine

Fiori’s menu has a nice selection of Italian dishes. All of the pastas are made by the house, and we found them to be superb.

For appetizers, we ordered the soup du jour, which was artichoke soup, and melanzane alla parmigiana, which is roasted eggplant in a tomato sauce with melted mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Both dishes arrived very hot, just as they should. The soup was creamy and delicious, and the melanzane alla parmigiana was quite awesome. The eggplant was tender and flavorful, the sauce was well seasoned, and there was plenty of cheese.

Artichoke soup was plenty hot and tasty

Melanzane alla parmigiana

For your main course you can either choose from the recommended dishes that include combinations of pastas and sauces, or you can decide on your own combination from the list of options. You choose the shape of the pasta (short pastas, long pastas, ravioli etc.), the type of pasta (regular, whole wheat, spinach) and then decide on the desired sauce (tomato, tomato & pesto, cream etc) and some of the available add-ons include, olives, mushrooms, eggplant, blue cheese and more).

We ordered the Primavera with spinach fettuccine. This dish is usually a bit spicy, but my wife doesn’t like spicy foods so we passed on that (funny that my wife comes from a Sephardic family and doesn’t like spicy foods, and I’m super Ashkenazic and I love spicy cuisine). We also ordered spinach fettuccine with truffle cream sauce.

Fettuccine Premavera

Spinach fettuccine with truffle cream sauce

The spinach pasta was truly excellent, both the texture and the flavor, and the sauces we chose were delicious. The main dishes also arrived piping hot, and of course this adds to the quality of the dish.

The Service

We found the service at Fiori to be outstanding. Our waitress was quick and very pleasant. All our dishes came at the right timing, and we had no problem getting the waitress’s attention when we needed something.

I spoke with the owner, who also manages the restaurant. He was very friendly and was happy to respond to our questions.

Restaurant Details

Restaurant Name: Fiori
Address: The First Station, David Remez 4, Jerusalem
Phone: 02-587-4486
Hours: Sun-Wed 11am-11:30pm
Thursday: 11am until the last customer leaves
Friday: 10:30am – an hour before Shabbat begins
Saturday night: An hour after the end of Shabbat until the last customer leaves
Kashrut: Jerusalem Rabbinate Mehadrin
It’s highly recommended to verify that the kashrut certificate is still valid

Directions

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The post Fiori – An Excellent Mehadrin Italian Restaurant in Jerusalem appeared first on Mehadrin Restaurants in Israel.

Contact details & address follow below

Inviting atmosphere at the Meat and Eat steakhouse in Jerusalem

Ambiance 

The restaurant’s location in the renovated, historic train station provides a very pleasant atmosphere which adds to the dining experience. Cafe style seating is available outside and this allows one to enjoy the fresh air as well as the sights and sounds of the surrounding shops and restaurants located in the First Station. There are attractive, seasonal plantings alongside the dining area which add a colorful touch to the experience.

Surrounding restaurants and shops

The inside seating is more like a subtle club style setting. There is a bar with quite a few offerings of spirits, and the restaurant’s substantial wine selection is displayed attractively on the wall inside the dining area.

Cuisine

Lechem Basar doesn’t have an extensive menu, but the food they offer is definitely excellent and they have a nice wine selection as well.

The menu is broken down into Starters and Main Courses.

Although the main courses are quite ample, Lechem Basar has some interesting starters to begin the meal. One of the more refreshing selections is the spring chicken salad. It is comprised of spring chicken which has been grilled, seared and then sauteed with “bonfire” onions, roasted tomatoes, garlic confit, and green beans. It is presented on a bed of green leaves (69 NIS).

For those looking for more unique tastes, you can try the Sirloin Carpaccio (raw thinly sliced beef) which is marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar with fresh lemon juice and topped with roasted pistachios (54 NIS). Other unique starters include white fish ceviche and lamb lahma’jun (a round thin piece of dough topped with lamb ragout, roasted peppers, Kalamata olives and served with tahini sauce) (46 NIS). Interestingly enough, Lahma’jun has become a more popular dish in Israel due to the existence of Jewish immigrants from southeastern Turkey.

Filet mignon

Lechem Basar is a steakhouse so it’s only natural that the lion’s share (what’s a lion doing in a kosher diner?) of their main courses are steak or beef offerings. Their filet mignon is aged in house, is well-seasoned and extremely tender — cooked to your order. It is served with roasted onions, squash and a wine sauce. The vegetables were served at room temperature, not hot as would be expected. The dish could also have been presented with some artistic flair which would have enhanced the presentation and not have left the plate looking so empty. One eats with one’s eyes and as well as with one’s palate. For the price of the main courses, bread should have been served as part of the meal instead of as an extra.

One side dish is included with all of the main dishes. You can choose either rice, a small chopped or green salad, french fries, or roasted potatoes. Unfortunately some of the side dishes did not arrive with the main course and the waiter had to be reminded to bring them.

The entrecote (prime rib) steak can be ordered in different sizes: 250 grams for the average diner, 350 for the true meat lovers and 450 grams for the super appetite. It comes well seasoned, tender and cooked to your taste as well. The same vegetable garnishings that were on the plate of the sirloin are served here as well.

Entrecote prime rib steak

The spring chicken (pargit) was particularly savory and tender. It is grilled and seared and basted in a wonderful sauce consisting of sesame oil, soy sauce and garlic confit (confit is any food which is cooked very slowly). Unlike the other plates, this dish was presented artistically with a crown of spring greens.

Grilled spring chicken (pargit in Hebrew)

Other main courses include sirloin steak, lamb sini’ya (lamb ragout served in a pan topped with a pastry dough) or the fish of day.

Less adventuresome diners can order a hamburger or a chicken schnitzel.

Service

The waiter was pleasant, but as mentioned previously he had to be reminded to bring some of the side dishes which are supposed to arrive together with the main course.

Summing it up

The overall experience at Lechem Basar was enjoyable. The combination of quality dishes together with the relaxing ambiance in the outside setting made for a worthwhile culinary evening out.

Restaurant Details:

Restaurant: Lechem Basar
Telephone: 02-624-4808
Address: 4 David Remez St. Hatahana Harishona, Kikar David Remez, Jerusalem
Hours: Sun-Thurs: Noon-11pm 
Kashrut: Rav Machpud Mehadrin
It’s always recommended to verify that a restaurant’s kashrut certificate hasn’t been changed

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Directions

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Video sneak peak at Meat and Eat (Lechem Basar)

See the list of all mehadrin restaurants in Jerusalem

The post Lechem Basar (Meat and Eat) – Jerusalem Steakhouse (Mehadrin) appeared first on Mehadrin Restaurants in Israel.