The conclusion… go for it!

Location

It’s close to Bezalel market, you’d see it as you come from carmel market heading to Dizengoff square.

The shop is tiny, but seating is still available. I guess the little shop can handle 12-16 dine-in customers!

Well, it’s always busy!

Menu

The menu is on the wall. 6NIS for a falafel!!  Additionally you can buy grape juice for 4NIS.

So, the concern is… why is it so cheap?

Well, with this price, it pretty much guarantees good business. And I actually find their falafel very good in taste and quality. You’d find 6-8 falafel balls, and you actually taste falafel till the very last bite!  It’s pretty solid!! And only for 6NIS!

Taim! (Delicious in Hebrew)

Old Jaffa is a seaport, so why not have some seafood here? I tried the Israeli version of Fish and Chips here. Fried squid and shrimp for only 39NIS! I guess it is cheap in Israeli standard!

Location

The store is in Old Jaffa. Close to Old Man and the Sea. (where you get unlimited salads for 50NIS).

Probably Old Man and the Sea will be the best for value. But I wasn’t hungry and I saw so many people checking out this Fish and Chips store, and I got curious!

Is this place popular? It’s chaotic and it certainly got my attention. Let’s see what’s going on!

Okay, so people were mostly waiting for their orders to be served. I found a cashier behind the guy in a black t-shirt and a hat. It requires determination and curiosity to put down your order at this place!

Prices

The menu is hung on a wall~  Prices are okay!

• Red Fish (300g) for 42NIS.
• Small Fish  (300g) for 32NIS.
• Fried Fish Fillet (300g) for 35NIS.
• Fried Shrimps (250g) for 39NIS.
• Fried Calamari (300g) for 39NIS
• Fried Shrimps with Calamari (300g) for 39NIS.
• Chips for 13NIS

Of course, I chose “Fried Shrimps with Calamari (300g) for 39NIS.”

The cashier understood English. But he didn’t speak English to me.

After paying, you’d get a piece of paper with your name and your order on it.

Give this paper to the kitchen staff. He’d stick it to the range hood.

And then you find yourself a place somewhere and wait for your name to be called! It took 10 minutes for my order to be ready.

I was looking at “the catch of the day”. I thought you could buy fish from here and let the kitchen staff cook it for you. But I guess no. They don’t have time for this. You can buy fresh fish from here and that’s all.

Napkins.

And finally! The serving size was more than what I expected. My wide angle lens makes it look smaller than its actual size. It’s fresh and nicely cooked. I like the batter and how lemon was generously given.   I think 2 people can share 1, if not enough, order chips for 13NIS.

However, it is quite chaotic and messy. And there’s no place to sit. So I guess the better option would still be Old Man and Sea if you are looking for a proper meal. But if you pass by this shop and found a shorter queue, then it won’t be a bad idea to give it a try!

Nazareth, a famous as you think it is, turns to a quiet little town at night. There’s not much happening at night except food and sleep. While walking around, I found this small restaurant by Mary’s well. An English menu was placed on the sidewalk, so hard to miss. Chicken kebab in pita bread for 20NIS?” Not a bad idea” I thought, ‘meat’ at decent prices is rare in Israel. And to my surprise, Skewers al-Amir turned out to be SO GOOD! 

Location

It’s close to the square by Mary’s well.

It is just one of those many shops. I’m sharing this simply because I enjoyed a meal here (and also because it’s CHEAP!). If you are in Nazareth during the day, it won’t be a bad idea to come here for takeaway food!

There are 3 tables inside, and 4 tables outside.

Prices

The prices look good! Chicken kebab in pita bread for 20NIS! Why not?

Everything was freshly prepared. The shopkeeper grilled 2 skewers of chicken from the freezer in front of us.

Israeli find satisfaction in falefel and hummus, but for me as an Asian, it is hard not to have such ‘simple and healthy’ food for every meal. But meat is expensive….. so finally! Feels like eating real food again!

Chicken kebab was delicious, not spicy and it was juicy! I was so satisfied!

The Owner Amir was NOT fat nor a liar

I was happy after the meal, so I wanted to leavae them a review Google Maps…. and then I saw so many bad reviews about this place. And I was confused? People said the owner here was fat and a liar, prices were not clear and microwaved food was served.

I asked the kebab man if he knew about the review of this place on Google Maps, and I read to him. “Basically they said the owner was a liar, and a fat liar.” And out of curiosity, I asked “Who’s the owner here?” I didn’t expect an answer, but I asked simply because I had a good meal here. And then he said,

I’m Amir. I’m the owner here. Am I fat?

I laughed. He wasn’t fat at all (the guy in green t-shirt in the third photo in this post was him). And then he took out his wallet… I wasn’t sure what was he going to do, until he showed me his ID. He was pretty serious!

So, I think he had enemies in the neighborhood or something. I left him a good review, and I hope he’d have real customers leaving him good reviews in future!

When you come to Akko in Israel, Hummus Said is THE hummus place locals go for lunch. Hummus didn’t say anything, that’s just the name of the founder, “Said” (like Saeed). You’ll taste what ‘authentic’ hummus is like here, and a serving is only 17NIS! Very cheap and affordable!

Location

The store is in the old market. Google Maps location is pretty accurate for now. And remember that you should be there before 2pm! Expect to queue for 10-15 minutes as the place is quite popular.

We came here past 1pm. And there were at least a dozen of people lining up, so we waited for 10 minutes…. most people here were locals, so you know this is the RIGHT place to go.

And voila, nothing fancy inside the shop. But the good thing is that you get a place to sit. I took this picture when the shop was closing.

I bet he is Mr.Said.

Menu?

Hummus Said sells authentic hummus, so you are here for hummus. There are 3 options

• Hummus
• Faal? (some sort of beans)
• Another type of hummus called Moshusha?

Menu is on the wall, this is the price for 1 serving. You can go for half portion (at half price)

I got half portion hummus (left) and that Moshusha thing (right).  To me there was no difference in taste, except hummus was finely mashed and moshusha included some chickpeas. But I must say this is the first time that I understood what ‘freshly prepared hummus’ is. You simply know that when the aroma of chickpea is in your mouth!

All of this cost me only 17NIS! 3 pieces of pita, and some salads. We were startving but this was enough for 2 of us. Probably because hummus is filling and plus psychologically hummus to us is not a meal. It’s like eating tofu, just tofu with some bread. (Yes I know there’s ‘tofu’ burger in western wall… but I’m not used to that idea)

What’s offered in salads? Hmmm pickles, tomatoes, super sour olives and onions. It’s hard to pretend that I like olives…. But some people like olives right?

Chili and coriander. Add them! Finally my hummus has some flavor ~

And then I wanted to order tea. When I told this to a waiter, I asked the waiter what that yellow drink is on some other table. He pointed at that yellow drink, and asked me “this?”  I said yes. And then he didn’t answer my question…. but later he came back with another glass of this yellow drink. I asked him once again “what is it?” I couldn’t tell from the smell.

Then my mom took a sip. Then 3 seconds later, another waiter who could speak English came to us and said

It’s oil.

 Why is olive oil served in a glass?  Maybe it’s beyond his imagination that there are people in this world who don’t know what this yellow “drink” is….

And they were wrapping up at 3pm. While we were still eating, they started to clean up. That’s it! From 3-4pm they are free! And I guess they would sleep at 8pm and get up at 3am for making fresh hummus. I think.

And the bill was….. 17NIS!  Was the tea complementary? The waiter said “Included”. I was stunned. No wonder this place is so popular among locals!

Final Verdict

Hummus Said is definitely a chamion in hummus world. If you can only bear to have hummus for 1 meal in Israel, then this is the place to go!

Looking for cheap eats in Jerusalem? This burger shop called Eight might be just perfect. Here you get a freshly prepared burger for 8 shekels! That’s $2.5! Is it possible in a city like Jerusalem? Is it too good to be true?

The story behind Eight is that there was a Jewish chef who worked in a Michelin starred restaurant in Netherlands, and he felt the portion served in Israeli restaurants are too big (what I feel too), and hence the prices are too high (what I feel too).

He wasn’t happy how food goes wasted, or how a bigger portion gives a hint to people to take in more calories than needed. So he has an idea, he will open a restaurant that serves small burger for ONLY 8 SHEKELS!

In a country where hummus (no meat!) costs 17 shekels, right, a grilled-chicken burger for 8 shekels is too good to be true! So I had to try out this place!

Location

There are 18 branches of ‘Eight’. The only one in Jerusalem is near Mehane Yehuda, next to King of Kings Jerusalem. Very convenient for me!

Menu and Prices

For menu…  you can check it online. I wanted to try this Schinitzel burger!

Or grilled beef burger! And it’s kosher… so that means no cheese!

You can go for a meal package. 2 burgers + side dish + a drink for 26 shekels ($7). SO CHEAP!

Let’s see if it was any good!

So the restaurant was like a fast food store. There wasn’t an English menu…. so I asked for chicken burger….. and I pointed at a picture I saw from the monitor  “and Fried Chicken Wings too please”…. 

Here we go! I think it’s clear that I will not order Fried Chicken Wings (failed) next time.

Let me explain objectively. The chicken wings were tiny! It was not marinated. And there was too much oil (maybe the temperature was not high enough), and somehow I think the meat was undercooked.

I would go with only burgers next time because everything was as good as it could get! Lettuce, onion, tomato, grilled chicken. It was not Michelin (didn’t expect it to be), but it was enjoyable!

Someone had 5 items, and it was for 44 shekels only! So cheap!

Final Verdict 

I’m happy with the quality. It’s very good for value! I highly recommend this place if you are on budget!

If you’re visiting Israel after 2014, the good news is that you’ll find this 5 shekels cafe called Cofizz. Coffee, fresh juice, sandwich, salad, croissant, pizza, pick anything and it costs only 5 shekels (or 6 shekels!) There are various options.

The place is more like a deli, there are 4-6 seats most people take away the food.  I think it’s important to note down where Cofizz cafes are because Jerusalem is very expensive!

Location

There are many stores! Too many! The easiest way to find cofizz is to type “cofizz’ on Google Maps, and all your options will show on the screen!

Ha-Meshorerim St 1 , Mahane Yehuda St 10 , Yafo St 226,  Ben Yehuda 14

This is the Cofizz in the Old city of Jerusalem, close to Cardo.

This is in Jerusalem delta.

This is on Jaffa street.

And this is the one in Central Bus Station. Get something to eat before you head to airport!

Menu

I took this picture in 2016. Some items are probably ₪6 now. But I went in 2018 again and some items are still 5 shekels. Hmmmm…

These 4 things cost me ₪20! I got 2 different salads, yogurt with granola, and a pizza!

Yogurt with granola 5NIS, I liked it! Very satisfying!

Tuna Sandwich. 5 NIS. Nothing special but not bad.

Bulgarian Salad? 5 NIS. Maybe Israeli like this? It was flavorless though….

Final Verdict 

Orignally I thought it won’t be possible to enjoy a proper meal from Cofizz. But actually, I enjoyed everything I got here! And if you are low on blood pressure, it will be a very good idea to grab something to eat from here!

If you are tight on budget or just feeling peckish, then Cofix might not be a bad choice. Most items in this store costs you only 5 NIS ($1.37)! Really! You see Cofix everywhere in Israel, even in an expensive place like the Old City of Jerusalem!

In a country where hummus costs 17NIS, I think Cofix for 5 NIS is a great deal! (If you aren’t picky)

Location

Cofix is everywhere…..  This is the one in the Old city of Jerusalem. It’s close to Cofizz (which is a better version of Cofix in my opinion)

Menu of Cofix

Cofix…. well… You can click here for menu, but you will know what’s available when you get there. Go to the counter and see! Most items are for 5 NIS.

The exception is salad, which is for 12 or 13NIS. I think that’s kind of expensive for a salad this size. If you are tight on budget, get 5NIS items, if you have 13NIS, you might as well go for falafel or something else!

I had these items: croissants and soup. It was for 5 NIS each! Everything was mediocre. Just so-so. I can’t say it’s bad.

Tuna sandwich and hot cocoa with marshmallows. (so fancy!) It’s not bad.

I really couldn’t taste everything. But Israel is an expensive country, when you have an option like cofix here, you are simply grateful that you don’t have to starve…..

Cofix’s supermarket…. called supercofix!

Final Verdict 

Nothing to look forward to, but it’s a great choice if you are looking for something to eat and drink in limited budget. Supermarket taste. Note it down in case you somehow find everything else is way out of your budget in Israel!