Al Sham Shawarma, a new restaurant in the Old City of Jerusalem, has  amazingly high reviews on TripAdvisor. Knowing that a beef shawarma costs 25NIS ONLY! I felt I had to come and try!

A falafel (no meat) costs 15NIS already! So this is a steal!

Location

It’s near Jaffa Gate. I wrote about Tala Hummus Falafel, so Al Sham is very close to it in the same alley.

Storefront. It looks great!

A beautiful and typical Jerusalem stone house!

While the restaurant is small, it comes with wifi and a very clean toilet! I was surprised!

Menu and Dishes

Well, there are only 4 items. Bottom left, a full set of Hummus for 50NIS? After a day in Israel, I’m done with hummus. Haha! And Bottom right, fries… for 15NIS…. it’s just starch, so as a girl, let’s skip it.

Now, there are really just 2 options here. It’s shawarma in Pita Bread (Top left) for 25NIS, or Shawarma in Lafa bread (Top right) for 35NIS.

I went with shawarma in Pita bread. And for some reason, it felt so healing watching the chef (?) using electric knife~

And then you get to choose your salads and sauces. He’d probably ask you “All?” Just say yes!

So! This is THE shawarma! Let’s just call it the burger in the Middle East~

Now, see how much meat there was inside! Wow! And this is for 25NIS only! You get nice shawarma, in a beautiful restaurant in the Old City of Jerusalem with Wifi and clean toilet. What else is there to ask?

But the problem is…. well, it’s really just me. If you’ve read my other posts on food, for example, at Aaris, well, the problem is ME! I Let’s just say the taste of beef is too ‘strong’ for me. I had to add chili sauce to tone down the taste.

So…. you can decide.

So it happened that the card reader was broken. They tried hard to get a connection by bringing the reader outdoor, but it didn’t work. They were only 2 people, so I didn’t want them to waste so much time and I just paid in cash.

(I went to Tala later, and their card reader worked perfectly though. )

Final Verdict

It’s a good deal!! Beef shawarma for 25NIS only! It will be a very good meal if you like beef. If you don’t like beef, get chicken shawarma from Tala Hummus Falafel

Food prices are expensive in Israel, so let’s talk about the ‘basics’. These are 10 foods that you will commonly see in Israel!

(Just to give you an idea of prices in Israel, 1NIS = 0.28USD)

1.Falafel 

Price Range: ₪12-₪30

Falafel is seen as national food in this region. Let’s just say this is a Middle Eastern sandwich. Falafel is the fried balls made from chickpea. It usually comes in a pita bread, which looks like a pocket. Salads and falafels are put inside and it is a nutritious lunch!

2.Hummus

Price Range: ₪17-₪35

A common dish. Hummus is made from chickpea, tahini and olive oil. It’s sort of healthy. For me, it’s just a paste, but for the locals, this is a dish. It’s filling. And you can find hummus everywhere in Israel!!  But just like not everyone likes soybean milk (which I love), I am personally not a big fan of hummus~

3.Shakshuka

Price Range: ₪35-₪60

How Israeli likes their eggs served. It’s tomatoes and a poached egg in the middle. You eat shakshuka mostly for breakfast. I like it!

4.Sabich

Price Range: ₪20

Another type of sandwich. Similar to falafel as it’s vegetarian. The difference is there’s no falafel but fried eggplant, French fried and boiled egg in it. It’s more nutritious than falafel, and it’s quite heavy! I weighed it and it was like 700 grams! 

 5.Shawarma

Price Range: ₪20-₪40

Finally, we see meat! Yay! If you cannot live without meat, you will be happy to eat shawarma. The meat is usually chicken or beef. It’s served if lafa bread (flat) or pita. Pita is cheaper~ Every shop has its own unique sauce. For me, it’s easily a more satisfying meal than hummus or falafel. (Being a vegetarian is too difficult).

 6.Schnitzel

Price Range: ₪50-₪80

Schnitzel is a dish brought by Jews from Eastern European countries. It’s fried chicken… made from pounded chicken breast I guess. If you are lucky, it might be delicious!

7.Kebab

Price Range: ₪70-₪100

Middle Eastern BBQ! Kebab is usually minced beef mixed with lamb. In Israel I think kebab refers to barbecued, so you see grilled chicken on a skewer like this, also called kebab.

I had a good kebab in Tala restaurant in Old Jerusalem.

Or you can get a kebab in pita bread, it will be cheaper. (20NIS)

8.St. Peter’s Fish

Price Range: ₪70-₪100

Christians look forward to trying St.Peter’s fish. But it’s really just tilapia. There are 2 ways of cooking it- fried or baked. I personally wasn’t impressed by the taste because this fish can be found in my country very commonly. It’s not a bad idea to give it a try, just be cautious to fish bones and lower your expectation!

The baked version:

9.Israeli couscous

Price Range: ₪40-₪60

Everyone knows couscous. It’s not from Israel, but it’s commonly known as Israeli couscous. I like this better than rice or potatoes in Israel.

10. Kubbeh Soup

Price Range: ₪35-₪45

A common Iraqi Jewish meal. The dough is made from semolina, and the filling is usually minced beef or veggies. It’s quite special but it’s an acquired taste. I think you should try this at least one time on your trip to Israel (and I think one time will be enough unless you grew up with this food)

Special: Mint Lemonade

Price Range: ₪15-₪20

You can find lemonade everywhere in the world, but I just love how mint smells in Israel and this region. So make sure you try lemonade here! I cannot explain, but it is truly special! My favorite drink in Israel!