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Hummus Said, worth the wait (Photo: Doron Golan)

From hummus to ice cream: Eating Acre

The northern coast city is famous for its history, but is also becoming a true culinary destination. Here are some of its best eateries.

Whoever goes in a trip to ancient Acre also expects to experience an authentic meal at one of the city’s veteran fish restaurants by the sea, or perhaps a plate of Acre’s legendary hummus.

 

 

But several new culinary establishments have grown alongside the city’s famous hummus and seafood places. These places offer modern Arabian cuisine, with all the flare and spirit you would expect from young and adventurous chefs.

 

To aid those who hunger for a less familiar food experience, we’ve collected a list of places where you can get a non-ordinary meal. Most of these include a walk in ancient Acre’s charming, narrow streets. And there’s even an ice cream place that boasts some reviews calling it the best in all of Israel.

 

El Babur

The restaurant, by chefs Husam and Nashat Abbas, is located right on the water, with ancient city views. Its menu offers a connection between the ocean and the land, with several Galilee-Arab dishes, as well as fish and other seafood, found at the Acre market.

 

El Babur (Photo: Boaz Lavi)
El Babur (Photo: Boaz Lavi)

 

Among the place’s appetizers are cauliflower in tehini, labaneh (soft, white, goat’s milk cheese) with wild mustard, fresh hummus, tabbouleh, potato salad, zucchini cubes in leben, tomatoes in spicy tehini, and more. Main courses include muhara – a mix of fish filet and other types of seafood cooked on the restaurant’s tabun oven and served with a fish stock sauce, and fish filet siniya with tehini and pine nuts.

 

Photo: Boaz Lavi
Photo: Boaz Lavi

 

The post-meal coffee can be drunk outside, while enjoying the salty smell of the Mediterranean breeze.

 

Ha-Hagana St. 16, Acre. 04-6289115, open all week from 11am-11pm.

 

The Jarahi Brothers Restaurant

This humble seafood restaurant belongs to two fishermen of the Jarahi family, and is the total opposite of the tourist traps that flood most of the area by the sea. The restaurant is located at the edge of the market at the entrance to the Acre fisherman’s port, right next to the brothers’ store, which supplies produce to the restaurant.

 

Among the non-sea related appetizers you’ll find fresh salads, dipping sauces and pita bread. The main courses are uncomplicated fish dished cooked in one of two methods – grilled, or fried.

 

The big advantage here is the option of picking the sea’s products straight out of the fisherman’s daily catch, which can be seen in cases at the store’s entrance.

 

The Acre fisherman’s port, 04-6820330, open Tuesday-Sunday from 12pm-10:30pm.

 

Kukushka

A “snack bar” restaurant, Kukushka’s menu is comprised of dishes that mark Napoleon’s conquests – from the French islands to the Middle East. You can find Turkish and Bavarian sausages there, as well as shrimp skewers, special French fries (considered a restaurant favorite), souvlaki, fried blue crabs, and crab falafel in a pita.

 

PR photo
PR photo

 

When the place opened two years ago, it was a pioneer of the Turkish bazaar, which is now one of ancient Acre’s most interesting culinary spots. The atmosphere there is so interesting that you’re likely to forget your geographic location by meal’s end.

 

PR photo
PR photo

 

In preparation for the Acre festival, the place is renewing its menu, and the bar is set to open in the evenings as well.

 

The Turkish bazaar’s roofed area, 04-9019758, open Sunday-Tuesday, from 11am-6pm.

Between September 28 and October 1, while the Acre festival is ongoing, the place will open at 11am and close when the last clients leave.

 

Hummus Said

Acre’s most famous hummus place opened its doors over 40 years ago, and has since become a well-oiled (olive-oiled?) machine, serving hummus to fans from all across Israel who come to eat in the legendary establishment. All they serve here is hummus, fava beans, and mashawsha, which are always served swimming in olive oil, arriving at the table alongside fresh pita bread, tomatoes, onions, and spicy dips.

 

Hummus Said. Well worth the wait (Photo: Doron Golan)
Hummus Said. Well worth the wait (Photo: Doron Golan)

 

There are those who’ll say the line at the entrance is too long, but others believe that a visit to the Acre market is never complete without a stop at Said’s. Either way, you can rest assured that standing in line is well worth the meal you get.

 

Acre Ancient city market, 04-9913945, open Sunday-Friday from 6am-2:30pm.

 

Endomela (or simply: Uri Buri’s ice cream)

Finally, something for dessert: Endomela is and ice cream shop that opened just three years ago, a few buildings away from the Uri Buri restaurant, and it’s already considered one of the best in Israel. If you’ve tasted the ice cream served at the famous seafood restaurant, you probably know why.

 

Endomela isn’t just an ice cream place: The product here doesn’t boast an Italian/Sicilian-style, it’s just specialized ice cream with exquisite, delicate flavors, made on-premises according to a recipe by chef Uri Yirmias (Uri Buri’s eponymous chef/owner).

 

Endomela ice cream (PR photo)
Endomela ice cream (PR photo)

 

Endomela isn’t just an ice cream place: The product here doesn’t boast an Italian/Sicilian-style, it’s just specialized ice cream with exquisite, delicate flavors, made on-premises according to a recipe by chef Uri Yirmias (Uri Buri’s eponymous chef/owner).

 

Beside routine flavors such as chocolate and vanilla, Endomela also serves exotic-tasting ice cream, with flavors such as rose, spearmint, cardamom, and cinnamon. The place’s name is a mash of three Hebrew words: Ein-Dome-La, which translated to “no-one alike her”.

 

The ancient Acre Westside boardwalk, 04-9550481, open all week from 10am-6pm.

During the Acre festival the place will be open from 10am-9pm every day.

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.29.15, 00:21
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