Award-winning chef known for innovative Israeli cuisine and multiple successful restaurants.
Insights
MediterraneanIsraeliLevantineMiddle EasternKosherVegan-friendlyUpscaleLunchDinnerMarket Hall
Last updated: 5/11/2026, 7:55:06 AM
Key Information
A trendy and vibrant market restaurant located near Jerusalem's Machne Yehuda Market, known for its lively atmosphere, fresh ingredients, and innovative takes on Israeli, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern cuisine.
Customers often praise the restaurant's super lively and energetic ambiance, creative and delicious dishes, and fresh ingredients. However, some reviews mention a high noise level, occasional inconsistencies in main courses, and varying service quality.
Additional Details
Machneyuda is a flagship restaurant of a larger group that includes establishments in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, London (like The Palomar and The Barbary), and Paris. Its menu is heavily influenced by its proximity to the Machne Yehuda Market, ensuring fresh, seasonal ingredients.
The place is packed and had a wonderful atmosphere. The hostess was kind and even accommodated us about 15 minutes earlier than our reservation.
Food:
Starters were great, really both delecisous and well presented. So highly recommend them as all we ordered was good.
Sadly this doesn't follow through to the main courses which were a mess.
Fish was extremely salted to a point that all you could taste was saltiness and not the fish.
Spicy pasta was oily and greasy. The flavour was heavily overshadowed by oil taste.
The brisket was the only main course which was nice. And probably worth a taste.
Drinks:
Cocktails and the G&T were simply bad.
Even when asking to use higher tier of Gin the end result was not great.
Service:
The service was bad not because the waiters weren't helpful, but simply due to the fact there were like only 3 of them for a whole 2 floors. Which causes long wait times, missed orders and various mischiefs. To their credits the waiters tried their best.
I guess we just expected a bit better from what supposed to be the best food in town.
We came with great expectations and ordered a table about a month ago. Overall the service was professional and welcoming, the atmosphere was live and happy, the products were fresh and wel taken care of, BUT not very tasty and fulfilling for the sole and stomach. Also very noisy to the point that it was impossible to say a word without shouting it for several times. We set at the upper floor and the tables were almost one above each other so it was uncomfortable. we almost shared our table with the one behind us. I expected more than this.
It is a but controversial place. Food and service are good, you get to see the open style kitchen so no secrets how meals are prepared. At the same time place is kind of small, everything is squeezed and kind of rushed with very basic interior. Few cocktails make everything better. Prices are high but as well as the quality.
We started the meal with two appetizers: one was shrimp in an amazing sauce, and the other was a Kurdish pastry filled with fresh herbs and yogurt.
We then moved on to the main courses, which included sea bass with vegetables in an incredibly flavorful sauce, and a dish of liver with potatoes cooked in wine.
Both main dishes were perfect.
The dessert was decent, but nothing more than that. I don’t remember its name.
Overall, we left very satisfied. The service was excellent, warm, and heartfelt, and I highly recommend the place.
Avoid at all costs.
The noise level is unbearable. Speakers are mounted above almost every table, blasting terrible music at a volume you’d expect from an event hall, not a restaurant. At some point there was either dancing or glass breaking — it was genuinely unsettling.
The place is poorly maintained: scraped walls, visible rust, no table maps, and daily printed menus (hardly environmentally friendly). This is not a celebrity-chef restaurant — it feels like a neglected roadside tavern. The restroom was in bad shape as well: the hand dryer was broken and there were no towels.
The food was acceptable, but massively overpriced. Four shrimp for a main dish is simply not reasonable and offers terrible value for money.
The staff were polite, but unfamiliar with the menu — when I asked about a dish, the waitress simply said, “I don’t know, I haven’t tasted it.” On top of that, the space is so cramped that every interaction was a hassle. I left with a pounding headache that lasted long after we were gone.
Never again.
