HaStekiya Review: Good Value, Strong Grill Marks, but a Middling Kebab Leaves Assaf Granit Short of Greatness
Impressive size and good grilling. HaStekiya / Social, Machneyuda Group
A great deal of buzz has surrounded “HaStekiya” from the Machneyuda Group since it opened last December. Anything Assaf Granit touches makes waves, in every sense, but HaStekiya seems to be drawing attention even beyond the figure it is associated with. A modern skewer house from a powerful group, right near the Machane Yehuda Market, is a guaranteed recipe for buzz, especially against the backdrop of heated debates about employee poaching or stealing employees. Before our meal at HaStekiya, on Friday at noon, we stopped by the market. It was probably the least favorable time to arrive there. It was insanely hot, even in the covered alleys; packed with people so that it was barely possible to move, noisy and loud to the point where it was hard to hear anything else, and as a bonus, a group of small children with blue kippahs, microphones and a huge amplifier were starring in a performance of “Od Yoter Tov” to the cheers of the crowd. Happy and noisy.
Exhausted and a little battered after just 20 minutes in the market, we entered the adjacent HaStekiya. There, too, the Mediterranean music was fairly loud, but compared with the market’s intensity it was an oasis. The lower floor was quite noisy. On the gallery floor where we sat, it was much more restrained and relaxed. The design is straightforward, in reference to the old-time skewer houses, and the air conditioning is effective, which matters.
The concept The main event here is skewers. On Friday afternoons, a few stews are added as well. When ordering two skewers, or one stew and one skewer, a starter salad set arrives at the table at no charge, with the option of refilling it as much as desired. Ordering salads separately is charged at 70 shekels per person, in principle a fair deal. Hummus, chips and Israeli salad are not included in the set and are priced separately.
A lavish table spread The salads arrived in small bowls, and we ordered refills several times of the best among them. There was carrot salad, eggplant in mayonnaise, tahini, spicy salad, Turkish salad, sheriya, roasted peppers, pickles, beetroot and hummus with Swiss chard. On the one hand, nothing particularly artisanal stood out. On the other hand, everything was fresh and bright, and unlike enough places where we are used to eating mezze of this type, it did not feel like something that had come out of a semi-industrial conveyor belt of uniform flavors. Each bowl had its own particular edge, in the eggplant you could taste the fire, the carrot had a delicate hint of heat, the chickpeas were not overcooked, and the peppers were roasted precisely. Conceptually, more than reminding us of a Middle Eastern restaurant, it evoked the qualities of a table spread in a good Arab restaurant. Not exciting, but fresh and good.
The Israeli salad, which we ordered separately for 38 shekels, was a little too small relative to the price. Good value for the money.
The meat There were four of us, and we went for two stews and six skewers. The stews, which came from the section of the menu called “pots, hot plates and goosebump dishes,” were lamb neck with freekeh and Swiss chard (78 shekels) and suparito (82 shekels). From the skewers, we chose two entrecote skewers (88 shekels each), two kebabs (58 shekels each) and two chicken thighs (58 shekels each). It should be noted that the meat comes without side dishes.
The stews arrived first. The lamb neck stew was especially successful, with deep long-cooked flavors and a clear echo of a more Arab-Shami kitchen than a Jerusalem one. There was not a huge amount of meat in it, but there was certainly a great deal of flavor. The suparito, which arrived in a presentation designed to impress, with pastry on top, was less successful. It had potatoes and apricot, which added a measure of fruity sweetness, but the beef in it, of which there was not a great deal either, was not as tender as expected and remained a bit fibrous and far from perfect.
The skewers arrived and their size immediately stood out for the better. We are used to getting relatively little meat on skewer-house skewers, less than 100 grams. Here each skewer had at least about 120 to 130 grams, which made a pair of skewers a plate of about 250 grams, and that is respectable. We attacked the entrecote first, of course, so it would not cool down. It was very good, truly high level, cooked a little under medium and genuinely satisfying, even excellent, especially in the context of a skewer house. The kebab disappointed.
The weight continued with the other skewers too, but the top quality was a little less present. Clearly, chicken thighs are not an ingredient that is supposed to provide uniqueness, but in a kebab, the right touch of seasoning, the right compression of the meat and a few other parameters can distinguish very good, bordering on excellent, from merely okay. The kebab was okay, no more than that, which is somewhat disappointing.
With the pitas, tahini and carrot that kept coming to the table at our request, and a plate of rice with beans that was sent on the house, we found ourselves quite stuffed. Nearly an entire skewer of chicken thighs was left as it was on the tray. We hope it was not offended.
Since this is a kosher restaurant, the desserts are pareve, and we decided to settle for one. We were torn between a nostalgic Bavarian cream and a chocolate mousse, 36 shekels each. We went with the Bavarian cream and the mousse arrived on the house. The Bavarian, in a disposable clear plastic rectangle with toffee sauce and plenty of almonds on top, was much sweeter than necessary and nothing special. The mousse, with a bit too much salt, was airy, not too sweet and not bad at all. Not a place that justifies a special trip.
Bottom line If you subtract the cost of the drinks from the final bill, four people ate a lot for about 640 shekels, 160 per person. In terms of restaurants in Israel today, that is excellent value for money. The real test of a place like this is the added culinary value, the upgrade. At HaStekiya, it is clearly evident in the entrecote and the lamb neck stew, which showed excellence. The mezze were clearly above average. That is not bad at all, but it does not fully match the praise accompanying the place since the day it was born. The gap between the respectable quality of the ingredients, though not exceptional, and the sweeping enthusiasm is probably filled by the sense of abundance and generosity that the place offers, not a common factor in restaurants in Israel.
Is it as exaggerated as the outcry suggests? Not entirely. HaStekiya is not a bad place, a little overrated, and if you go there expecting greatness, you can definitely be disappointed. In practice, it is a pleasant restaurant, with some dishes that are truly good and others that range from “nice” to “okay.” It is not a place that justifies a special trip, but if you are already in Jerusalem and arrive with realistic expectations, you can spend two pleasant hours taking a break from the crowded market.
The bill 2 entrecote skewers, 176 shekels 2 kebabs, 116 shekels 2 chicken thighs, 116 shekels Suparito, 82 shekels Lamb neck and freekeh, 78 shekels Rice with beans, no charge Israeli salad, 38 shekels Bavarian cream, 36 shekels Chocolate mousse, no charge 2 mineral waters, 62 shekels Campari soda, 52 shekels Total: 756 shekels
HaStekiya, HaDekel 1, Jerusalem
