Jerusalem shabbat meals?

[JRKyummy]

We are planning a trip to Israel this summer, and will be flying in and arriving in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon. We will be staying at a rental apartment, so we can't just eat at our hotel. Are there other hotels that allow non-guests to reserve and pre-pay Shabbat meals? Or any other pre-paid Shabbat meal service?

[EllieS]

If you do decide you want to eat at a hotel it pays for you to shop around to see what has the best price. I just booked a hotel partly because the price of the shabbat meals. For example the Leonardo Plaza is now $91 per person per meal, and although the food is good there, I really don't think the price is justified.

[AdinaA]

Yes, but would the best food might be at the Inbal, the Mamilla, the David Citadel or the King David?

Shabbat hotel lunches can be - IMHO - disappointing.

[cresyd]

The price of the Leonardo Plaza is more based on its level of kashrut than whether or not its comparable to similarly priced places.

[gurtyb]

We were just in Jerusalem last week and had similar situation to yours (arrived on Friday afternoon, with not enough time to buy food for shabbos). We found this great caterer Rochy Victor who prepared food and delivered it to our apartment on Friday afternoon before shabbos. The food was great. You can email here here at [e-mail] and she can send you her menu. Good luck

[naviw]

We ordered precooked food and paper goods & grocery items on line and had them delivered to our apartment on Friday afternoon. Most of the places close pretty early on Friday, so unless you will be arriving early enough this may not be an option.
We ordered groceries from My Makolet http://mymakolet.com/
We ordered precooked foods from Naomi's

Here is a website that may help you.
http://www.funinjerusalem.com/en/tour...

[njkosher]

Most hotels allow this, but I would call in advance and pay rather than trying to do it when you arrive as it may be too late since you will not be staying in the hotel.

[AdinaA]

Pretty much all the hotels do this. Book ahead and take a print-out of the booking confirmation with you on Shabbat.

A fun alternative, particularly for Shabbat lunch, is to go shopping at Mahane Yehuda on Friday morning and buy things like fruit, pastry, smoked fish and meats to eat cold on Shabbos.

[njkosher]

Adina - I love doing that every time I'm in Jerusalem. Aside from the fact that its way cheaper, Machane Yehuda is one of the best places around.

[AdinaA]

Yeah, going to Machane Yehuda on a mission like Shabbos shopping really is one of the most fun things to do in Jerusalem.

I'm just not sure whether it's more wonderful as a foodie thing or as a family activity.

[JRKyummy]

We will be staying near Machane Yehuda and plan to shop there - but I understand that it closes at 1 p.m. on Friday and our plane doesn't land until 1:45 p.m, so we'll have just enough time to get to the apartment before Shabbat starts.

For Sunday, what are the best places in the market?

[cresyd]

If you are arriving in the summer, the shuk will probably have stalls open closer to 2-3 pm - but for a 1:45 flight, I wouldn't count on being able to get much.

Sunday is a spotty day in the market and a day when a number of vendors take the day off, and some also take off Monday (though far fewer). Depending on how close you are to the market, I would encourage doing a quick trip to cover Sunday-Monday and then do a fuller trip on Tuesday.

To give a rough overview of quality and price of the market - the fruit/veggie stalls found on the main covered section of the market that connects Aggripas to Yaffo is where you will generally find the highest quality produce that is at the highest prices. Great to get endive or non-button mushrooms - but unnecessarily pricey for everything.

The section of the shuk called the Iraqi market is where Azure is and the best selection of very reasonably priced produce at a high overall quality.

This is actually an excellent map of the shuk and good places to visit, but it helps to zoom in to actually read the details. (http://lubin.co.uk/wp-content/uploads...)