I first heard about Sushi Bayit Vegan – Har Homa from food blogger Shimshon Leshinsky, who seems to visit every new restaurant as soon as it opens. He also lives in Har Homa, which now has about 37,000 people and very few restaurants.
Shimshon loved the food, but my own experience was mixed. The restaurant, which is the first franchise of Sushi Bayit Vegan, opened just a month ago. Co-owner Michael Nakache, an oleh (new immigrant) from France, is an enthusiastic owner and gracious host. The restaurant’s décor is modern and sleek, with space for families and groups.
When I visited, there was a group of women celebrating a surprise birthday party, a few couples on dates, and a family or two. It was a nice mix of customers, and the tables are far enough apart that you can have a nice conversation.
The other two unique points are, first, that the restaurant is dairy, which offers some interesting options as most sushi and stir-fry places serve meat-based dishes. Second, the hechsher is Badatz Mehadrin Rav Rubin, the strictest kashrut, which is helpful for haredim (ultra-Orthodox). Third, the menu is huge and has a lot of sushi made with cooked fish, not only raw fish, which is a good option for those new to sushi or pregnant women.
I let Michael choose the menu for us. We started off with some appetizers, which were quite good. The edamame (NIS 38) was crunchy and had the right amount of salt, and the tempura mushrooms (NIS 44) may have been my favorite dish of the night. They were crunchy and not oily, and I’m thinking about going back just to eat them again.
We tried two soups: the mushroom soup (NIS 35) and the sweet potato ginger soup (NIS 35). Both were salty and tasted of soup powder. I’d skip the soup.
Large platter of Sushi
Now here is where it gets complicated. Michael brought us a large platter of sushi that included rolls with both raw and cooked fish. The rice was well made and the fish was fresh, but I found the pieces too large and made with too much rice. Some of this, of course, is personal preference, but I prefer smaller pieces with more fish.
I enjoyed a salmon-avocado inside-out roll, and we tried several rolls with cooked fish, which I enjoy less than raw fish. I do have to note two interesting rolls that I have never tried before. First was the Green Monster (NIS 62), which had baked salmon and avocado and was wrapped in avocado and topped with basil, homemade pesto drizzle, and panko. I’ve never had basil in a sushi roll before!
The other roll (NIS 62) had baked salmon, avocado, and mozzarella in tempura crumbs. Although no self-respecting Japanese person would ever eat it, I really enjoyed it.
You can also build your own sushi roll or sushi sandwich.
As yet, there are no desserts, but Michael’s wife is a pastry chef and he hopes to have her desserts on sale soon.
If you’re in the neighborhood looking for a Mehadrin restaurant, or enjoy cooked sushi, it’s worth stopping at Sushi Bayit Vegan – Har Homa.
Sushi Bayit Vegan – Har Homa
Jerusalem
Yitzhak Kaduri 2, Har Homa
Call: (02) 500-0049
Kashrut: Badatz Rav Rubin
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to midnight;
Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.;
Saturday, opens one hour after Shabbat
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.