You’d better like your dining companion when you visit the Garden Terrace at the Waldorf Astoria, because if the Jerusalem weather is anything like it was on the evening we went, you’re going to be doing some cuddling to keep warm.
My husband and I visited the restaurant after a four-hour trip home from northern Israel for an army ceremony. We were tired and hungry when we arrived, but walking out onto the Garden Terrace felt like walking into a fairyland, and we quickly revived.
Each seating area is separate and surrounded by greenery draped in twinkling lights. Once seated, you feel like you are almost alone on a terrace with a beautiful view of Jerusalem.
“We’ve chosen a table for you that gets a little less wind,” Karim, the charming manager, told me as I arrived. “But if you’d like a blanket, please let me know.”
Both the food and drinks menu are not extensive, but there is something for everyone.
In terms of the drinks, the chai whiskey sour (NIS 59) is one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. Karim explained that they make their own syrups and flavorings, and the interplay of sweet and sour was outstanding. We also tried the Jerusalem cocktail (NIS 68) with Havana Club Rum, which is seven years old, maple syrup and smoked cinnamon, and it was also very good.
The food is served tapas-style, meaning small plates, and was simply outstanding. Chef Itzik Mizrachi has developed the menu, and it is creative and satisfying. However, please understand that the dishes are not full-size, and are perhaps closer to an appetizer than a main course. That said, we tasted several things from the menu and one dish was better than the next.
We started with a chicken tortilla with preserved lemon, kalamata olives and tomato confit (NIS 58). I’m not usually a fan of olives in cooked dishes, but the combination of flavors was wonderful.
For the vegetarians among you, there are several options. We had the cauliflower tempura with tehina cream (NIS 43), which was simply lovely.
Mizrachi also brought us the burnt eggplant (NIS 40), which is served with tehina cream and ground lamb. Although I was getting full already, it was so good I couldn’t stop eating.
For me, the star of the night was a spare rib bao bun (NIS 65) made with veal and hoisin sauce. I could eat this every night for dinner.
“Usually, meorav is mostly chicken with a little spleen or liver thrown in for taste,” he said. “This one was mostly spleen and liver with just a little chicken.”
My one complaint about the food, and it’s certainly not the chef’s fault, is that because it is served outside, the food cools down quickly. I suggest ordering one dish at a time, and eating it as soon as it arrives. And that is a small price to pay for the special setting.
We were pretty stuffed by this time, but the chef insisted we try each of the two desserts on offer, a chocolate caramel lotus tart (NIS 45), which was outstanding, and a halva basbusa (a semolina cake) (NIS 45), which was moist and delicious. We tried a bite of each, and I couldn’t bear for them to be thrown out, so we asked to take them home, making for some very happy children.
Incidentally, on my way to the bathroom, I passed a couple arguing.
“I ate pizza just a few hours ago; I’m not eating again,” she said.
“Come on, just a taste,” he said.
So, of course, I intervened.
“The food is really good,” I told them. “And it’s tapas, so the portions aren’t that large.”
It turned out they had just arrived from the US, and had spent most of the day in quarantine, until their negative test results came back. The husband apparently won the argument, because as we left, we saw several empty plates on their table.
Diners even get two hours of free parking in the hotel garage.