Le Charolais: The best non-restaurant in Jerusalem

‘This isn’t a restaurant,” co-owner Leon Abitbol told me as I sat down at a small table outside Le Charolais.

Hmm, I thought to myself. “He knows I’m a restaurant reviewer, right?

“No,” he continued. “It’s a way for our customers to try our meat before buying. We want them to come and eat here once or twice and then become regular customers.”

Tell that to David Azulai, a veteran Jerusalem taxi driver who was polishing off a large steak as his taxi stood parked illegally on a nearby curb. The steak was served on a wooden butcher block with a side salad of lettuce, tomato and onion in a mustard dressing. Very delicious and very French.

“I’ve come here at least 10 times since they opened a few months ago,” he said. “It’s a great deal, and the steak is amazing.”

A casual meal at Le Charolais is indeed one of the best deals in Jerusalem. Le Charolais, by the way, is the top level of cows in France, “the Adidas of cows” as Abitol said. I hesitate to write this, fearing that the next time I want to go, I won’t be able to get a table, as there are just 12 seats outside this shop on the corner of Bethlehem Road and Yehuda Street. It’s a great place for people-watching, too.

A 300-gram entrecôte steak or a 250-gram piece of filet mignon is just NIS 120. All of the meat is aged in the butcher shop, in a giant open refrigerator behind the counter. The charcuterie is not made in-house but is made to their specifications.

I took my carnivore son for dinner at Le Charolais. Abitol offered us a plate of charcuterie that included roast beef and salami, both sliced paper-thin. They were served with crackers, small pickled onions and cornichon pickles (which I love).

For the steak, I asked for my favorite, filet mignon, cooked medium rare. My son asked for an entrecôte, also medium rare. I received two nice-sized pieces of filet mignon, one cooked perfectly medium-rare and one closer to medium. They both had a nice sear on them, and the steak was one of the best I have had in recent memory. My son’s entrecôte steak was also delicious, but he kept sneaking bites of mine, which tells you something.

I also heard rave reviews of the rotisserie chicken (NIS 79), although I did not taste it. The chicken wings (NIS 59 per kilo) had a delicious sauce.

All of the steaks are dry-aged, and Abitol emphasized that you can buy as much or as little as you want. Prices are high, but the steady stream of customers seems to indicate that it’s worth it. For example, dry-aged sirloin is NIS 189 per kilo, entrecôte is NIS 209 per kilo, and filet mignon is NIS 299 per kilo. The meat comes either from France or from the Golan Heights and is aged up to 30 days in-house. It also adheres to the strictest standards of kashrut, either halak Beit Yosef or Mahpoud.

There are also dozens of products, including wine, olives and crackers from France for sale. On Fridays, there is an extensive take-out business. There is a nice neighborhood feel to the place. While I was there, one of the butchers brought a plate of kebabs to the lottery place across the street. Abitol says that local shopkeepers, including the hairdresser and the eyeglass store owner, eat their lunch there almost every day.

The lingua franca, by the way, is either English or French. Abitol, who was born in Israel, grew up in Marseilles and spent a lot of time in the US, says he barely speaks Hebrew these days. If you’re looking for a place to practice your French, Le Charolais fits the bill.

As we were eating, a friend, Renee Atlas Cohen, walked by.

“I really like these guys,” she said of the butchers. “They have an array of prices and they serve you happily whether you are buying something expensive or not.”