Kosher Blog

L’Alhambra, Jaffa

After reading the reviews on eLuna.com, I thought L’Alhambra in Jaffa would be a splendid spot for us to enjoy our first anniversary dinner. They have an online form for making reservations (doing so is recommended), but we asked the concierge at our hotel to call for us, which was very helpful.

When we arrived after a short taxi ride, we were promptly seated in a cozy table on the tastefully decorated second floor. The restaurant wasn’t crowded, but soon filled up with a larger gathering in the private room and a group that seemed like a Ministry of Defense consulting meeting.

Our meal began with bread and the house pates (eggplant, salmon, and liver). Though the pates were interesting, the rolls were mediocre. Guys, work on your bread: the first thing you serve your guests had better be spectacular — otherwise, don’t bother.

Now, I know we’ve discussed the unfortunate living conditions which provide us with fattened goose liver, but I must admit that I heartily took up the opportunity to try foie gras — just once. For an appetizer, I enjoyed four healthy slices of pate with toast rounds and a delicious apple chutney. The foie gras pate was like butter. Imagine chicken liver but incredibly mild and creamy.

Sarah, taken aback by all the liver-infused appetizer selections, stuck with a simple salad.

I wrestled between choosing lamb or beef for an entree and ultimately chose the beef filet served with mushrooms, sage, and red wine sauce. Each component of the meal was perfectly cooked. Sarah’s choice was the grilled chicken breast in balsamic sauce and hot goose liver, served over eggplant. In her words, the chicken was “ordinary,” but the eggplant and sauce were excellent. She especially liked the large potato pancake served with our meals.

Dessert consisted of creme caramel and peach “pie” (actually a tart), which were fine conclusions to our meals.

After dessert and coffee were served, the piano player started playing “happy birthday” and a dish of ice cream with a sparkler in it emerged from the kitchen. I looked around to find the table it might belong to as it moved in our direction. I gave Sarah a puzzled look as it was placed between us. I responded to the unexpected gesture with a smile and a nod. “A birthday? Yes, yes, sure!”

Sarah theorized that they confused “anniversary” (mentioned in my electronic reservation) with the French “anniversaire,” or “birthday.” In any case, it was very nice.

L’Alhambra gets high marks for good service, quality food, and elegant decor. However, it was a challenge, as we experienced at several Israeli restaurants, to get our bill. Perhaps folks in the holy land like to spend an inordinate amount of time lounging before paying. We also both thought that the lighting would have been more romantic if it was dimmer, something the eLuna reviewers didn’t mind. Another thing to keep in mind when eating out is having cash on hand for tipping. Several establishments either did not include a “tip” line on the credit card slip or, like L’Alhambra, insisted on cash.

(One potentially important thing to note: the ‘glatt’ in ‘glatt kosher’ on the sign outside seems to have been recently removed.)