Kadosh

I have probably visited the Kadosh café ten times in the past year or so, sometimes just for a cup of coffee and a brioche, others for a beer or a full meal but always walked away quite satisfied.

There are many parameters that one considers when visiting (and writing) about a restaurant: first are the décor and atmosphere. Then come the assortment and style of the dishes on the menu and finally the quality of food and beverage, as well as service, of course. A parameter that is equally as important as the ones listed above is - stability. A good restaurant/chef is expected to demonstrate quality and stability over time giving the customer something to look forward to on their next visit.

While scoring high on all accounts, Kadosh definitely falls into the latter category and has shown creativity and stability over the years. I have probably visited the Kadosh café ten times in the past year or so, sometimes just for a cup of coffee and a brioche, others for a beer or a full meal but always walked away quite satisfied.

Situated on Shlomtzion Hamalka Street, Kadosh was established in 1967 and since then has built a reputation for itself as one of the leading cafes in down town Jerusalem. Forty five years later, Kadosh is still a family business, managed by Itzik, the son of founder Meir Kadosh and his wife Keren. After taking courses with leading pastry chefs, Itzik and Keren renovated the place and reinvented the menu relying on some traditional recipes while adding a large selection of dishes. Kadosh serves a rather large variety of fresh baked goods both savory and sweet, indulgent breakfasts, homemade pasta dishes, fish, salads, soup and sandwiches - some of which are named after Kadosh's regular customers that frequent the place every morning at the same time like the Molly - with smoked tuna, green tehini, roasted peppers and pickled lemons or the Vitaly - with mozzarella cheese, pesto, cherry tomatoes, onions and fresh greens.

We arrived at 19:00 on a Thursday and the place was rather full, not a given on these cold Jerusalem nights when many people prefer to stay indoors. We started off with a tempting item off the breakfast menu (served throughout the day) - crunchy smoked salmon – toasted ‘crunchy’ croissant filled with smoked salmon and topped with two poached eggs and creamy Hollandaise sauce infused with anise and poppy seeds. The croissant is served with a green salad and a selection of a hot or cold drink – overall a very tasty dish and an excellent way to start or end the day. I also noticed that Kadosh has a new section of upgraded omelets and egg dishes that can be added on when ordering breakfast – the poached eggs with sautéed spinach is very popular. I also enjoyed the sunny side up egg served atop classic rosti – a large latke style patty hailing from the Swiss cuisine. Next came the cannelloni a-la-Kadosh topped with a rich béchamel sauce – the dish included three small tubes of fresh homemade pasta filled with an assortment of cheeses, mushrooms and a touch of truffle oil – a bit on the heavy side but very very tasty. Another one of my favorite pasta dishes at Kadosh is the smoked eggplant tortellini that is definitely worth a try.

Tempted to order another main course, we decided to skip to dessert and ordered a double espresso, one of Kadosh’s famous sweet brioches and a slice of baked cheese cake topped with white chocolate and blueberries which according to the waitress recently came out of the oven and looked great. The cake indeed looked great and was equally delicious - not too sweet but still rich and indulging.

Once again Kadosh has proven that it does not only talk the talk but also walks the walk. Until the next time.