Last week, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Joanna Shebson of Fun In Jerusalem for Bite Size on the Nachum Segal Network. We talked about how and why Restaurant Club Jerusalem was first founded and the subsequent establishment of Restaurant Club Israel.  We discussed some new restaurant openings in Jerusalem and tips on family-friendly kosher eating around Israel.

Special mentions in the interview include Scala at The David Citadel Hotel, Memphis Burger, Jacko’s Street, Waffle Factory, Gillis Steak House, Harvey’s Smokehouse, and Kitchen by Greg, Sarona.

The full interview is available here.

Following on from that, I was interviewed by Ariel Dominique Hendelman for an article in The Jerusalem Post entitled “Living to Serve”, about restaurant service in Jerusalem and how certain restaurants stand-out for their level of service.  The article mentions the power of social media and the community aspect of Restaurant Club Jerusalem.

Ariel also interviewed Private Chef Bracha Arnold; James Oppenheim, co-owner of Crave; Joel Haber of Fun Joel’s Israel Tours and Chef Yankale Turjeman, owner of 1868, Zuta and JLM Sushi.

Here is a small extract from the article:

‘For Kandel, the best service in Jerusalem is found at Jacko’s Street near the Machane Yehuda market. She is not shy to rave about the kosher steakhouse and recommend it to Jews and non-Jews alike. Kandel admits that at this point, she knows the owners well and receives VIP treatment, but her admiration for them began a couple of years ago when someone posted in her Facebook group that they were unhappy with their experience at Jacko’s. One of the owners saw the poor review and called Kandel to ask her what she thought they should do. He then called the person and offered them a free meal if they would return, which they did. The subsequent experience was a much more positive one.

“Jacko’s knows that 50% of their customer base is Anglo,” Kandel says. “There are some places who don’t care about their Anglo customers because maybe the majority is Israeli. The other place that really gets it right is Machneyuda restaurant. The experience begins the minute you walk in the door. If for any reason, you’re kept waiting, they bring you something. It’s seamless. They know that the experience is not just about the food and very few restaurants here understand that.”’

Click here to read the full article.