New Dairy Restaurant on the Corner of Emek Refaim and Rachel Imanu

Yesterday I had to find a place to eat with a visitor. Recently there has been quite a turnover and closings of restaurants on Jerusalem's Emek Refaim area. The once very popular dining corner of Emek Refaim and Rachel Imenu has seen many changes of late, and lots of storefronts are empty of signs other than "For Rent."

But since it's not far from Matan, where I had studied in the morning, that's where we met. I spied a new dairy restaurant Ness Cafe, which is Hebrew for "instant coffee." Emek Refaim St. 42, Jerusalem, Israel, Tel. 02-5661303.

I ordered their Nicoise Salad aka tuna.

Instead of canned tuna, it was a tuna steak on top, which the better restaurants are now offering. There were too many potatoes for my taste, though I should have asked for them to leave them out. Instead I left them over. It was tasty but not spectacular.

And contrary to pretty much every single other similar restaurant, neither my dining companion nor I was offered any bread or a roll. I was glad not to have the temptation, but if I had been given a roll, I would have made up a sandwich for dinner at work.

The food was good, though not spectacular. We had neither coffee nor dessert. But the biggest surprise was that it wasn't air-conditioned, although it was a very hot day. They relied on open windows. And I must admit that we were comfortable where we sat. It also didn't seem like they invested much in fixing the place up. Maybe they will if they make enough money to stay there.