Avihail Cafe, Near Malcha, But Not in The Mall

Last week, my friend and I wanted to have dinner together before going to see Hidden-The Secret Jews of Spain. I "consulted" with facebook friends to find a restaurant not far from the theater. A number of people suggested the Avihail Cafe, which is in Malcha, but not in the Mall.

Avihail Cafe ended up being perfect for many ways. Besides being Kosher Mehadrin, we were able to completely avoid the traffic jams by Teddy Stadium, where there was a big game at the same time. The only problem with the location is the lack of a parking lot, or we just couldn't find one. After driving around a bit, we found a spot down the street. There are bus stops right outside the restaurant.

The food was good. My friend had what's called "Toast," which in Israel is a version of American Grilled Cheese. It came with a salad, that they assembled to order. I had the Pea Soup, which tasted homemade, though a bit salty to my "no salt, please" taste.

We sat in the enclosed area, and it was very pleasant, not noisy and a comfortable temperature. I would definitely recommend Avihail Cafe if you'd like a nice dairy or fish meal in that part of Jerusalem, but not in Malcha Mall.

More information:
02-6782979 / cafeavichail@gmail.com
כתובת: הדישון 21, מלחה ירושלים
21 Hadishon Street, Malcha, Jerusalem

Hours שעות פתיחה:
8:00-23:00 או עד אחרון הלקוחות, or until the last customer leaves
שישי- מ8:00 עד שעה לפני כניסת שבת Friday from 8am until an hour before Shabbat
מוצ״ש- שעה לאחר צאת השבת ועד חצות או עד אחרון הלקוחות
Opens an hour after Shabbat and closes when the last customer leaves

New Haunt of Sorts

In taking on new challenges, I found myself wandering around Malcha near Teddy Stadium.

Literally I wandered around, since I couldn't find the entrance needed. Luckily I gave myself lots of spare time.

I also discovered that there's a fantastic bus that goes there from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, #31. Years ago, I'd take the same number to the Malcha Mall from the center of town. I spent a good portion of the trip from Shiloh googling and examining google maps to find the best bus. I also asked for help from others. I could have just taken the #77 from Ramat Eshkol, but it certainly would have taken longer.  I had also thought of taking the #15 from the bus station to near Matan and taking the #77, #18 or #14. But I was convinced there had to be a more efficient way, and that's why I kept googling. Davka, the #31 leaves from the same stop as the #15. And even though the "board" and my "efoBus" application both insisted that it would be another 19 minutes to the next bus, one came about two minutes after I got to the stop.

And not being able to find the exact place I needed did have its advantages, I walked a lot, lots of steps.