August 2020 update
Meat Menu
Wow have you changed!
Burger Bar Hamalka is the new Caffe Yaffo!
We have all enjoyed this once great dairy restaurant
in Jaffa's Flea Market (Hebrew: Shuk Hapishpeshim). This same restaurant under the same ownership, is now a meat restaurant with a full and imaginative meat menu. The entire menu is available for take out. The restaurant is under the kashrut supervision of Tzohar. See the meat menu.
Burger Bar Hamalka is one of several trendy restaurants on Olei Tzion and neighboring streets, but it is the only kosher restaurant. After dark the Jaffa flea market transforms into a hopping entertainment area. The well-lit streets and busy restaurants create a festive atmosphere. Several of the shops near the restaurants remain open in the evening to to capture some of the restaurant traffic. You gotta see it to believe it.
The Burger Bar Hamalka Menu
Burger Bar Hamalka is first and foremost a burger bar. There is a full page of different types of burgers and the sides that go with them. But there are also a great selection of starters, and for the veggies among us, there is a non-meat dish in every category.
On the burger menu find the classic beef burger, a lamb burger, a burger served with fried eggplant and hard boiled egg, and for the veggies among us, a Beyond Burger. Starters include soup, vegetable or chicken salad, salmon ceviche, churraso, and for the veggies among us, scorched whole eggplant.
What is a meat restaurant without chicken wings, and there are 3 varieties including peanut butter chicken wings. There is shnitzel, asado,pargit and salmon fillet. And for the veggies among us.lentil patties.
 Nir and Orna Givon, the dynamic and energetic team that owns and runs this restaurant are Jaffa chauvenists. These are the guys to ask about private tours and cutural events in the area.
In addition to the meat menu, there is a great selection of soft and alcoholic drinks. The restaurant suggested Shandy: beer mixed with sprite (or ginger ale), something that we had not thought about since our college days. That's going back a bit. There is a full bar with a menu of cocktails, something we will have to try when we are not driving.
From the menu:
Burgers NIS 56 - 69.
Sides (chips/salad) NIS 16 - 18. fresh or chichen salad NIS 48. lentil patties: NIS 69, fish: NIS 98. wings NIS 44.
More about
Burger Bar Hamalka
Burger Bar Hamalka is a corner restaurant at the center of the Jaffa restaurant scene. There is plenty of seating inside and additional seating outside (weather permitting). The unique and creative interior design is 60's retro. Bright colors, large prints, and clever-kitch lamps and other accessories makes this a fun and very different kind of cafe/restaurant.
Nir and Orna are Jaffa chauvinist, and Jaffa could not find better PR. The restaurant runs tours of Jaffa, lectures and cultural events all celebrating Jaffa. Foremost is the live musical entertainment every week. We missed it on this visit, but we have had the pleasure of hearing a group singing Mediterranean and Greek music and other entertainers singing songs of the 60's. Note: the performance begins after 9pm and there is a cover charge.
Picture this: The main dining area is cozy and seats about 50 - 60 guests. The group of 4 - 5 perform on a low dais at the front. You can practically reach your hand out and touch the instruments. Lights are dimmed, the food and drink flow. It is a private concert. Just wonderful. All we could think of was who we want to invite to join us on our next visit to the restaurant.
Events and Smachot
Burger Bar Hamalka has a private room for smachot of up to 35 guests. It has its own sound system and projection equipment. It also has its own entrance, so your guests will never even notice the full restaurant on the other side of the movable wall. The main dining area has been reworked to include small tables that can be moved together for larger parties. The menu now includes a section of vegan, gluten-free and health dishes.
Getting There: Olei Zion Street was once the main road from the Jaffa sea port to Jerusalem. Olei Zion cuts east/west across the lower part of Tel-Aviv/Yaffo, turning into Kibbutz Galuyot Blvd at the eastern end. There is free street parking after 7pm.
Parking: There is street parking in the evening and a pay parking lot around the corner. Turn at the corner just after the restaurant and see the entrance to the lot squeezed between two buildings on the next block. |
