Ruben Restaurant, Ashdod

June 2024
Fun facts: The Ruben sandwich was invented in a New York delicatessen in the mid-1920s. After some tweaking for the Israeli palate, the Ruben sandwich became the restaurant's signature dish of the Israeli Ruben restaurant chain. Over the years Ruben Restaurants have upgraded their burgers and meat sandwiches to the best in their class.

The menus at Ruben restaurants are standardized across the branches. I have eaten at at least three branches in three cities, and found the food to be reliable and delicious at all of them. The most popular menu items are indeed the burgers in a variety of shapes and sizes. But there are also other high-end meats that you should not miss. You must try the steaks, asado, starters and specials from the smokehouse.

Ruben is an all-kosher chain of meat restaurants. Ruben Ashdod is under the hashgacha of Rabbanut Ashdod. Some dishes can be prepared with glatt meats. Ask at the restaurant when you arrive.

Ruben offers three kinds of main dishes: burgers, meat sandwiches and platters. The Concept burgers range from the classic to the specialty burgers, 11 variations in all. They come in various sizes, with single and double patties and a variety of add-ons. The classic burgers are the most basic and least expensive. You can upgrade these up with additional vegetables, meats, and a fried egg.

I usually go for the upscale burgers which are multi-story burgers, each containing at least two layers. My favorite is the Double Decker Concept Burger. Open wide for this sandwich. It has a layer of steamed corned beef above the burger as well as stir-fried onions, cabbage and garlic aioli.

As you can figure, the higher end concept burgers are more expensive than the classic burgers, but you get what you pay for. We consider them a good deal compared to other restaurants that don't have as wide a selection of burgers.

The fries at Ruben are not your standard burger-chain fries. They are available as potato fries or sweet potato fries, or a combination of the two, in small and large sizes. The small size is big enough for one hungry person, and might even be ok to share. The regular fries have a tempura and corn flour coating that keeps them crispy.

Note for vegans: the fries are technically meaty. Sorry. But Ruben, this temple of meat, also offers some vegetarian options for non-meat eaters. These are marked on the menu. There is a variety of soy burgers that parallel the meat burgers, so that non-meat eaters are not short changed. Veggie shnitzel is made of Portobelo mushrooms.
Note that the vegetarian burgers are grilled with the meat so would be considered meaty. Chips are fried with the Schnitzel, so are also meaty. Some of the starters can be prepared in a meatless way. Ask your waiter. Also, there are salads available on the menu of Sides.

Before you choose your meat dish, take a look at the creative starters on the Ruben menu. It is really hard for me to pass up the wings but I'll save this for our next visit. Goose liver, a specialty, is not available at all the branches all the time, but if it is available, it would be a good choice for a starter, as well as meat filled cigars.

My companion chose the vegetarian adaptation of the Menagvim starter, which is too Israeli a dish to translate into English. It is a bowl of Har Bracha tahini with grilled eggplant in the center and topped with a cream based on peppers, herbs and olive oil. It is served with a challah roll. You are meant to wipe pieces of challah through the mixture in the bowl, which is the origin of the name of the dish. The meat version of this dish comes with lamb short rib shwarma.

The Ruben meat sandwiches, chock full of sliced meats, are famous. On our visit to the Ashdod branch, I got in the mood for a corned beef sandwich because of the association with the eponymous New York Ruben sandwich. I was doubtful about the corned beef 200 gram sandwich because it didn’t sound like a big enough sandwich compared to the large and sometimes double patty burgers on the Concept Burger menu. But the waiter said it was one of his favorites, and waiters can be relied on to know the menu very well. My sandwich, stuffed with hot corned beef, lettuce, pickle, sour kraut, a bit of red onion, fried onion and a drippy sauce, was big and satisfying. It was served on a Ciabatta roll, and came with more pickle on the side. Of course I had my favorite fries, which came with ketchup, spicy mayo and mayonnaise on the side. This was a four napkin sandwich, mostly because of the sauce. I was in heaven.

The eLuna discount coupon is valid on the whole menu (save discounted meals) from 3pm - 7pm. There are a number of deals at other times of the day. There is a combo that includes a burger and a beer for NIS 79. The business lunch is offered from 12 noon till 4pm. Note that not all the dishes are available in the business lunch.

Night owls and those who eat really late will enjoy discounted foods on the Night Shift menu, after 10pm.

Host private parties for up to 30 guests in the second floor VIP room. Groups and parties can also be hosted on the enclosed porch.

Ruben gives an extra discount to Israeli soldiers. Thumbs up.


From the menu:
Chicken wings starter (12 units) NIS 46.
Goose liver starter NIS 94
Ruben Classic Burger 160 gr NIS 52
Good Friends Concept Burger 225 gr with goose liver NIS 116
Double Decker Burger 225 gr with corn beef NIS 76
Childrens menu (burger/schnitzel + chips) NIS 59.