Jacko's Street Restaurant

The venerable Jacko Street restaurant has moved upmarket - out of the Mahane Yehuda market to new, larger and higher end quarters at 74 Agripas Street. The menu has improved since we last reviewed the restaurant. In addition to dishes from the grill, there are more chef-style dishes all served with unique and delicious sauces. In fact, there is something for everyone�s mishigas: meat, vegetarian, fish, vegan, and gluten-free dishes marked as such on the menu.

e menu features some attractive cocktails, and we began with the aptly-named �Bells Are Ringing.� This is a rum drink with Jacko�s herb mix, and mango, passion fruit, orange and pineapple juice. It is served in a tall ceramic totem glass embellished with a face that must be native to some Caribbean Island. An iceberg juts above the rim of the glass, with a lemon wedge and cinnamon stick. The result is a sweet cool pick-me up that my companion and I both enjoyed. The alcohol gave us quite a buzz, and we decided not to finish the cocktail, in favor safe driving the long way home.

For our first course, we chose the Shuk (Market) salad and the Asado off the bone. The Shuk salad has a variety of fresh and grilled vegetables from the market - Mahane Yehuda Market- and includes: a bit of Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, grilled carrots and thin strips of grilled pita in a tangy sauce. This is a large salad served in an attractive metal bowl, big enough to share, or perfect for a vegan-only diner.

The Asado was an attractively presented dish with chips of soft, slow cooked beef in a sweet sauce, placed on the top half of a toasted roll. A bit of techina on the side of the plate was a good condiment. I loved the beef; I would be happy to have this dish again. The size of the portion was fine for a starter for an individual; if you plan to share, you might want to add another starter.

For our main courses we chose the grilled salmon and the smoked breast of goose with mushrooms and sweet sauce on focaccia. The grilled salmon came as a beautiful healthy looking platter with a hefty fish fillet served over sprigs of fresh asparagus topped with creamed corn and grilled sweet potato cubes on the side. Someone at Jacko�s Street knows his fish, as the salmon was well done but not at all overdone, with crispy skin.

There was some initial confusion about the breast of goose because the English translation on the menu says Foie Gras while the Hebrew is Avaz (Goose). The waitress made it clear that the meat is goose breast, not goose liver, but my expectations had been peaked and the result was somewhat disappointing. The dish was served with a dark sweet sauce containing several types of mushrooms. While the color and texture of the meat was very nice, it did not have the flavor that I expected. I would choose a different main course on my next visit.


There are many dishes on the Jacko Streets menu that I would be happy to try on our next visit, including several types of steak, pargit and chicken liver. There are two pages of main dishes, with the second page listing the Jacko Street meat platters. These are platters of steak, chicken, and goose breast, ordered by weight. Even with the 200 gram minimum, these are much less expensive choices. These platters are perfect for sharing, as you can order enough meat of different types for the size of your party. Platters are served with potatoes and vegetables.

Dessert! Not to be missed! We enjoyed the recommended crispy puff pastry filled with vanilla ice cream. This was served with a small pitcher of vanilla sauce for pouring over the dessert. This dessert is a winner, with a double shot of decaf espresso.

Jacko Street�s new location has many impressive features. Jacko�s has made a huge investment in the acoustics, the lighting, and decore. The lighting and speakers have separate controls for the different areas of the restaurant. People who dine early, we were told, like soft background music. But as the evening wears on the volume rises. Never the less this can be adjusted for the area where you are sitting. The new restaurant has several different sections with different types of seating. There is seating at a circular bar with a view of the open kitchen and the restaurants twelve chefs busily at work. There are two private party areas with 15 and 35 seats respectively. Jacko�s on Agripas Street is an industry of a sort, and you will enjoy it mightily.

Parking: There are several pay parking lots in the area. Diners at Jacko Street will be charged a reduced rate at the nearby Kenyon Shuk parking lot.