Bleecker Bakery, Bet Shemesh

September 2023
Bleecker Bakery in the Shaar Ha'ir Center is your go-to dairy restaurant in Bet Shemesh, whether it is for a snack, a shared order of toasties and shakes or more substantial meals. We love the nice clean space and the welcoming service staff. The service is just as good when your bill is 100 shekels or when it is more than double. As we wandered around the Shaarei Hair shopping mall it was clear from the crowds that Beecker Bakery is the dairy restaurant of choice.

If you came to Bleecker for lunch or dinner, don't skip over the breakfast menu. The Bleecker breakfast is served all day. So you can have breakfast for dinner if you please. Bleecker Bakery has one of the most complete breakfast menus that we have seen anywhere. There are no less than 8 full breakfast options including flavors from around the world. You can choose the Mexican breakfast with tortillas filled with cheddar cheese and eggs. The Italian breakfast offers the eggs on a bed of polenta. Last but not least is the Golan breakfast, a vegan option with vegetable, herbs and Israeli salad.

This would not be an Israeli restaurant without a Shakshuka breakfast. Bleecker offers the classic Israeli shakshuka, Italian and Mexican shakshuka. If you like your breakfasts lighter, there are 6 options under the category "small breakfasts" though the size is only relative.

The menu goes on with a choice of salads, pizzas, starters and pastas. We started our lunch with a shared order of coated cauliflower flowerets in techina and herbs, from the starter menu. I debated about my main course for some time, trying to decide between two pasta dishes: the torchio dolce in an Alfredo sauce with sweet potato and toasted almonds. and the torchio funghi with Alfredo sauce grilled mushrooms and Parmesan. On a tip from the waitress I chose the latter. This was a generous portion of pasta prepared together with mushrooms in a creamy Alfredo sauce. The dish was improved with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese.

My companion had his eye on the breakfast with eggs on toast with a lot of vegetables, served with an Israeli salad. The breakfast came with coffee.

eLuna knows desserts and this is where Bleecker Bakery shines. If it is cake and coffee that you want, you have come to the right place. There are no less than 8 delicious sounding cakes each with a you-can't-pass-this-up description. There is an art to writing a menu and Bleecker Bakery's got it. Some of the descriptions are so enticing you can practically taste the food before it comes to the table. Lemon Meringue Pie becomes "almond pie crust, lemon curd and meringue." Cookies and Cream Cheesecake is described as "baked cheesecake topped with a vanilla Oreo Chantilly cream." Who could pass that up?

If you have to pass up the dessert you can purchase Bleecker Bakery cakes from the refrigerator compartment behind the register. You are going to have to do battle with your Yetzer Hara to avoid bringing home a sweet souvenir.

The restaurant summer menu offers a page of decadent shakes. We have tried a few Bleecker shakes and without a doubt the winner is the triple chocolate, with 3 different flavors of ice cream topped with a generous swirl of whipped cream. The Restaurant calls these summer treats. But we expect to return to Bleecker Bakery for shakes all winter long.


From the Menu
Cauliflower flowerets starter NIS 42
Pizzas NIS 58
torchio pasta dishes. NIS 65
salads NIS 60+
shakes NIS 32
cakes NIS 46

Parties: The restaurant will prepare trays for your get-togethers and events. Saves you a lot of trouble.