Raihona, Bukharin Meat Restaurant

February 2025
Ashdod has a great aliya tradition. Jews came to the city from all over the world and brought with them their culinary traditions. Indeed, Ashdod is the culinary melting pot of Israel. You'll find Indian food, Greek food and every other type of cuisine, including Buckarin food at Raihona restaurant. The name Raihona means paradise. The food, they say, is the food of the Garden of Eden. You'll be the judge.

Raihona began as a Bukharin bakery known for its Bukharin bread and filo dough pastries. To this day the bread is baked the traditional Bukharin way, on the walls of the Bukharin tandoor oven.

With the success of the bakery the family expanded the business into a full restaurant. The business is owned and operated, to this day, by family members. The restaurant menu offers a combination of the unique traditional Bukharin cuisine and the Israeli favorites.

Bukhara is one of the largest cities in Uzbekistan. Because of its strategic location on the Silk Road, a thriving Jewish community developed. Elements of cuisine from the countries along the trade route also filtered into Bukharin cuisine.

Jewish Bukharin cuisine is not pure Bukharin cuisine. The Jews of Uzbekistan modified the traditional dishes of the country, for the observance of kashrut and Shabbat. Where butter was used in meat dishes, the Jews of Bukhara found butter substitutes. Stews were tweaked to stay warm and not cook on Shabbat.

Though the highlight of the Raihona menu is the Bukharin dishes, Raihona's menu offers familiar Israeli dishes. On the starter menu, for example, you will find the familiar Israeli salads, humus, techina, eggplant, etc. and a full menu of grilled meats.

In addition is a good selecton of fish, meats and shipudim grilled over coals including pargit, kabab, lamb and organ meats (an acquired taste). These are all reasonably priced, with the most expensive breing the goose liver shipud (NIS 135).

Your meal at Raihona can be a pleasant mixture of ethnic Balkan dishes and grilled meat dishes. One of the highlights of the Bukharin kitchen and a dish that brings people back to this restaurant, is the Uzbek Shurpa Soup. Shurpa is a rich fatty soup with generous pieces of lamb and vegetables, The soup is slow-cooked with Uzbek spices and herbs. Uzbekis believe in the medicinal powers of this soup. A bowl or two of Shurpa will energize you and even cure your cold. 

Samsa, another restaurant specialty, are triangle-shaped pastries filled with ground meat and onions. Raihona offers both meat-filled and pumpkin-filled samsa. Uzbek Samsa is similar to Indian samosas, Samsa is served with a spicy tomato sauce which is meant to be drizzled into an opening in the pastry shell. In traditional Uzbek cuisine the Samsa is coated with butter or ghee, Bukharin typically use non-dairy fats in observance of kashrut.

Manti, another dish from the Bukharin menu, are steamed dumplings stuffed with ground beef and diced onions. These are served with the same spicy tomato sauce used for Samsa. Unlike some variations across the Caucasus, Bukharin Manti are large, stretching to several bites.

You could not call this a Bukharin restaurant without two of the classic and favorite Bukharin dishes:

Dishes are beautifully presented for an aesthetic meal in a charming location. At Raihona you can host events of all kinds and enjoy professional and attentive service, food served like royalty, and even a guest singer to entertain the guests.

From the Menu
Shurpa soup NIS 45 - NIS 50
Chiburki NIS 28
Osh Palov NIS 50
Bakhsh NIS 55
Whole Denise or Levrak fish platter NIS 120
Fish skewers NIS 90
Chicken shipudim (skewers) NIS 30 - NIS 45
Meat shipudim (skewers) NIS NIS 60 - NIS 85
Steak (350gr) NIS 120 - NIS 145