September 2024
"I want to create a high-end quality meat restaurant for the discerning Haredi diner. The space must be perfectly designed and meticulous down to the smallest detail," said Meir, the creator of Caballero Restaurant. The restaurant must have the highest level of Kashrut but without sacrificing the flavors.

The result is Caballero, an elegant restaurant in Har Hotzvim. The name Caballero refers to a Spanish gentleman. The name tells you that the focus of the restaurant is the customer. You'll know this when you are greeted at the entrance by a pleasant maitre d who will show you to your seats.

Enter into a room of set tables covered in fresh cloth. The staff members are dressed immaculately in white shirts and dark pants. Waiters wear long Italian aprons. The one-page menu is available in English and Hebrew.

The restaurant decor is classic vintage, inspired by a 19th century gentleman's cigar room. There is impressive antique furniture, luxurious crystal lamps, carved wooden furniture and other decorative elements.

Chef Yisrael Dudek, the premier chef in the Mehadrin world, presides over the kitchen. Hold on tight. You are in the hands of Chef Dudek. We started with the bread modestly described in the starter menu as "bread served with three dips." We've seen this before on restaurant menus, so we didn't get excited. Then we tried it. The bread looks like a standard Jerusalem bagel from a street vendor. No such thing. This bagel is made at the Nechama bakery. It is served warm, crunchy and delicious.

The three creative dips have chef Dudke's signature all over them. One was an eggplant based dip blended with pickles, of all things. The orange dip was based on pumpkin and the third dip looked like techina but was a cashew cream. We finished every last drop of the bagel and the dips.

Despite the Spanish name and decor, Caballero is a Jerusalem restaurant. Dishes are inspired by the flavors and neighborhoods of the city. The "Sizzling Hot Appetizers" menu includes "Machaneh Yehuda Polenta", inspired by the market but with mushrooms, scallions and - here's the twist - roasted pastrami. "Midnight Humus Escapade" is made with red lentil humus. Sauerkraut is the surprise twist in the iconic Meurav Yerushalmi.

Chef Dudek is a master meat chef, and the menu reflects this specialty. "Windows" is Chef Dudek's signature dish. This is an array of thinly sliced meat covered in Chef Dudek's specialty sauce. "Jerusalem windows" at Caballero has a sweet sauce while at Chef Dudek's Bnei Brak restaurant Solo Carne, the sauce is spicy.

Though the highlight of the Caballero menu is the meat dishes there are a limited number of fish dishes available depending on the supply of the day, and some vegetarian salads.

With the "Jerusalem Windows" we had two very attractive salads: A tomato salad and a fresh salad, called the Jerusalem salad. The "Charred tomato salad" was a mix of 4-5 different types of tomatoes, some fresh and crunchy and some coal-grilled, These were served in a gazpacho sauce with sesame oil and basil. The mix of grill and crunchy was pleasing and we enjoyed this salad very much.

Jerusalem salad was a nice fresh salad of lettuce, tomaotes, pickles, red onions, herbs, chickpeas. At the base of the salad was a generous tehihi sauce. The salad was topped with walnuts for a great look and a good crunch.

With our meal we had the house cocktail from the Caballero bar. This is an original rum-based cocktail also flavored with beer. Very unusual, cool and pleasant.

The heart of the menu are the entrees, and where Chef Dudek shines. High end meats such as Asado, Brisket, Tongue, stir-fry liver dishes are in the NIS 200 range while Entrecote steak, Tomahawk Steak, and lamb spareribs, are in the higher range. Each meat dish has the chef’s special “touch.”

Duet platters are also available that can probably feed a full table. At the top of the menu is the VIP Gentlemen’s Carnivore Platter at NIS 450 per diner. When you visit Caballero bring a healthy appetite and your credit card.

From the Menu: Bread with 3 dips NIS 28 Machaneh Yehuda Polenta NIS 48 Midnight Humus Escapade Meurav Yerushalmi Tomato salad nis 58 Asado NIS 200 Sea Bass fillet on a bed of risotto NIS 134 VIP Gentlemen’s Carnivore Platter NIS 450 per person