A ‘souper’ restaurant in Jerusalem

May 7, 2009 - 9:16 AM by

The menu at the Marakiya (courtesy of foodblog.co.il)Jerusalem has way more than its share of both overpriced trying-to-be-trendy restaurant/bars and cheap fast food falafel and shwarma joints. But it’s a rare occurrence to find a place that totally bucks all trends – and in fact – reminds you of walking into an alternative hippie world circa 1972 Amsterdam or Cambridge, Mass.

The Marakiya (The Soup Kitchen) is as about as far away from Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi that you can get. The folks that run it are so nice, and laid back. But they do share a common passion for soup – that’s the only thing on the menu (aside from deserts).

Hidden on Coresh St., a side street behind the aforementioned trendy establishments near the Central Post Office, the nondescript storefront opens up into a bohemian paradise. Non-matching couches in and a motley crew of chairs surround long wooden tables. You may find yourself sitting next to college students, area business people out for a quick lunch, or just professional hanger outers. Chess and backgammon boards are there for the diners’ enjoyment, as well as collections of customers’ old IDs or credit cards which are alot of fun to thumb through.

Cluttered, but not dirty, going into the restaurant is like walking into your grandma’s house, if she tended to hoard garage sale items and didn’t care about visual uniformity. But, hey, we’re here to talk about food.

A big chalk board lists the day’s offerings of a dozen or so soupy concoctions – including such innovative blends as Peas and Nana soup or Humous and vegetable soup. Of course, all the soups are made on the premises, and are served with huge loaves of bread with fresh pesto and butter.

Hundreds of 33 rpm albums are stuffed haphazardly on shelves next to the chalkboard, and the main waiter/cook/cashier makes sure to keep the working turntable going all the time. With our huge bowls of mushroom soup and sweet potato soup, we were accompanied by a vintage album by The Cure, and then Buddy Holly’s Rave On.

The music, the soup and the bread were all fantastic, but the best part was the price – NIS 26 (about $6) for a filling meal with no-frills wonderful ambiance. I can’t wait to go back.

Tags: , , , , , • Category: Food, General, Israeliness 

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