Harvey's Smokehouse review

בס"ד

From the bustling Jaffa street, turn to one of the quiet alleys at 33 Jaffa, where Harvey's Smokehouse restaurant, Harvey's in short, is located.

The restaurant is designed eclectically, combining a modern and industrial look with exposed stone walls and metal pipes, next to elegant Edison bulbs, wooden tables, or sitting at the bar. And a focal point of a stunning angry bull painting with smoke coming out its nose, a reminder of where we are. 

Harvey's Smokehouse restaurant is the first and only wood smokehouse in the Jerusalem region, where two wood smokers imported from the USA operate. Chef Harvey Sandler brings North American flavors to the capital, with various meat that goes through a slow-smoke with hickory wood.

We arrived a few minutes before the opening, where several tourists were eagerly waiting for the doors to open. It turns out they didn't know when the place opened, and when they found out, they decided to stay, which already says a lot about the place - the restaurant's reputation precedes it.

Several dishes caught my eye when looking at the menu, and after consulting with the waiter, I realized I had made the right choice. We started with two starters - Charred eggplant baladi and burnt ends.

"Charred eggplant baladi" (46 NIS) is a beautiful vegetarian dish containing roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes, chimichurri, and roasted garlic tahini with 2 slices of toasted bread. This first course is so light, refreshing, and just perfect on its own, and it was simply great to eat it alongside a meat first course.

The "Burnt Ends" dish (64 NIS) is a bowl of beef brisket cuts caramelized in Kansas-style barbecue sauce served with sweet potato fries on the side. The beef cubes with that sticky glaze stimulate the taste buds, and it doesn't disappoint. The beef cuts are juicy with wonderful sweet and spicy flavors, and the sweet potato fries are perfectly made.

As a main course, we went for the "Bonfire BBQ short ribs" (42 NIS for 100 grams, weight varies). The short ribs are smoked for 12 hours and served with honey chipotle barbecue sauce, house coleslaw, and a side dish of choice (home fries/rice with brisket stew and beans/green salad).

The short ribs were made to perfection, juicy and delicious. The coleslaw salad had a delicate, wonderful taste, and the side dish we chose - rice with a smoked brisket stew and beans, was an excellent complement to the dish.

We also had one of the sandwiches on the menu - "Harvey's Texas Beef dip" (98 NIS). The sandwich is served in a large ciabatta bun filled with smoked brisket, caramelized onion, tomato, mustard aioli, and brisket stock, with a side dish of your choice (fries/green salad).

As a carnivorous meal, you get satiated quite quickly, so I could barely eat the mouthwatering sandwich served to us. I had a few bites, and it was excellent, and the rest we packed for later. Even after a good few hours without reheating, the sandwich was so delicious and good.

For the finale, we had the great "Smoky" cocktail (46 NIS) - a beautiful cocktail composed of Berban, Lafroge, mango, Kaffir lime, agave, and lemon. I seldom like wines and alcoholic drinks, but to my surprise, this cocktail was very good, and if I didn't need to drive, I would have taken a few more sips.

Besides the dishes we tried, you can find a variety of dishes and meats that Harvey's Smokehouse offers, such as popcorn chicken, Charcoal chicken wings, Texas BBQ nachos, various salads, meat platters, and more. And although we didn't have time for dessert, you can enjoy a variety of desserts at the end of the hearty meal.

Chef Haim (Harvey) Sandler owns Harvey's Smokehouse. Harvey is a Canadian who made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) in 2010 from Vancouver. He graduated as a chef in 2002 and received the Canadian RED SEAL. 

In Canada, he opened restaurants and a catering company that, over the years, led the kosher catering industry in Vancouver with events of up to 650 people. After immigrating to Israel, he continued to work in the culinary field. He purchased the Jerusalem restaurant "Gabriel" with a business partner, which later became Harvey's Smokehouse restaurant.

As mentioned, today the restaurant is located on one of the alleys on the bustling Jaffa street. It allows the accommodation of around 100 people inside and 70 diners outside. Chef Harvey opened a hamburger place two years ago - Harvey's Burger Shack. He hopes to open more places where he can introduce American flavors to Israelis.

Harvey's smokehouse

Address: 33 Jaffa street, Jerusalem

It is highly recommended to reserve seats in advance

For more details and reservations - 02-6246444

Opening hours: Sunday 1:30 PM-10:30 PM, Monday-Thursday  12:30 PM-10:30 PM

Kosher: Kosher kashrut mehuderet

Disclaimer: I was a guest of the place, but all opinions are my own.