Busi is located
on Etzel Street, in the heart of the Hatikva Quarter. To get to the
Hatikva Quarter, exit the Ayalon highway at La Guardia. Continue eastward
, and turn right at the second traffic light. This will lead you to
Hatikva Street, the start of the busy and colorful Hatikva Quarter.
Etzel, a major street in the Quarter, crosses Hatikva Street. If you
get lost in the Hatikva Quarter, ask anybody. They'll be only too pleased
to help you.
Hatikva is one
of the oldest neighborhoods in Tel-Aviv. It was settled mostly by the
Yemenites, in the 1950's. Today it is a busy commercial area, filled
with the small shops reminiscent of the way Israel used to look before
it was inundated by shopping malls. Despite the years and the many changes
that have occurred in Israel, this area has maintained its neighborhood
quality.
There are no
shortage of restaurants on this street, and many of them appear to have
kashrut certificates. We visited this restaurant after receiving a warm
recommendation from an eLuna.com client. After sitting in the restaurant
for just a short time it was apparent that this is a place that our
readers should know about. If anyone can recommend another restaurant
in the quarter, and it meets the eLuna.com standards, we will try to
include it as well.
Busi has been in operation in the same location for 43 years. The restaurant was founded by Shlomo Busi, who immigrated from Yemen. In the early years the restaurant specialized in Yemenite foods, but following the tastes of today's diners, the restaurant now specializes in grilled meats. Today Shlomo takes a back seat in the restaurant that he founded, and leaves the management in the qualified hands of his charming daughter Tehila.
This is a family operation. Most times - despite the long hours that this restaurant keeps - you can find a member of the Busi clan in the restaurant. But even if you are not a Busi, hang around in this restaurant for a while and you will be part of the family.
Though the menu changed over the years, the warmth, kindheartedness and hospitality that characterizes the Yemenites still remains. When you dine in this restaurant you are not just a customer, you are a guest.
This restaurant has two seating areas. There is some seating on the entrance level, at the front of the restaurant. There is a larger seating area in a quieter area toward the back of the restaurant. This area is three steps down from ground level. Groups of up to 40 people can be accommodated in this area.
Busi serves fresh homemade down-to-earth foods popular with Israeli clientele. The dishes are tasty and reasonably priced. Vegetable soups are NIS 12, but the highly recommended meat soup is NIS 25. Salads run from NIS 11-15. "Shipudim" - approximately 100 grams of grilled meat on a skewer runs from NIS 12 to 27. The meats are beef, kebab, turkey or chicken. Fish runs NIS 55.
Meals are served with delicious breads fresh out of the tabboun oven next door to Busi. Every diner finishes his meal with a cup of coffee and Baklava on the house.
In a hurry? At Busi you can buy an authentic Middle Eastern sandwich consisting of meat and salad wrapped in Iraqi Lafa bread. Lafa is a large round sheet of flat bread that is used to wrap the meat and salad sandwich. A visit to the Hatikva Quarter would not be complete without trying this.
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