December 08
Mangiare, open for just a short time, is a new upscale dairy restaurant on Shlomzion Hamalka Street in Jerusalem. Mangiare is Italian for "to eat." As expected the cuisine is Italian, however there is a distinct nod to the Middle East. Italian pasta dishes sit comfortably on the menu with Middle Eastern techina and yogurt. Foods range from fish and risotto to pizza, and there are a variety of vegetarian options. Tablecloths and candles create an intimate holiday feeling.
My companion and I visited this restaurant on a cold mid week night. It was lucky that we thought to make reservations beforehand because there was a steady stream of diners that kept this restaurant quite full. Open just a short time, Mangiare has developed a following, which is not surprising.
Mangiare is located at the bottom of Shlomzion Hamalka street. From the fork on Yaffo Road, continue down till you are almost at the bottom of the hill. You will see an awning and a rustic door. Welcome to the restaurant. Inside the space is not large but there is seating both on the entrance level and on an upstairs gallery. Netilat yadayim and the bathrooms are upstairs, so be prepared to climb.
To call this just another dairy restaurant would be to miss the point. Mangiare is a young, innovative restaurant offering imaginative dairy dishes that cannot be pigeonholed or slotted into any model that we know. This is a restaurant with atmosphere. Though not a fancy restaurant, the tables are covered in white cotton cloths and dining is by candlelight. The chairs are a bit lower than most and in general the place has an old-world feel.
 The menu lists so many attractive dishes you will be hard-pressed to choose. The helpful wait staff and a "Specials" menu will help you along. Try the foocacia while you labor over the menu. This is a delicious home made loaf of cake-like bread, served with small dishes of avocado salad, eggplant salad, tomato salad and olive salad.
At the staff's recommendation we started with an amazing beet ravioli dish that we would never have chosen on our own. That would have been our loss, because it was absolutely delicious. The primary element of the dish was the pasta and the sauce. The beets added the tang. One portion suited both of us cautious diners.
For the main course my companion chose a pasta dish with a creamy salmon sauce. In addition to the nuggets of salmon, the pasta was also punctuated with sliced scallions. I enjoyed the artichoke ravioli, which is one of the restaurant specialties.
The main courses paled by comparison to the starter, but the highlight of the dinner was the dessert. We were unable to pass up the attractive looking home made desserts in a display case at the front of the restaurant. Our choice was a sinfully delicious strawberry tiramisu served attractively in a stemmed glass topped with read strawberries.
We recommend Mangiare for somewhat adventuresome diners who are open to imaginative dairy dishes. if you fit this description you may become one of the Mangiare loyal followers.
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