For now, Katy has decided on the option of offering customers a marvelous meal with a bottle of wine for NIS 150!
By STEVE LINDEKaty's, Jerusalem(photo credit: STEVE LINDE)
Katy Ohana laughs as she tells the self-effacing story of not recognizing Eddie Murphy when he visited her famous French bistro in downtown Jerusalem three decades ago – and she mistook him for the driver.“I thought he was an American senator when the booking was made,” she says. “In those days, I was busy cooking in my bunker and I was not in touch with the world.”That didn’t stop the charismatic Katy from charming the comedian, who – like most of her well-to-do customers – left with a broad smile after giving a big tip.It’s the kind of humor Katy needs now as she recalls the glorious days of the restaurant she opened in 1975 and ponders what to do during the pandemic.“What I do is mostly for pleasure. I don’t want to go on TV and cry and say I can’t survive after four months of corona,” she says. “But I don’t know what to do – change the whole concept or make it attractive to everybody by providing the same atmosphere at a reduced price.”For now, Katy has decided on the latter option, offering customers a marvelous meal with a bottle of wine for NIS 150! She also provides takeaway à la carte dinners for families or celebrations of up to a dozen people.Over the years, Katy has hosted many VIPs at her restaurant, from Brooke Shields and Philip Roth to Ariel Sharon and Shimon Peres. It was the favorite restaurant of legendary Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, and his deputy, Meron Benvenisti.“I am very, very lucky,” Katy tells me. “After being born into a poor Moroccan family and growing up in an orphanage in Morocco, I’ve had an interesting life and met interesting people. I was blessed by God.”As you wait for your food, you can look at photographs of some of the famous people who have visited on the wall, many of them taken by Katy’s late friend, photographer David Rubinger. There is also a spectacular photograph of Katy on the day she opened the restaurant, taken by journalist Uri Avnery.It has been dubbed “the best restaurant in Jerusalem” by The New York Times, an opinion shared by a recent client. A TripAdvisor member from Boca Raton, Florida, posted in June that after he ate at all of Jerusalem’s best restaurants, “Katy’s is hands down number one.”“We have never had such a five-star experience in Jerusalem as we had at Katy’s Restaurant last night. From the service to the entrée, the main course, dessert and wine, every bite and sip was savored and cherished,” he wrote. “It was like we walked back in time to a refined, classy, beautiful and friendly place that made us feel both at home and much more high class than we had dressed. An amazing dinner hosted by Katy herself! If you are looking for the best restaurant in Jerusalem, go to Katy’s, you will surely come back.”AT KATY’S invitation, I went on Bastille Day for lunch and sat at the exquisitely set table next to a photograph of her Moroccan grandfather, Yehuda, who worked and made brioche until the age of 100.When I opened the menu, I read, “This menu is dedicated to the beloved memory of my grandfather, who gave me the love of work and of its perfection. He initiated me to the delicate art of the brioche, trademark of tradition and of the establishment’s continued success.”The entrées vary in price from NIS 55 (green salad) to NIS 150 (goose liver terrine with green pepper), but I had an hors d’oeuvre assortment that included roasted eggplant, red peppers and Roquefort cheese, green and black olives and a small loaf of warm bread (NIS 65). Then came stuffed eggplant with basil and goat cheese (NIS 75), prawns with garlic and virgin olive oil (NIS 150), which were outstanding, and finally a beef fillet in an amazing sauce which was definitely not kosher (NIS 150). It was all delicious.I didn’t have space for more, but I know that the crème caramel and crème brûlée (NIS 55) are to die for.In order to attract customers during this difficult time, Katy is offering all sorts of discounts. It is the perfect place to celebrate life – or turn any meal into a special occasion! If Katy’s there, I can guarantee you will leave with a smile. Just think of Eddie Murphy.Katy’s Restaurant & Bar2 Hasoreg Street, JerusalemTel. (02) 623-1793Not kosherThe writer was a guest of the restaurant.
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