Ishtabach is a compact, unassuming locale serving fresh Kurdish pastries in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market. The widely popular bakery-style restaurant is the brainchild of Chef Oren Sasson-Levy, who obtained inspiration from another realm. In the midst of a two-month coma, his grandmother came to him in a dream to explain he could achieve phenomenal success with anything he put his heart and soul into.
Oren decided to open a restaurant in her honor—and the phenomenally successful project has now fulfilled her legacy. Patrons pack out the quirky, tightly packed space on any given night to devour his delicious baked pastries and sip frothy beers. Unsure what to order? Try the signature Shamburak, a hearty Kurdish pastry chock full of veggies and exotic meats.
