Until the arrival of global fast food in recent decades, Israel had no tradition of consuming American-style hamburgers, and indeed, kosher dietary restrictions that many restaurants adhere to in their kitchens mean that a lot of the customary toppings for burgers don't fly in Israel. So naturally, when it comes to their burgers, Israelis get creative. And nationwide chain Burgers Bar is at the forefront of kosher burger creativity.

While foreign visitors won't be able to top their burger with cheese or bacon, Burgers Bar offers more than a few enticing alternatives sure to please any and all burger connoisseurs. A Burgers Bar burger, made fresh on-site to order, clocks in at weights from 150 to 300 grams, so even your smallest burger is larger than the infamous quarter pounder. Atop your weighty beef patty you can get a dollop of anything from Argentinian chimichurri and Italian pesto to Yemenite charif and Middle Eastern tehina - and, of course, the favorite Israeli cheese substitute on a burger, the fried egg. 

Of course, burgers are not all there is on offer. If you're jonesing for American-style comfort food, Burgers Bar is your place - go ahead and chow down on steak sandwiches, chicken salad, chicken strips, onion rings, wings, wraps and more. For dessert, the restaurant offers the beloved treat of state fairs and the Hispanosphere: churros.

Like all Burgers Bar locations, the Jaffa Road branch features an open grill setup that allows you to observe as your meal travels from flattop and frying basket to your plate. Being downtown, it's popular and consistently crowded with both locals and foreign visitors - so popular, in fact, that another branch does a brisk business nearby on Shammai Street. The Jaffa branch also features a branch-specific business lunch menu - check the "Lunch" tab above.

Burgers Bar boasts locations all over town - if you're in the neighborhood, you can also satisfy a burger craving on Shammai Street downtown, in Talpiot or in the German Colony.