Israelis, like most of their Levantine counterparts, are a fish-eating people, partly due to their fish-rich location between the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee, partly due to fish's diversity within the constraints of Jewish dietary law (it is neither dairy nor meat), and partly due to the fact that wherever Jews went in the Diaspora, they invented a unique way of cooking the local fish.

So Jerusalem has plenty of fish restaurants, among them the Talpiot establishment Pninat Hayam (Pearl of the Sea), a mehadrin kosher restaurant that doesn't let the nautical elements in its décor overcome its general elegance, or the main event itself – which is, of course, the fish.

The fish, brought in fresh every day, stays mostly with the local varieties: denis (sea bream), buri (mullet), and musht (St. Peter's fish), and from further afield, salmon. Every meal comes with an array of mezze to scoop up with toasted pita.