Tucked into one of the aisles that run perpendicular to the two main thoroughfares of the Machane Yehuda outdoor market, Ochlim B'shuk (Eating in the Market) may not have been touched by the muse of creativity, but it offers exactly what its name implies: dining in the shuk, surrounded by butchers and fishmongers and general knickknack stores.

Ochlim B'shuk offers a somewhat flexible menu of Mizrachi (Middle Eastern) food, with a special emphasis on the flavorful dishes of the Persian Jewish community, including variations on the famed Persian rice and a lot of meat-and-rice stuffed vegetables.

The storefront is always occupied by a table full of massive, heavily dented and abused pots simmering over with soups, stews and hearty meat dishes. You have the choice of ordering takeaway – especially recommended for Shabbat evening meals – or finding a table inside the restaurant's comfortable interior. Fancy it's not, but it's impossible to leave hungry.