Andalucia Cocktail Bar: Kosher Cocktails and Tapas in Jerusalem’s Music Square
- Mark Vogel
- Mar 26
- 5 min read
Kosher Meat Restaurant in Jerusalem, Israel ✈
I reserved an evening for dinner at Andalucia Cocktail Bar, a kosher meat restaurant at 2 Ze’ev Raban Street in Kikar HaMusica, Jerusalem, Israel. Nachalat Shiva’s limestone lanes spill directly into the square, so even before walking inside I could hear guitars and sound checks from the open-air stage that anchors the courtyard. The location turns dinner into more than a meal because every table sits within earshot of live music while remaining a comfortable distance from the bustle of Jaffa Road.
Book a Tour: Top Jerusalem Tours
“Andalucia serves Spanish-influenced kosher dishes prepared with care, a cocktail list on par with Tel Aviv’s better bars, and a front-row seat to nightly concerts.”
Music Square - Kikar HaMusica in Hebrew - is a purpose-built plaza faced in the same pale stone that defines most of central Jerusalem. A low platform at the center hosts concerts six nights a week, drawing crowds who drift between restaurants during set breaks. The Hebrew Music Museum stands along the eastern edge and invites visitors to trace Jewish musical traditions with hands-on exhibits, virtual-reality stations, and a broad collection of restored instruments.
Around the perimeter the square holds several kosher venues that range from dairy Italian to desserts, but Andalucia is the only place combining a full meat kitchen with a serious cocktail program. The restaurant occupies a restored three-story stone house with arched windows. Warm sconces and the back-lit Andalucia logo give the exterior a golden glow, while a patio of black-and-white chevron chairs lets diners sit among shrubs and potted herbs that soften the edge of the plaza.
Stepping through the door leads into a narrow entry lounge finished in original Jerusalem stone. Straight ahead, a central atrium rises two floors to a skylight. A ring-style chandelier hangs here, its tiers wrapped in ivy that drapes downward like a vertical garden. Patterned encaustic-style tiles cover the floor, and low velvet couches surround circular tables set with green glass water tumblers and red linen napkins. A metal staircase climbs the wall to the main bar level, passing wrought-iron railings that frame views back down to the atrium and outward to the square.
The second-floor bar forms a three-sided counter of dark marble veined in off-white streaks. Bartenders stand at stainless-steel work wells packed with shakers, garnish trays, and crushed ice. Rows of back-lit spirits stretch to the ceiling behind them, reflected in a bronzed mirror. Pendant fixtures hang from slim brass tracks above the counter, casting focused pools of light onto each setting. High stools with navy seats and slender metal legs line the bar; their footrests sit at an ergonomic height, making it easy to linger through multiple rounds.
A few steps away, the dining room carries a different palette. One wall is coated in deep red lacquer and decorated with a cluster of circular plates painted in flamenco-inspired graphics. Checkerboard floor tiles repeat a bold, almost Moorish, pattern in black and white. Tables are topped with white stone slabs, and mid-century-style chairs in cocoa-brown leather add muted contrast. From some seats, patrons can watch bartenders build drinks; from others, they get a clear line of sight through tall windows to the outdoor band.
Andalucia serves dishes in tapas-size portions and encourages ordering in waves rather than following the starter-main-dessert sequence. Because the kitchen follows strict kosher meat rules, no dairy appears on the menu, yet sauces stay rich through reductions, puréed vegetables, and nut-based emulsions. You can have a Un Jardín Salad of romaine, cucumber, seasonal fruit, and caramelized pecans in apricot vinaigrette, or pick Patatas Bravas tossed in chipotle aioli. The Alcachofas Duet combines fried artichoke hearts with roasted tomatoes and mushrooms set over orange cherry-tomato cream.
Seafood plates include Red Tuna Tataki, seared only at the edges and finished with pineapple and chili, and a daily Ceviche that leans tropical with the same fruit and coriander. Pescado, a sea-fish fillet, arrives on twin stripes of butternut-squash and beet sauces beside roasted vegetables. If you are in the mood for beef before heavier cuts, you can ask for Roast Beef Bruschetta with pepper cream and fried capers or Beef Carpaccio dressed with confit garlic and balsamic.
Main cuts are cooked on a plancha or grill. They serve Lamb Shank Ossobuco braised until the meat slips off the bone and placed over potato-truffle purée with demi-glace. Steaks come as sirloin, entrecôte, fillet, or asado, each set on root-vegetable mash with fried potatoes on the side. Groups often share the Plato de Carnes, a board loaded with those steaks plus duck and chicken breast and a bowl of Patatas Bravas.
The meal concludes with a focused list of richly flavored desserts. You can finish with the Nemesis, a molten chocolate cake paired with coconut-based vanilla ice cream, or go for coconut-cream Crème Brûlée. Seasonal fruit sorbets appear when supply permits.
Drinks are the restaurant’s calling card. The bar team works with fresh purées, house bitters, and spice-infused syrups to build cocktails that match robust food. They serve Tio Tio, a mix of tequila, mezcal smoke, and grapefruit; Dulcinea built on gin, berries, and lemon; Maid in Cuba with rum, mint, and cucumber; and an Alhambra Old Fashioned that updates bourbon with date syrup and orange oils. Classic requests like a Clover Club or Penicillin are welcome, and bartenders will improvise if you mention a spirit or flavor profile. Watching them handle half a dozen shakers at once while keeping conversation going with guests becomes its own entertainment between plates.
Service stays attentive without hovering. Staff switch between English and Hebrew as needed, refill water promptly, and time plate clearings to pauses in the music so conversation never feels interrupted. Between courses you can step onto the balcony for a full view of the square: guitar riffs echo off limestone façades, children dance at the edge of the stage, and diners swap menu tips across restaurant patios. The setting is casual enough for a mid-week outing yet polished enough to mark an occasion without leaving the city center.
After dessert you can walk the few meters to the Hebrew Music Museum, which often extends hours to match concert nights. Interactive exhibits trace Jewish music from biblical times to modern Israel, and a virtual-reality room places visitors inside a recreated Temple service. Stepping out of the museum and back into the performance in the square completes the cycle of listening, learning, and dining.
When I finally exit toward Yoel Moshe Salomon Street, the experience feels like a seamless loop of food, drink, and sound. Andalucia serves Spanish-influenced kosher dishes prepared with care, a cocktail list on par with Tel Aviv’s better bars, and a front-row seat to nightly concerts. Travelers find a solution to the common Jerusalem challenge of locating a quality meat restaurant with a real bar program inside the historic core. Locals gain a reliable place to meet friends, watch a game on the bar screen, or celebrate an occasion against live music rather than recorded playlists. Plan for about two hours, order more small plates than you think you need, and let the square’s soundtrack fill any gaps between courses.
Book a Tour: Top Jerusalem Tours
