Gatsby

Located somewhere in a time warp on Hillel Street in Jerusalem’s city center, Gatsby is a vintage 1920’s speakeasy that has taken Jerusalem by storm and kindled a fire for perfectly mixed cocktails.

The journey starts when you finally find your way to the unassuming, unlit entrance and enter the small welcoming room, adorned with 20-style lamps, counter and bookshelves. If you’ve made a reservation (or you’re lucky enough that they have room for walk-ins) the magic starts when the hostess slides open the bookshelf and your senses are bombarded with sounds of swing, jazz and lively conversation, the smell of simmering herbs and the sight of a bar right out of 1925 Manhattan.

The cocktail menu is a delightful mix of classic cocktails alongside original creations. One thing you’ll notice from reading the ingredients is that Gatsby has no problem going the extra mile to ensure the perfect cocktail, whether its marinating special chilis in Tequila for a couple weeks to make the key ingredient in the every popular La Punta or making its own pomegranate extract to infuse into the cream that sits on top of the Rising Star.

The food isn’t too shabby either with a varied selection of finger(-ish)-food that is actually quite filling, such as the mussels with with a grapefruit and bacon sauce, the roast beef and smoked goose breast panini or lamb t-bones.

Not surprisingly the cocktails are a bit pricier than your average glass of beer or wine in your average bar, ranging from around 40-60 NIS. That said, Gatsby is hardly your average bar and these are hardly your average drinks, so consider it a price worth paying. Not to mention everyday from 7:00-8:00 pm, there’s 1+1 for happy hour.