Israel Street Food

Tel Aviv's beachfront stands and Jerusalem's market alleys turned humble fried and grilled scraps into some of the region's most inventive sandwiches.

5 street food dishes from Israel — what each one is, why it's made that way, and what to expect when you order it.

Signature street foods of Israel

Tel Aviv Revival · Herb-Infused Soda Gazoz The name comes from the Ottoman-Turkish word for fizzy soda — and after decades as a forgotten street syrup, it's been revived as an artisanal drink… Gazoz is a homemade soda made by mixing fruit syrup or shrub with sparkling water, traditionally sold from streetside kiosks starting in Tel Aviv in the early 1900s. Today's artisanal… Sandwich · Fried eggplant Sabich The hard-boiled egg inside is traditionally cooked low and slow overnight, which is what turns the yolk a deep caramel color instead of pale yellow. Pita is stuffed with slices of fried eggplant, a hard-boiled egg, Israeli salad, hummus or tahini, amba (pickled mango sauce), and pickles. It's sold from small counter stands, most… Grilled · Mixed offal Meorav Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Mixed Grill) It was invented by grill cooks trying to use up unsold chicken hearts, spleens, and livers at the end of the day — the 'odd bits' became the whole… Chicken hearts, liver, and spleen are diced small and grilled on a flat-top with onions, garlic, and a heavy hit of cumin and turmeric, then piled into a pita or on a plate. It's… Street Food · Spit-Roasted Classic Shawarma Much of the shawarma sold on Israeli streets is turkey rather than lamb or beef — a swap that makes it cheaper and easier to keep kosher, without… Shawarma is meat stacked in layers on a vertical rotisserie, seasoned and slow-roasted as it turns, then shaved off in thin ribbons to order. Street stalls across Israel pack it into pita… Dessert · Rosewater Milk Pudding Malabi Unlike custard, malabi sets without a single egg — its silky wobble comes purely from cornstarch or rice flour. Malabi is a chilled milk pudding thickened with cornstarch or rice flour and lightly perfumed with rosewater, set in cups until silky and jiggly. Street carts and dessert stalls top it…

More street food in Asia

• Mongolia
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• India
• Japan
• Indonesia
• South Korea
• China
• Philippines
• Malaysia
• Singapore
• Cambodia
• Laos
• Myanmar
• Sri Lanka
• Pakistan
• Bangladesh
• Nepal
• Bhutan
• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates
• Lebanon
• Jordan
• Iran
• Kazakhstan
• Uzbekistan
• Maldives
• Brunei