In a city where the average lifespan of a restaurant is two years, a venue that is a stone’s throw away from half a century can be considered supernatural. The Shaqued, which translates to ‘Almond’, is a place of contradictions. Though it rests in the eastern part of the city, away from the sea, it serves some of the best fresh seafood dishes in town. While its menu may never break your bank or generate gastronomic revelations, the restaurant will often be the scene of celebrity sightings and heavy-money dealings. While it features a constant rotation of seafood that disregards Jewish dietary restrictions, the restaurant has gained renown for its traditional old world fish-based dishes, many of which are a highlight during the religious holidays.

After being seated, it will only be a moment or two before your table is invaded by an onslaught of tapas style dishes, locally termed ‘salatim’, or salads. These culinary snippets, such as Chopped liver, Tahini and various types of eggplant salads, present the eclectic influences of the typical Israeli kitchen. By the time you dispatch with the main course, usually a fine slab of steak or the day’s catch either fried or grilled, you will understand why Turkish coffee became a requisite appendix to the traditional Israeli meal. In accordance with the timeless tradition, Shaqued offers it as a complementary part of the meal.