Date Spots in Jerusalem: Where You Can Actually Talk

Jerusalem dating divides into two worlds that rarely read the same guides. There is the bar-and-restaurant scene, which the city does well enough in the centre and the shuk, and there is shidduch dating, which runs on hotel lobbies, quiet cafés and long walks, and which almost nothing written in English actually addresses. This guide covers both, organised by what the evening needs rather than by cuisine.

Hotel lobbies: the shidduch standard

For a first or second meeting where you need two or three hours of conversation, a public setting and no pressure to eat, Jerusalem's hotel lobbies are the institution. They are quiet, well lit, open late, comfortable, and nobody minds a couple sitting with two drinks for a long time. The lobbies of the large hotels around the city centre, the Mamilla area and the German Colony all work, and the Inbal, the Waldorf, the David Citadel and the King David are the names people say; smaller hotels on Keren HaYesod and around Liberty Bell Park are calmer and cheaper.

• Order something. A drink each is the entry fee and nobody will rush you after that.
• Arrive first if you suggested it, and pick a corner away from the piano and the lifts.
• Check there is no event on if it is a Thursday night or a wedding season evening; the lobby can turn into a queue for a hall.
• Parking is expensive at the big hotels; the light rail and a five-minute walk are easier.

Cafés where you can hear each other

The city centre and the German Colony are full of cafés; the trick is choosing one with soft seating, low music and tables far enough apart. Look for the older institutions rather than the newest opening: Tmol Shilshom, the bookshop café tucked in a courtyard off Yoel Salomon, is the classic quiet-conversation address, and Kadosh on Shlomtzion HaMalka is the classic coffee-and-cake one. Emek Refaim and Derech Beit Lechem have the neighbourhood versions, and the cafés around the Israel Museum and the Cinematheque stay calm in the evening.

Check the certificate on the wall if kashrut matters to your date, and check the closing time, which in Jerusalem is earlier than you expect on a Sunday and much earlier on a Friday. The kashrut guide explains what the certificates mean.

Walks, when the weather allows

• The Haas Promenade in Armon HaNatziv: the view of the Old City at sunset, wide paths, benches, and enough other people that it never feels isolated.
• The Train Track Park from the First Station to the German Colony: flat, lit, busy in the evening, with cafés at both ends.
• The Old City walls and Mamilla on a spring evening: touristy, beautiful, and easy to cut short.
• The Botanical Gardens at Givat Ram in daylight, and the Bloomfield Garden above Mamilla in the evening.
• Ein Kerem for a longer evening: the village, the restaurants and the walk between them.

Rainy nights and winter

From November to March, plan indoors. The hotel lobbies come into their own, the museums run late evenings (the Israel Museum on a Tuesday is a genuinely good date), the Cinematheque has a bar and a river view, and the First Station's covered sections stay open. The winter guide explains how cold a Jerusalem evening actually is; bring a coat and suggest somewhere with heating.

If you want dinner

Jerusalem's restaurant scene is at its best in the shuk and the city centre, with kosher meat restaurants clustered in the centre and the Mamilla area and dairy places scattered everywhere. Book on a Thursday or Saturday night; a Tuesday needs no reservation. The eating-out guide covers how to choose, and the nightlife guide covers what happens after.

Practical etiquette here

1. Saturday night is the busiest dating night of the week, starting late once Shabbat ends; Friday night is for family, not dates.
2. Getting home: buses thin out after midnight and the light rail stops; agree in advance who is ordering the taxi.
3. Public and comfortable beats impressive for a first meeting, particularly in a small community where you will meet again.
4. Dress in Jerusalem runs more modest than Tel Aviv, and more so in religious neighbourhoods; the hotel-lobby standard is smart-casual.
5. If it is going well, the Tayelet at night and a walk are the standard second act.

Common questions

Where do people go on shidduch dates in Jerusalem?

Hotel lobbies, above all: quiet, public, open late, and comfortable for a long conversation over a drink. Quiet cafés and the promenades are the usual alternatives.

Where can you actually talk on a date in Jerusalem?

Hotel lobbies, the older cafés such as Tmol Shilshom and Kadosh, the museum cafés, and a walk on the Haas Promenade or the Train Track Park. Avoid the shuk bars and the centre on a Thursday if conversation is the point.

What is open for a date on Friday night?

Very little. Friday night is family time in Jerusalem; hotel lobbies and a few non-kosher places in the centre are the exceptions. Saturday night is the main evening.

Is there anything to do on a rainy evening?

The Israel Museum's late openings, the Cinematheque, hotel lobbies, the covered parts of the First Station, and the bookshop cafés in the centre.

A place we recommend that has closed? Tell us and we will fix it.