The 7 Best Restaurants in Beer Sheva (2026)

Updated September 2026 · 7 picks

The best restaurants in Beer Sheva in 2026 are Yakuta for Moroccan cooking, Kebab Emuna for grilled meat, Butchery for a proper bistro dinner and Little India for vegetarian Indian food. Beer Sheva's food reflects the families who built it — North African, Iraqi, Indian and Romanian — and it is cheaper and more generous than Tel Aviv. Here are 7, with what to order.

1. Yakuta — Old City, Mordey HaGeta'ot Street

The Old City's classic Moroccan restaurant — salads, tagines and couscous.

₪₪₪ Upmarket

Yakuta is the Old City's long-standing Moroccan restaurant, furnished in Moroccan style and cooking the dishes Beer Sheva's North African families grew up on.

A meal starts with the spread of small salads and fresh bread, then moves to tagines of lamb and prunes or fish, couscous and slow-cooked stews. It is a set-piece dinner rather than a quick bite.

It is the restaurant to take visitors to if you want them to understand the city.

Good to know: Do not over-order mains — the salad course is effectively a meal on its own.

Google Maps

2. Kebab Emuna — Old City, Keren Kayemet Street

A kebab grill running since the 1950s — the Iraqi kebab is the reason to come.

₪₪ Mid-range

Kebab Emuna has been grilling in the Old City for more than sixty years and is the city's most famous grill — a no-frills room built around an enormous charcoal grill.

The Iraqi-style kebab is the signature, served with pita, salads and pickles; the skewers of chicken hearts, liver and lamb are the other reason regulars come back.

Service is quick and the prices are fair. It is a lunch institution as much as a dinner one.

Good to know: Order the Iraqi kebab first and add other skewers after — it is what they are known for.

Google Maps

3. Butchery — Old City, HaHistadrut Street

A European-style meat bistro in a restored 1920s building.

₪₪₪₪ Splurge

Butchery occupies a restored 1920s stone building in the Old City and cooks in a European bistro style, with aged cuts of beef at the centre of the menu.

The room is well spaced and the service is proper, which makes it the choice for a celebratory dinner or a business meal in a city that otherwise leans casual.

It is kosher, which widens its appeal for families and groups.

Good to know: Ask what aged cuts they have that night — the specials are the best of the menu.

Google Maps

4. Little India — Ringelblum Street

Vegetarian Indian cooking from the city's Indian Jewish community.

₪₪ Mid-range

Beer Sheva is home to one of the largest Indian Jewish communities in Israel, and Little India, a vegetarian Indian restaurant, has been the city's favourite Indian kitchen for years.

The thalis are the thing to order — a tray of dals, vegetable curries, rice, breads and chutneys — and the spicing is closer to home cooking than to restaurant-menu Indian.

It is excellent value and a genuinely different meal from anything else in the south.

Good to know: Order a thali to share alongside a dosa — the best way to taste across the menu.

Google Maps

5. Pitmaster — Old City, Herzl Street

Smoked meats and big shared trays in a festive barbecue hall.

₪₪₪ Upmarket

Pitmaster is a smokehouse in the Old City serving low-and-slow brisket, ribs and smoked meats on shared trays, with a rotating cast of pitmasters behind the smoker.

It is loud, busy and best in a group, which suits the student and young-professional crowd on the Old City streets around it.

It is a good first stop on a night out in the Old City.

Good to know: Come as a group and order trays to share — portions are built for it.

Google Maps

6. Saba Jebeto — HaTikva Street

Gourmet sandwiches and craft beer in a laid-back Old City room.

₪ Budget

Saba Jebeto is an Old City favourite for big, carefully built sandwiches — slow-cooked meats, fresh salads and good bread — with a short list of craft beers alongside.

It works as a cheap lunch or a relaxed evening, and there are proper vegetarian and vegan options rather than a token one.

It is where students and locals eat when they want something good without making a night of it.

Good to know: A good lunch stop between the museum and the railway station.

Google Maps

7. Kornmehl Farm — Negev Highlands, near Halutza — 40 minutes south

A goat farm on the Negev wine route serving its own cheeses for lunch.

₪₪₪ Upmarket

Kornmehl Farm is a family goat farm in the Negev Highlands, one of the original farms on the region's wine route, making goat's cheeses and serving them at a small restaurant on the farm.

Lunch is a plate of the farm's own cheeses, salads, baked dishes and bread, eaten looking out over the desert with the goats in view. It is one of the most memorable meals in the south.

It is on the way from Beer Sheva to Sde Boker and Mitzpe Ramon, which makes it a natural stop on a desert day.

Good to know: Call ahead to check opening days — it is a working farm with limited hours.

Google Maps Website

Frequently asked questions

What food is Beer Sheva known for?

Moroccan cooking, Iraqi-style grilled kebab and the home food of the immigrant communities that settled the Negev, including one of the largest Indian Jewish communities in Israel. Portions are large and prices are well below Tel Aviv.

Where is the best area to eat in Beer Sheva?

The Old City, and Smilansky Street and the streets around it in particular. Most of the independent restaurants and bars are within a few blocks of each other there.

Are restaurants in Beer Sheva kosher?

Many are, particularly the traditional grills and Moroccan kitchens, but not all. Check the certificate if it matters to you — kashrut status in Israel changes, and several Old City bars and bistros are not certified.

Are Beer Sheva restaurants open on Shabbat?

Fewer than in Tel Aviv. Kosher places close from Friday afternoon to Saturday night; a handful of Old City bars and non-kosher kitchens open on Friday night.

Is it worth driving out of Beer Sheva to eat?

Yes, once. The farms of the Negev Highlands wine route, like Kornmehl Farm near Halutza, serve lunches built around their own cheese and wine, and they make a good stop on the way to Sde Boker or Mitzpe Ramon.

1. Yakuta — Old City, Mordey HaGeta'ot Street

2. Kebab Emuna — Old City, Keren Kayemet Street

3. Butchery — Old City, HaHistadrut Street

4. Little India — Ringelblum Street

5. Pitmaster — Old City, Herzl Street

6. Saba Jebeto — HaTikva Street

7. Kornmehl Farm — Negev Highlands, near Halutza — 40 minutes south

Frequently asked questions

Related lists

The 8 Best Restaurants in Israel (2026)

The 7 Best Desert Stays Near Beer Sheva (2026)

The 7 Best Day Trips From Beer Sheva (2026)

The 8 Best Attractions in Beer Sheva (2026)

The 7 Best National Parks Near Beer Sheva (2026)