It had been a very hard week. I had returned from a trip abroad and was suffering from jet lag. Worse, one of our pipes was leaking into our neighbor’s apartment, and three plumbers were unable to fix it. So we had been without water for a full week. (Don’t worry, I showered at the gym before heading out for this review.)
However, all my problems disappeared as I pushed open the heavy wooden door of Bar 22 in a corner of the lobby of the Inbal Hotel. The wooden tables and mirrored bar make the 44-seat space feel intimate and upscale. The music was mostly soft rock, but you could still carry on a conversation.
We sat at the bar, where we could watch the two bartenders work their magic. Our bartender, Ariel, told me that he is studying conducting at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance when he is not mixing drinks. He was friendly yet professional, and played a large part in the success of our evening.
What to drink at Bar 22
Now, unlike my Ladies Who Drink friend Laura Cornfield, I am not an expert in cocktails. But I do know what I like. I told Ariel that I like a little bit of sweetness in my cocktails, so I chose the Old City Glow (NIS 56) with Wild Turkey, peach vanilla, lemon juice, foam, and cinnamon powder. I sipped it slowly to make it last longer.
My favorite husband went with The Secret Garden (NIS 58), which was tequila, Martini Bianca, agave, lime juice, basil, and tangy elderflower whipped cream, which was really unique.
Along with our drinks, we munched on homemade black-and-white sesame crackers (NIS 22).
A note about the food menu. We came pretty hungry (not having any water makes it challenging to cook). The menu has nice bar food, but the portions are very small. I ordered an entrecote skewer (NIS 56), thinking it would be the size of a skewer in a steakiya. It was maybe a quarter of that size, with three small pieces of entrecote that were delicious, as was the dollop of mashed potatoes with truffle oil. Cliff went with a mini entrecote burger of 80 grams (NIS 48), which was also excellent, and we shared an order of crispy potato wedges (a good deal at NIS 29).
I was still hungry so I ordered a burger, and Cliff went with the Jerusalem mixed grill in a pita (NIS 48). By then, we were satisfied.
There are also several vegetarian dishes and a Redefine Burger on the menu, as well as sashimi and fish & chips.
But as this is a cocktail bar, I felt it incumbent on me to try another cocktail. I asked Ariel to surprise me. He brought me a Painkiller, which was basically a piña colada with orange juice instead of pineapple juice in a tall glass. Very delicious.
Bar 22 is a great place for a date night or a girls’ night out. I already texted my Ladies Who Drink and suggested we hold our next birthday celebration there.
- Bar 22
- Inbal Jerusalem Hotel
- 3 Jabotinsky Street
- Monday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday night, opens an hour after Shabbat
- Kashrut: Jerusalem Rabbinate
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
