Marzipan Bakery

Marzipan Bakery is a family bakery in the Mahane Yehuda neighbourhood of West Jerusalem, Israel, best known for its fresh chocolate rugelach, which has been made since the 1950s and sold by weight. The item lists the address as 5 Rachel Imenu Street, though some guides place the bakery on Agrippas Street, so visitors should look for the shop on the market's edge rather than rely on a single street name. The rugelach, small rolled pastries filled with dark chocolate, is baked in trays and often still warm when it reaches the counter, and it is the item most associated with the shop and the dish many visitors queue for. Cheese borekas, flaky savoury pastries, and marzipan sweets complete the range. The shop is a takeaway counter rather than a sit-down cafe, with no real dining room: customers order, pay and eat on the street or carry the pastries around the market. The atmosphere is brisk and crowded, particularly on Friday when locals shop for Shabbat, and noise comes from the market itself. There is no wine or beverage programme, and the bakery sells baked goods alone, so a coffee from a neighbouring stall is the usual accompaniment. Prices are low ($), and the rating is around 4.6, among the highest in this listing. No reservations are taken, and queues are longest on Friday mornings. Opening hours are roughly 8:00AM to 6:00PM Sunday to Thursday and 7:00AM to 4:00PM on Friday, with closure on Saturday. It is a standard stop on market food walks and can be paired with the many stalls around Mahane Yehuda, from hummus counters to spice sellers.