Rachmo

Rachmo is a small market eatery at Ha-Eshkol Street 5 in the Mahane Yehuda Market, West Jerusalem, Israel, specialising in Iraqi-Jewish home cooking. The menu is short and focused, which allows the kitchen to concentrate on a handful of dishes that reflect the Iraqi community's culinary tradition in Jerusalem. Meat kubbeh, a semolina shell filled with spiced minced meat, is the dish most associated with the venue; stuffed grape leaves and Iraqi sabich, a pita or laffa filled with fried aubergine, egg and the tangy amba mango pickle, round out the signature plates. Sabich was brought to Israel by Iraqi Jews and is one of the most recognisable street-food dishes of the country, so the Iraqi version offers a useful comparison with the better-known hummus and falafel stops nearby. The setting is informal and compact, with counter seating and a handful of tables, little decoration and the sounds of the market outside. There is no dress code and noise levels are high at lunchtime, when locals queue for a quick meal. Drinks are simple, centred on soft drinks, water and beer rather than a wine programme. Prices are moderate ($$) and the rating is around 4.4. Rachmo operates on a walk-in basis and does not take reservations, so the practical challenge is timing: queues build at peak lunch, and seating is limited. Opening hours run from about 12:00PM to 10:00PM Sunday to Thursday, until mid-afternoon on Friday, with closure on Saturday for Shabbat. Because it stays open into the evening, it is one of the market's useful options for dinner when many stalls close, particularly as Mahane Yehuda's bars and restaurants come alive after dark.