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The Dead Sea · Where to eat

Where to eat at the Dead Sea

Almost every independent kitchen on the Israeli shore stands in one strip at Ein Bokek, and the regional council's directory of places to eat along the whole coast runs to 35 entries.

artem belinsky / Unsplash

Places to eat, whole Israeli shore

35

Entries in the Tamar Regional Council's restaurants and cafes directory, several of them shops, food trucks or guesthouses

Hotel rooms in the resort strip

3,865

Across 33 hotels at Ein Bokek and Hamei Zohar, 15 of them operational, in the Israel Land Authority figures reported in March 2025

Ranch House, for a half-board guest

₪130

Isrotel's published upgrade from the Nevo dinner buffet, ₪105 for a child, drinks not included

VAT, already inside the menu price

18 per cent

The standard Israeli rate since 1 January 2025, quoted within the figure rather than added at the till

The Dead Sea does not have a restaurant scene so much as a restaurant strip. Almost everything with a proper kitchen stands at Ein Bokek: a few hundred metres of hotels, three small commercial centres, a two-floor mall and a promenade behind the beach. The rest of the shore is served by a kibbutz dining room, a food truck, two or three kiosks and a bar under a tree. The Tamar Regional Council's directory of places to eat covers the entire Israeli shore and runs to 35 entries, several of which are grocery shops or guesthouses that also cook.

That matters less than it sounds, because most people eating here are not choosing at all. The Israel Land Authority counted 3,865 hotel rooms across 33 hotels at Ein Bokek and Hamei Zohar when it opened a tender for more in March 2025, and the hotels sell half board. A large share of visitors eat every meal in the building they slept in and never open a menu. The independent kitchens are aimed at everybody else: day trippers off the Jerusalem road, walkers coming down out of Ein Gedi, and guests on the third night who cannot face the buffet again.

The list below runs best first and is picked for range rather than for the top of the range. Ein Bokek leads, because that is where the choice is. Then the Ein Gedi cluster up the shore, where the food is cheaper and odder and the people serving it live here. Then one kosher pizzeria in Arad, up on the escarpment, for anyone who would rather eat at altitude. The panel beside each entry carries the listing data with the date it was pulled; the writing is ours.

14 places to eat

The places to eat worth the trip in The Dead Sea

Our pick and why, then everything the listing knows, with the date it was pulled.

  1. 01

    Anin Restaurant

    The one ambitious dinner on the strip

    Anin is on the upper level of the Petra centre at Ein Bokek and it is the closest thing the shore has to a proper restaurant rather than a counter with chairs. It describes itself as a Mediterranean kitchen aimed at an Israeli palate: grill dishes for the meat eaters, light starters, vegetarian plates and salads, a wine list and cocktails. The room opens onto a large sun terrace looking over the water, which is worth an evening table rather than a lunchtime one, and it takes private events of up to 100 people, so a quiet-looking Tuesday can be closed to the public. It opens every day of the week from late morning, which makes it the Friday night answer as much as an ordinary weekday one. This is the expensive end of the Dead Sea and does not pretend otherwise.

    Kashrut:
    Not kosher
    Known for:
    Grill dishes and meat over fire, Mezze starters and salads, Wine and cocktails

    Open seven days including Saturday. Telephone before a weekend evening: the room is sometimes taken by a private event.

    “Very good food Great service Very nice, clean, within walking distance.”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    4.4300 ratings

    83% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    ים המלח, עין בוקק (מרכז פטרה, 8693000
    Kitchen
    Restaurant
    Website
    rest.co.il

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun12:30-22:00
    Mon12:00-22:00
    Tue02:30-17:00
    Wed12:30-22:00
    Thu-Sat12:00-22:00
    Map, hours and reviews

  2. 02

    Ranch House

    Kosher steak, and the booking that matters

    Ranch House stands off the lobby of the Isrotel Nevo hotel and is the serious kosher kitchen at Ein Bokek. It works in the American steakhouse idiom: cuts selected and aged, served by weight, with salads, sides and a wine list beside them. Isrotel publishes the arithmetic that makes it interesting to hotel guests, an upgrade of ₪130 for an adult and ₪105 for a child from the Nevo half-board dinner, drinks excluded, which is a great deal less than the menu would cost from cold. Keeping Shabbat, it serves Sunday to Thursday from 18:30 to 22:00 and not at all at the weekend, so it has to be fitted to the calendar rather than the mood. Book by telephone or through Isrotel: five evenings a week in one room is not much capacity.

    Kashrut:
    Kosher
    Known for:
    Aged beef cuts sold by weight, Salads and sides, Desserts from the hotel pastry kitchen

    Sunday to Thursday, 18:30 to 22:00. Closed Friday and Saturday. Reserve on 08-6689666 or through Isrotel.

    “The steaks are very well made.”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    4.3206 ratings

    80% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    Ein Bokek
    Kitchen
    Restaurant

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Thu18:30-22:00
    Fri-SatClosed
    Map, hours and reviews

  3. 03

    Baobar

    A long drink under a baobab tree

    Baobar is the cafe and bar at the Ein Gedi Kibbutz Hotel, and its setting is the best argument for driving north out of Ein Bokek. The hotel sits inside a botanical garden that is not a fenced enclosure but the whole kibbutz, planted with species from several continents including baobabs, and the bar's deck stands under one of them. The kitchen is kosher dairy and the hotel says the menu is built on simple ingredients and on herbs that grow in the garden around it. Bands play on Friday evenings, which is a rare thing to find on this shore at that hour. It is a hotel venue rather than a restaurant, so treat it as a place to sit for two hours rather than a place to eat a full dinner.

    Kashrut:
    Kosher
    Known for:
    Dairy plates built on garden herbs, Coffee and cold drinks, Wine and beer on the deck

    Live music on Friday evenings. The kitchen runs shorter hours than the bar.

    “Delicious, fantastic service and great atmosphere.”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    3.6235 ratings

    62% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    Unnamed Road, Ein Gedi
    Kitchen
    Restaurant
    Price band
    ₪₪ Moderate

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Thu13:00-22:00
    Fri13:00-23:00
    Sat13:00-22:00
    Map, hours and reviews

  4. 04

    Mul Hayam Restaurant & Bar

    Dinner closest to the waterline

    Mul Hayam sits on the Ein Bokek promenade about thirty metres from the waterline, which is nearer than anything else with a menu. The kitchen is Mediterranean in the broad local sense: meats, fish, a long list of salads and vegetarian plates, served indoors in the air conditioning or outside under the sky. The council's listing describes an oriental-styled room and says it opens on Saturdays, and the restaurant advertises round-the-clock service, which on this strip means it is the fallback at any hour the rest of the promenade is shut. It is a promenade restaurant in a resort and prices itself accordingly. Come for the position, not for a revelation.

    Kashrut:
    Not kosher
    Known for:
    Grilled meats, Fish, A spread of salads
    “The food was beyond my expectations, so was the service and atmosphere.”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    4.42,448 ratings

    84% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    קניון עין התכלת - ים המלח ים המלח
    Kitchen
    Restaurant
    Price band
    ₪₪ Moderate
    Website
    rest.co.il

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Sat12:00-23:00
    Map, hours and reviews

  5. 05

    Humus Eliyahu

    The cheap lunch everyone walks past

    Humus Eliyahu is a branch of a national hummus chain, tucked into the small Ein HaTchelet centre behind the beach, and it is the least expensive proper meal at Ein Bokek. The chain's argument is that the hummus is ground only once the order is placed and comes to the table warm, which is the difference between hummus as a dish and hummus as a dip. It is supervised by the rabbinate, which makes it one of the few certain kosher options on the promenade side of the strip, and it keeps hummus hours rather than restaurant hours: 09:00 to 21:00 Sunday to Thursday, 09:00 to 15:00 on Friday, and shut for Shabbat. Two people can eat here for less than one course costs on the water.

    Kashrut:
    Kosher
    Known for:
    Hummus ground to order and served warm, Pita and salads, Toppings of ful, mushroom and meat

    Closed all Saturday, and stops at 15:00 on Friday.

    “Leanna was a gem my companions were so excited to see this place lovely food”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    3.4159 ratings

    57% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    59X7+9G, Ein Bokek
    Kitchen
    Kosher, Fast food restaurant

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Thu09:00-21:00
    Fri09:00-15:30
    SatClosed
    Map, hours and reviews

  6. 06

    Agadir Burger

    A burger straight off the beach

    Agadir opened its Dead Sea branch on the central beach promenade in August 2021, facing the Oasis hotel, in a room of more than 350 square metres designed by Uri Ben Dor. It runs the chain's standing burger menu plus rotating starters and specials, with vegetarian and vegan versions, beer and spirits, and the council's listing notes that the lighting drops and the music rises in the evening until the place is working as a bar. Hours are 12:00 to 23:00 every day of the week, Saturday included, which puts it among the small group of kitchens that cover Friday night on this shore. It is the most reliable thing on the beach for a family that has spent the day in the water and wants no ceremony at all.

    Kashrut:
    Not kosher
    Known for:
    The chain's standing burger menu, Rotating chef's specials, Vegetarian and vegan burgers
    “Amazing food, good service, stunning cocktails.”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    4.43,175 ratings

    86% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    חוף עין בוקק ים המלח
    Kitchen
    Restaurant
    Price band
    ₪₪ Moderate

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Sat12:00-22:00
    Map, hours and reviews

  7. 07

    Greg Cafe

    Kosher breakfast in the mall

    Greg is the kosher cafe in the new mall in the middle of Ein Bokek, and it does the job a chain cafe does everywhere in Israel: breakfasts, salads, sandwiches, dairy and vegetarian and vegan plates, and coffee at a table where nobody minds how long you sit. That matters more here than it would elsewhere, because it is one of the few certified kosher rooms on the strip that is not inside a hotel, and because the mall is air conditioned in a place where that is not a luxury. Hours are 10:00 to 22:00 Sunday to Thursday and 10:00 to 13:00 on Friday, so it is a late breakfast rather than an early one, and Friday is a narrow window. Nobody comes to the Dead Sea for a chain cafe, but on the third morning of a stay it is the room people end up in.

    Kashrut:
    Kosher
    Known for:
    Israeli breakfast, Salads and sandwiches, Dairy, vegetarian and vegan plates

    Friday service ends at 13:00 and there is none on Saturday.

    “The food and drinks are tasty and nicely served.”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    3.51,689 ratings

    59% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    קניון ים המלח, Ein Bokek
    Kitchen
    Cafe, Breakfast restaurant
    Price band
    ₪₪ Moderate

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Thu09:30-22:00
    Fri09:30-15:00
    SatClosed
    Map, hours and reviews

  8. 08

    Dead Sea Shawarma

    Shawarma between the beach and the bus

    This is the shawarma counter in the Ein HaTchelet centre, immediately alongside Humus Eliyahu, and between the two of them they are the cheap lunch at Ein Bokek. It is listed as a kosher restaurant and it closes for Shabbat, which is the pattern its neighbour follows too, so the two counters rise and fall together across a Friday afternoon. Shawarma here is what it is anywhere in Israel: meat off a vertical spit into a pita or a laffa, with salad, tahini and pickles, eaten standing up or carried to the lawns behind the beach. It publishes no website and no menu, so take it as a counter rather than a plan. It is also the answer to the hour between coming out of the water and getting on a bus.

    Kashrut:
    Kosher
    Known for:
    Shawarma in pita or laffa, Grilled meat in a plate, Salad, tahini and pickles
    “Nice place and atmosphere, delicious food.”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    3.651 ratings

    65% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    ים המלח, קניון עין התכלת צמוד לחומוס אליהו, Ein Bokek
    Kitchen
    Kosher, Barbecue restaurant, Fast food restaurant

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Thu10:00-22:00
    Fri10:00-17:00
    SatClosed
    Map, hours and reviews

  9. 09

    Cafe AHAVA

    A cold drink on the shore road

    Cafe AHAVA is a small dairy cafe at the visitor centre by Kibbutz Ein Gedi, with seating inside and out and a view down to the water, and it exists for the drive rather than for the meal. The counter runs to espresso, cold drinks, chocolate, ice cream, wine and beer, and it sells dates grown locally, which is the one thing on this shore worth carrying home. Hours are 08:30 to 17:00 Sunday to Thursday, 08:30 to 16:00 on Friday and 09:00 to 17:00 on Saturday, so it covers the weekend when much of the southern strip does not. No kashrut is stated, and anyone who needs supervision should treat it as unsupervised. It is a stop, not a destination, and on this road that is worth a great deal.

    Known for:
    Espresso and cold drinks, Ice cream, Local dates
    4.517 ratings

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    מרכז מבקרים, 01 קיבוץ עין-גדי, AHAVA, 8698000
    Kitchen
    Coffee shop, Buffet restaurant, Coffee stand

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Thu08:30-17:00
    Fri08:30-15:30
    Sat08:30-17:00
    Map, hours and reviews

  10. 10

    Art'os

    Where the people who live here eat

    Art'os is a food truck inside Kibbutz Ein Gedi, about three hundred metres past the yellow gate and to the right of the guard post, and finding it at all marks a visitor out as someone who asked. The food is meat and unfussy: a burger, sliced entrecote in a baguette, schnitzel in a baguette, a chicken breast salad, personal pizzas and a home-made shakshuka served in a plate or in bread, with beer, coffee and soft drinks. It serves Thursday evening and Friday and Saturday lunchtimes and nothing else, which is the timetable of a place cooking for the kibbutz and its weekend visitors rather than for a coach party. Eat it at the tables looking across to the mountains of Moab. Kashrut is not stated and it opens on Shabbat, so treat it accordingly.

    Known for:
    Sliced entrecote in a baguette, Schnitzel in a baguette, Home-made shakshuka

    Thursday evening, Friday lunch and Saturday lunch only.

    “Excellent food, very nice atmosphere !”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    4.551 ratings

    84% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    Ein Gedi
    Kitchen
    Meat, Diner
    Map, hours and reviews

  11. 11

    Nahal David Snack Bar

    Before and after the Ein Gedi walk

    This is the kiosk at the entrance to the Nahal David reserve, with picnic tables beside it, and it is the only food at the trailhead. It sells coffee, ice cream, pizza, sandwiches, salads, walking gear and souvenirs, all of it dairy, all of it to take away. Its hours are the reserve's hours, 08:00 to 16:00 in winter and 08:00 to 17:00 in summer, closing an hour earlier on Fridays and holiday eves, which is exactly when a walker coming down off the trail wants something cold. Nothing here is a meal and nothing here pretends to be. Anyone hiking in the heat should treat the freezer, not the kitchen, as the reason to stop.

    Known for:
    Coffee and frozen drinks, Pizza and sandwiches, Ice cream

    Opens and closes with the nature reserve, and shuts an hour early on Fridays and holiday eves.

    “Great frozen drinks!”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    3.884 ratings

    64% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    Ein Gedi
    Kitchen
    Diner
    Map, hours and reviews

  12. 12

    Aroma Espresso Bar

    Coffee before anything else opens

    The Aroma branch sits in the Petra complex at Ein Bokek with seating beside a stretch of lawn, and it is the strip's default first stop of the morning. The menu is the chain's national one: dairy, vegetarian and vegan, sandwiches on their own bread, salads, and coffee that is the same in Ein Bokek as it is in Tel Aviv, which is the point of a chain in a place with three commercial centres. It opens seven days a week, so it covers Saturday morning when the kosher counters do not. No kashrut is stated on the branch listing, and a seven-day operation would not hold a rabbinate certificate, so anyone who needs supervision should look elsewhere. Expect a queue at the hour the hotels finish serving breakfast.

    Known for:
    Sandwiches on house bread, Salads, Coffee
    “Great staff, clean, nice terrace, food and coffee were great.”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    3.91,590 ratings

    69% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    פטרה, עין בוקק, ים המלח, 8693000
    Kitchen
    Coffee shop, Cafe
    Price band
    ₪₪ Moderate

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Thu08:00-20:30
    Fri08:00-18:30
    Sat08:00-20:30
    Map, hours and reviews

  13. 13

    Hordus Shopping Center

    Burgers, groceries and picnic supplies

    Hordus is a super buffet on the central Ein Bokek promenade, behind the main beach on its southern side, and it is three businesses in one room: a fast food counter known for its burgers, a supermarket, and a shop selling Dead Sea cosmetics. That combination is more useful than it sounds on a shore where the alternative to a restaurant is nothing at all, and it is the obvious place to assemble a picnic for Masada or for the drive north. Seating is indoors or outside under umbrellas with a view of the water, and it opens 08:30 to 22:00 every day of the week including Saturday. The council's listing gives meat, dairy and vegetarian menus side by side in the same room, which means it is not kosher whatever else it is.

    Kashrut:
    Not kosher
    Known for:
    Burgers and fast food, Groceries and cold drinks, Dead Sea cosmetics
    “We ate lentil and quinoa salads and enjoyed.”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    3.7215 ratings

    63% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    Dead Sea, עין בוקק, ים המלח, 8693000
    Kitchen
    Restaurant, Cafe, Grocery store
    Price band
    ₪₪ Moderate

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Sat08:00-22:30
    Map, hours and reviews

  14. 14

    Pizza Kaparuchka

    Kosher pizza up on the escarpment

    Kaparuchka is in Arad, up above the southern basin, and it is here because a guide to eating at the Dead Sea that lists only the resort strip is not telling the truth about the region. It calls itself a village restaurant with an Italian turn: dough made by hand and fired in a large oven, pizza as the thing it is known for, good coffee and a drinks list. It is kosher and keeps Shabbat, running 12:00 to 22:30 Sunday to Thursday, 09:00 to 15:00 on Friday and closed Saturday. Arad is a town rather than a resort, so the prices are what a town charges and the customers live there. Worth the climb on an evening when the strip feels like an airport.

    Kashrut:
    Kosher
    Known for:
    Hand-made pizza from a large oven, Coffee, Beer and wine

    Closed all Saturday. Friday service ends at 15:00.

    “The food, the service and the atmosphere - all amazing.”
    A reviewer, quoted by Google under the listing.
    4.71,976 ratings

    94% of raters gave four or five stars.

    Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings move; this one is a snapshot, not a live figure.

    Address
    Akhva St 19, Arad
    Kitchen
    Restaurant
    Price band
    ₪₪ Moderate

    Hours as listed

    Opening hours as published on Google Maps
    Sun-Thu12:00-22:00
    Fri09:00-15:00
    SatClosed
    Map, hours and reviews

Geography

One strip, one kibbutz, and a long empty road between them

Ein Bokek is the whole of the choice. Three small commercial centres sit among the hotels, known locally as Ein Bokek, Petra and Ein HaTchelet, and each holds two or three kitchens. Anin and the Aroma branch are in the Petra complex; the shawarma counter and Humus Eliyahu are side by side in Ein HaTchelet; Mul Hayam and Agadir face the water from the promenade. Beside the Lot hotel there is also the Dead Sea Mall, two floors of shops with cafes, fast food and an ice cream counter, which the council lists as open on Saturday as well as through the week. Its upper floor was closed for renovation at the time of writing.

The hotels are the reason the independent kitchens are small. Half board is the standard arrangement here, the buffets are large, and a restaurant on the promenade is competing with a dinner the guest has already paid for. That shows in how the hotels price their own upgrades: Isrotel publishes a supplement of ₪130 for an adult and ₪105 for a child for a Nevo half-board guest who wants to eat at Ranch House instead, drinks excluded. Read the promenade menus against that figure.

North of the strip the road empties. Road 90 runs for a long stretch with nothing on it, and the next cluster is at Kibbutz Ein Gedi: the hotel dining room, the Baobar under the trees, the Art'os food truck a few hundred metres past the kibbutz gate, and Cafe AHAVA at the visitor centre. At the entrance to the Nahal David reserve there is a kiosk with picnic tables that keeps the reserve's own hours. That is the entire middle shore.

The last option is to leave the valley altogether. Arad sits up on the escarpment, a small town rather than a resort, with the ordinary restaurants a town has. It is the one direction in which the food gets cheaper rather than dearer.

The food

Meat over fire, hummus ground to order, dates grown in salt water

The default register on this shore is the Israeli grill, and it is remarkably consistent. Anin describes itself as a Mediterranean kitchen with grill dishes, light starters, vegetarian plates and salads. Mul Hayam offers meats, fish and salads from the promenade. Ranch House works in the American steakhouse idiom, with cuts aged and served by weight. Even the food truck at Ein Gedi runs the same way, on sliced entrecote in a baguette and a home-made shakshuka. Fire and meat is what the desert cooks, and a vegetarian will do better with the mezze than with a main course.

The shape of an Israeli meal is worth knowing before ordering. Small plates arrive first and keep arriving: salads, dips, pickles, bread. In most kitchens here they are substantial enough to be most of the meal, so the sensible order is fewer main courses than there are people at the table, with more added if the table is still hungry. The same applies to the Israeli breakfast, which is a spread rather than a plate and is routinely shared between two.

The cheap food is hummus and shawarma, and it is where the value on the strip sits. Humus Eliyahu grinds its hummus after the order is placed and serves it warm, which is its whole argument, and the shawarma counter is immediately next door in the same small centre. Neither will take long and neither pretends to a view.

The one genuinely local product is the date. The moshavim at the southern end of the basin, Neot HaKikar and Ein Tamar, grow organic Medjool dates in saline soil watered from saline wells, alongside peppers and melons, with around 70 per cent of the produce going for export. At Kibbutz Ein Gedi the botanical garden is not a walled enclosure but the whole kibbutz, and the hotel says the herbs growing in it are what the Baobar menu is built on. A box of dates bought on the way out is the most local thing a visitor can eat here.

Kashrut

Friday afternoon closes half the strip, and Saturday does not

The Dead Sea is easier on a Friday night than most of Israel, and the reason is that it is a resort. The hotels keep kosher kitchens and go on serving their guests through Shabbat under the arrangements hotels use; Kibbutz Ein Gedi's dining room and its Baobar are both kosher, the bar dairy. Outside the hotels the shore divides into places that keep Shabbat and places that were never going to, and a visitor who knows which is which will not go hungry on either side.

The kosher kitchens stop early on Friday and stay shut all Saturday. Greg Cafe in the Ein Bokek mall states that it is kosher and lists Friday hours of 10:00 to 13:00 against 10:00 to 22:00 the rest of the week. Humus Eliyahu is supervised by the rabbinate and gives Friday hours of 09:00 to 15:00. Ranch House at Isrotel Nevo does not attempt Friday or Saturday at all and serves Sunday to Thursday only, which makes it the one dinner on this list that has to be planned around the calendar. Up in Arad, Kaparuchka runs to 15:00 on Friday and closes on Saturday.

The places that open through Shabbat are the ones a Friday night belongs to. Agadir on the beach lists 12:00 to 23:00 every day including Saturday, and the Hordus buffet on the promenade opens 08:30 to 22:00 seven days. Mul Hayam advertises round-the-clock service and says plainly that it opens on Saturdays. The Aroma branch opens daily, Cafe AHAVA at Ein Gedi opens 09:00 to 17:00 on Saturday, and the Art'os truck at the kibbutz serves Friday and Saturday lunchtimes and almost nothing else.

Where an operator does not state its kashrut, this page says so rather than guessing, and a good number of the listings here say nothing at all. Two rules of thumb are worth more than an assumption. A kitchen that opens on Saturday does not hold a rabbinate certificate. A kitchen serving meat and dairy in the same room, as the Hordus buffet does, is not kosher whatever else it is. If it matters, look for the printed certificate, which names the supervising body and carries an expiry date.

Practicalities

The bill, the tip, the water and the heat

Booking. For most of this list a reservation is unnecessary, because most of this list is a counter. The exceptions are the two sit-down dinners: Ranch House, which serves five evenings a week in a hotel lobby and takes bookings through Isrotel, and Anin, which takes private events of up to 100 people and can therefore be shut to the public on an evening that looks quiet. Telephone rather than assume, particularly over the school holidays and the festivals.

The bill. Israeli menu prices include VAT, which has stood at 18 per cent since 1 January 2025, so nothing is added at the bottom. What is usually absent is a service charge: Israeli restaurants rarely add one except for groups and private events, which leaves the tip entirely with the customer, in cash or at the card machine. That is not a courtesy arrangement. The National Labour Court ruled in 2018 that tips count as wages from 1 January 2019, with income tax, pension, health and national insurance obligations attached, whether or not the money goes through the till.

Water. Tap water is safe and free and will be brought if it is asked for, and here it should be asked for first rather than last. This is the hottest and driest ground in the country, and most visitors reach a table having spent the morning in brine. Order water before the menu, and order more of it than seems reasonable.

Timing. The kitchens on the strip run to 22:00 or 23:00, but anything attached to a reserve closes with it: the kiosk at the Nahal David gate keeps 08:00 to 16:00 in winter and 08:00 to 17:00 in summer, an hour earlier on Fridays and holiday eves. That is the trap for a day tripper. If the plan is Ein Gedi in the afternoon and Jerusalem in the evening, eat before leaving the shore.

The full list

Every place to eat we found in The Dead Sea

All 25 that Google Maps returned for this area, ranked by rating weighted for how many people rated it, so a five from three people does not outrank a four and a half from three thousand.

Every place to eat in The Dead Sea, from a Google Maps snapshot taken on 2026-08-13
NameKindRatingRatingsPriceWhere
Pizza KaparuchkaRestaurant4.71,976₪₪Arad
Agadir BurgerRestaurant4.43,175₪₪n/a
Mul Hayam Restaurant & Barמול הים בר מסעדה - Mul Hayam Restaurant & Bar‎Restaurant4.42,448₪₪n/a
Anin Restaurantמסעדת אנין ים המלחRestaurant4.4300n/an/a
Art'osMeat4.551n/aEin Gedi
Grandpa's KitchenRestaurant4.724n/aمتسفيه شليم
Ranch Houseראנץ׳ האוסRestaurant4.3206n/aEin Bokek
Shawarma Mix Besarimשווארמה מיקס בשריםFast Food4.427n/aEin Bokek
Cafe AHAVAקפה אהבה | Cafe AHAVACoffee shop4.517n/aAHAVA
Coffee Cart / Asado and Beerעגלת קפה/אסאדו ובירהCoffee shop5.05n/aEin Gedi
Ein Gedi Hotel RestaurantRestaurant4.2278n/aArugot
Kibbutz Ein Gedi Dining Hallחד"א קיבוץ עין גדיRestaurant4.511n/aEin Gedi
RampaרמפהCoffee shop5.03n/aEin Gedi
Ein Gedi Dining Roomחדר אוכל עין גדיRestaurant5.01n/aEin Gedi
HaMidbar Restaurantמסעדת המדברFamily-friendly4.04n/aEin Bokek
Nahal David Snack Barמזנון נחל דודDiner3.884n/aEin Gedi
Aroma Espresso BarCoffee shop3.91,590₪₪ים המלח
Dead Sea Shawarmaשווארמה ים המלחKosher3.651n/aEin Bokek
Hordus Shopping Centerמרכז קניות הורדוס Hordus Shopping CenterRestaurant3.7215₪₪n/a
BaobarRestaurant3.6235₪₪Ein Gedi
Taj MahalMiddle Eastern3.62,753₪₪n/a
Humus Eliyahuחומוס אליהו עין בוקק - ים המלחKosher3.4159n/aEin Bokek
Greg CafeCafe3.51,689₪₪Ein Bokek
McDonald'sFast Food2.8392₪₪Ein Bokek
McDonald'sFast Food2.81,286₪₪n/a

Google Maps, retrieved . Ratings and counts move daily and this table does not: it is a snapshot, and it is here so the ranking above can be checked rather than taken on trust. Prices are Google's own price band, not a menu price.

Salt crystals crusting the turquoise shallows of the Dead Sea

Practical

What to know before you go

  • Decide on Friday morning, not Friday afternoon. The kosher counters at Ein HaTchelet and the cafe in the mall stop between 13:00 and 15:00, and after that the choice narrows to the places that open through Shabbat.
  • Order water before you order food. Most people arrive at a table having spent the morning in brine, in the hottest and driest air in the country, and tap water is safe and free for the asking.
  • Order fewer main courses than there are people. Salads and small plates arrive first and keep arriving, and in most kitchens here they are most of the meal.
  • If you are hiking Ein Gedi, the kiosk at the reserve gate is the only food at the trailhead and it closes when the reserve does, an hour earlier on Fridays and holiday eves.
  • Check your hotel's dinner upgrade before booking a restaurant. Isrotel publishes ₪130 for an adult and ₪105 for a child to move from the Nevo buffet to Ranch House, which is less than the same meal from cold.
  • Menu prices already include VAT at 18 per cent and almost never include a service charge, so the tip is a separate decision made at the card machine or in cash.
  • Buy dates rather than souvenirs. The moshavim at the southern end of the basin grow organic Medjool in saline soil, and the cafe at Ein Gedi sells them by the box.
  • For anything that is not in a hotel, telephone. Several of these are one-room operations whose hours move with the season, and the strip's listings are not always current.

artem belinsky / Unsplash

The figures

Numbers behind this page

Each figure carries the year it belongs to and links the source it came from.

MeasureFigureAs ofSource
Entries in the regional council's restaurants and cafes directory for the whole Israeli shore352026deadsea.co.il
Existing hotel rooms at Ein Bokek and Hamei Zohar3,865 across 33 hotels, 15 of them operational2025jpost.com
Ranch House dinner upgrade for an Isrotel Nevo half-board guest₪130 adult, ₪105 child, drinks excluded2026isrotel.co.il
Ranch House, Dead Sea branch, service hours18:30 to 22:00, Sunday to Thursday2026ranchhouse.co.il
Humus Eliyahu, Ein Bokek branch09:00 to 21:00 Sunday to Thursday, 09:00 to 15:00 Friday2026humus-eli-yahoo.com
Greg Cafe, Ein Bokek, Friday hours10:00 to 13:002026deadsea.co.il
Floor area of the Agadir beach restaurant at Ein BokekOver 350 square metres2026deadsea.co.il
Standard Israeli VAT, included in menu prices18 per cent from 1 January 20252025herzoglaw.co.il

The rest of the The Dead Sea guide

Things to do in The Dead Sea →Where to stay in The Dead Sea →Getting to The Dead Sea →The best time to visit The Dead Sea →

Sources and further reading

Every link below was opened and checked when this page was written. Official statements are marked as such: they are the subject's own account, not an independent one.

  1. OfficialDead Sea Land, Tamar Regional Councildeadsea.co.il
    Restaurants and cafes at the Dead Sea

    The regional council's directory of places to eat along the Israeli shore, the count of 35 entries, and the individual venue and attraction pages beneath it, including Anin, Mul Hayam, Cafe AHAVA and the Dead Sea Mall

  2. OfficialDead Sea Land, Tamar Regional Councildeadsea.co.il
    Agadir restaurant, Ein Bokek beach

    Floor area, the August 2021 opening, the designer, and 12:00 to 23:00 seven days

  3. OfficialDead Sea Land, Tamar Regional Councildeadsea.co.il
    Greg Cafe, Dead Sea

    States the cafe is kosher and gives Friday hours of 10:00 to 13:00

  4. OfficialDead Sea Land, Tamar Regional Councildeadsea.co.il
    Hordus buffet, Ein Bokek promenade

    Buffet, supermarket and cosmetics shop in one room, meat and dairy menus, 08:30 to 22:00 daily

  5. OfficialDead Sea Land, Tamar Regional Councildeadsea.co.il
    Art'os food truck, Kibbutz Ein Gedi

    Directions past the yellow gate, the menu, and Thursday to Saturday opening

  6. OfficialDead Sea Land, Tamar Regional Councildeadsea.co.il
    Duda Nahal David, at the reserve entrance

    Dairy kiosk at the trailhead, winter and summer hours and the Friday closure

  7. OfficialDead Sea Land, Tamar Regional Councildeadsea.co.il
    Kaparuchka, Arad

    Kosher status, the oven-baked pizza, and Sunday to Friday hours

  8. OfficialIsrotelisrotel.co.il
    Ranch House at Isrotel Dead Sea

    Kosher steakhouse off the Nevo lobby, Sunday to Thursday service, and the ₪130 and ₪105 half-board upgrade

  9. OfficialHumus Eliyahuhumus-eli-yahoo.com
    Our restaurants

    The Ein Bokek branch, rabbinate supervision, and its Sunday to Friday hours

  10. OfficialEin Gedi Kibbutz Hotelngedi.co.il
    Food and beverages at Ein Gedi Kibbutz Hotel

    The dining room and the Baobar, its deck under a baobab and the garden herbs on the menu

  11. OfficialDead Sea Land, Tamar Regional Councildeadsealand.org.il
    Neot HaKikar and Ein Tamar

    Organic Medjool dates grown in saline soil on saline well water, with about 70 per cent of the produce exported

  12. ReportingThe Jerusalem Postjpost.com
    Israeli riviera: Hundreds of new hotel rooms planned at Dead Sea

    The Israel Land Authority tender of March 2025, and the existing 3,865 rooms across 33 hotels with 15 operational

  13. ReportingThe Jerusalem Postjpost.com
    Ein Gedi hotel transformed for younger travellers and families

    That the kibbutz hotel's dining room is kosher and the Baobar serves kosher dairy food, and the garden that runs through the kibbutz

  14. ReportingThe Times of Israeltimesofisrael.com
    Court rules waiters must pay tax on tips

    The National Labour Court ruling of 2018 making tips part of wages from 1 January 2019

Where to eat at the Dead Sea: common questions

Is there anywhere good to eat at the Dead Sea outside the hotels?+

Yes, but the choice is small and it is nearly all in one place. Ein Bokek's three commercial centres and its promenade hold a dozen or so independent kitchens, from a grill restaurant with a terrace down to a hummus counter, and the mall beside the Lot hotel adds cafes and fast food. Away from that strip there is a kibbutz hotel bar and a food truck at Ein Gedi, a kiosk at the nature reserve gate, and then a long empty road. The regional council's directory for the whole Israeli shore lists 35 places to eat, and several of those are grocery shops.

What is open on a Friday night at the Dead Sea?+

More than in most of Israel, because this is a resort. Agadir on the beach lists 12:00 to 23:00 every day including Saturday, the Hordus buffet runs 08:30 to 22:00 seven days, Mul Hayam says it opens on Saturdays, and the Aroma branch and Anin both open daily. The hotels go on feeding their own guests through Shabbat with kosher kitchens. What stops is the kosher independent trade: Greg Cafe at 13:00, Humus Eliyahu at 15:00, and Ranch House does not serve Friday or Saturday at all.

Where is the kosher food at Ein Bokek?+

In the hotels, and in four or five places outside them. Ranch House at Isrotel Nevo is the kosher restaurant proper, serving Sunday to Thursday only. Humus Eliyahu is under rabbinate supervision, Greg Cafe in the mall states that it is kosher, and the shawarma counter beside Humus Eliyahu is listed as a kosher restaurant and shuts for Shabbat. Everything else on the promenade either states nothing or opens on Saturday, which settles the question.

Can I eat at Ein Gedi, or should I bring food?+

You can eat there, but plan the timing. The kiosk at the Nahal David reserve gate sells coffee, pizza, sandwiches and ice cream and keeps the reserve's hours, 08:00 to 16:00 in winter and 08:00 to 17:00 in summer with an hour off on Fridays and holiday eves. Kibbutz Ein Gedi has its hotel dining room and the Baobar under the trees, and the Art'os food truck serves Thursday evening and Friday and Saturday lunchtimes. Cafe AHAVA at the visitor centre covers the rest of the week for a cold drink.

Do I need to book a table?+

Only for the two sit-down dinners. Ranch House serves five evenings a week in one hotel room and takes bookings by telephone or through Isrotel, and Anin can be closed for a private event of up to 100 people on any given night. Everything else on this list is a counter, a buffet or a cafe where you walk in. Over the festivals and the school holidays, telephone anyway.

How much should I tip, and is service included?+

Service is almost never included, so the tip is entirely yours to decide. Israeli restaurants rarely add a service charge except for groups and private events, and the tip is left in cash or added at the card machine. It is not a token: the National Labour Court ruled in 2018 that tips count as wages from 1 January 2019, carrying income tax, pension, health and national insurance obligations. Menu prices already include VAT at 18 per cent, so nothing else is added at the bottom.

Is the tap water safe to drink?+

Yes, and it is free if you ask for it. Restaurants will bring tap water on request, and at the Dead Sea that should be the first thing ordered rather than the last. This is the hottest and driest ground in Israel and most people reach a table having spent hours in brine, which takes more out of them than they expect.

Is there anywhere cheap to eat?+

The hummus and shawarma counters in the small Ein HaTchelet centre behind the beach, and they sit next door to each other. Humus Eliyahu grinds its hummus once the order is placed and serves it warm, and the shawarma counter alongside does meat off the spit into pita or laffa. Both are kosher and both close for Shabbat. Up in Arad, which is a town rather than a resort, the pizza is cheaper again.

Where do people who live here eat?+

At the kibbutz and up the escarpment, not on the promenade. The Art'os food truck inside Kibbutz Ein Gedi opens Thursday evening and Friday and Saturday lunchtimes, which is a timetable set by the community rather than by tourism, and you have to know it is three hundred metres past the yellow gate to find it. In Arad the restaurants serve the town: Kaparuchka's pizza is the example on this list. The resort strip is priced for people staying in the hotels.

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