K'Far

K’Far attracts a certain set of people right off the bat. These formerly-young professionals spent the 2010’s held hostage at their company’s WeWork of choice, drinking the free beer and self-identifying as “Plant Daddies.” Some of these Elder Millennials now live in nice new condos on the Williamsburg waterfront, and you’ll see them lounging with their laptops at K’Far. They’re still suckers for an open floor plan and excessive foliage—and so are we. Especially if, instead of free beer, it comes with excellent Israeli food at all times of the day. 

K’Far is an Israeli cafe, restaurant, and bar that spans the entire lobby of the Hoxton Hotel in Williamsburg. It comes from the same people behind Laser Wolf, the Israeli grill that occupies the roof of the same hotel. Both restaurants are from Philly, and their original locations are some of our highest-rated restaurants there.

photo credit: Emily Schindler

photo credit: Emily Schindler

photo credit: Emily Schindler

photo credit: Emily Schindler

photo credit: Emily Schindler

The Williamsburg spot looks like something between a fancy co-working space and a restaurant in Palm Springs, which is also kind of how it functions. On one side, there’s a coffee and pastry counter, bar, and lounge where you’ll see people on their laptops (although there are never enough outlets). Across the foyer, there’s a dining room done in shades of coral and brown, surrounded by a makeshift jungle of fake plants and attached to a leafy outdoor courtyard that could easily belong to a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel. 

You can spend a whole day here and still feel like you’ve had three distinctive meals. In the morning, stop by the coffee counter for a Yemenite latte and a long, flat Jerusalem bagel sandwich filled with creamy eggs, schug, and cheddar. The lobby lounge is full-service, so you can hunker down with your laptop and order a crispy kataif chicken schnitzel for lunch in the afternoon. At 5pm, hit the bar for a martini, then meet a few friends in the bustling dining room across the foyer for a dinner involving a tangy lamb tartare topped with shipka peppers and a savory cheese baklava that arrives in flames. 

Even if you can’t spend your whole workday taking meetings in between bites of pull apart challah rolls, it’s worth visiting K’Far for a memorable meal, or even a martini. K'Far comes from the Hebrew word for "village," and this one's a pretty nice one to belong to. It certainly beats brunch at WeWork.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Emily Schindler

Egg & Cheese Jerusalem Bagel

Made with an extra long bagel, this pressed sandwich is crunchy on the outside and almost custard-like on the inside, thanks to an extra melty, cheesy egg. The whole thing gets some spice from schug.

photo credit: Emily Schindler

Chicken Schnitzel

Frying chicken in a kataifi crust is a clever move and makes for a crust that’s light but extra crunchy. The chicken is well-seasoned, but make sure to get some pickles in every bite. That’s where the flavor comes from.

photo credit: Emily Schindler

Palestinian Lamb Tartare

This tangy lamb tartare is the best dish on the menu. It's topped with crispy bulgar and shipka peppers and served with thick slices of red onion that you can scoop the tartare into. Wrap the onion in a piece of lettuce to get every texture in one bite.

Bone-In Short Rib

The short rib is tender with a subtle sweet and sour thing going on from the amba and passionfruit, but it's not too different from a basic balsamic-braised short rib.

photo credit: Emily Schindler

Baklava

K'Far's savory baklava is filled with haloumi cheese and comes to the table in flames. Once those die down, you have some fried cheese covered in a bit of sticky-sweet honey. It is very easy to fall in love with this fried cheese.

photo credit: Emily Schindler

Pastries

Back in Philly, people line up around the block for the pastries at K'Far. It's not as hard to get your hands on them here, and you should definitely try at least one. Every pastry is pretty good, but our favorites are the cinnamon walnut babka, chocolate rugelach, and sticky pistachio bun.

photo credit: Emily Schindler

Chavita Plate

You've really got to love green olives to enjoy the chavita plate. And we really do. The creamy omelet is loaded with green olives and feta, but the feta is mild, so the whole thing doesn't taste too salty.