Dining
BY MELISSA ENAJE
Hamsa sta bake pita using a wood-burning oven.
The Yalla Yalla Experience is sold for $75 per person.
Several charcoal skewer options are available.
PHOTOS BY MELISSA ENAJE COMMUNITY IMPACT
Hamsa serves modern Israeli cuisine in Rice Village The number ve is kind of a big deal at 5555 Morningside Drive, the address for modern-Is- raeli restaurant Hamsa, which translated in Arabic, means ve. Hamsa is also known as an ancient Islamic and Jewish symbol for the Fatima hand, which symbolizes protection, health and good fortune. It’s no coincidence that co-founder and CEO types of cuisine in one melting pot,” he said. Guests can expect food avors and techniques inspired from the Middle East’s Levant region, which includes Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Northern Africa. Ingredients used in many menu
items include olive oil, chickpeas and many spices as well as Turkish, Greek and eastern European in uences. “It’s really all across the Mediterranean,” Ben Eli said. What’s on the menu Items vary across lunch and dinner menus. For both lunch and dinner, diners can pick from the menu’s salatim, which are spreads, dips and salads served before a big meal. Options include baba ganoush; squash tahini; shaved tomato and feta; matbucha, which are slow-cooked roasted bell peppers; and labneh, a thick cheese made from strained yogurt. All salatim are served with freshly baked pita using a wood-burning oven that transforms the housemade dough discs into steaming pu s of pita in a matter of minutes. For dinner, appetizers include in-house hummus, falafel, octopus, beef tartare or roasted cabbage. Main dishes to be shared include the grilled bran- zino sh served on a fennel salad, lamb spare ribs and hanger steak. Charcoal-grilled options, such as chicken thigh, are served on a vegetable skewer and paired with a red onion parsley salad. Guests can choose from oyster mushroom, shrimp, tenderloin or a combination of lamb and beef options.
Falafel is on the restaurant’s dinner menu.
Itai Ben Eli decided to open Hamsa in 2022 in the fth month of the year. The opening came two years after Ben Eli originally leased the space, right before a global pandemic shut down businesses in 2020. Once the city started opening up again, he said he faced delays with city requirements, including the permitting process. “It’s all a blessing. I believe that we opened at the right time,” Ben Eli said. What’s special about it? Step into the restaurant and the ambiance takes diners to an upscale European dining room with colorful interior and modern furniture. Dining at Hamsa, Ben Eli said, means a variety of items on a jam-packed table where di erent avors, textures and temperatures come together. Cocktails and wine options have a Middle Eastern twist if they’re not originally sourced from the region. He stressed it’s not only about what food is being served at Hamsa, but also how food is eaten: family style. Why we love it Ben Eli said the term “Israeli cuisine” is broad. “Israel has so many di erent nationalities and
Hamsa was co-founded by Itai Ben Eli.
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5555 Morningside Dr., Ste. 100, Houston www.hamsahtx.com
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BELLAIRE MEYERLAND WEST UNIVERSITY EDITION
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