• 3
• Solid choice (for the north)

I went here recently with an old friend and we were really excited to try this place out. It;s a cute little restaurant off the main drag, with a family vibe and with good views of the city bustle of Haifa. This place has a great lunch special where you get an appetizer and main for 49 Shekels. For appetizers we tried the Aloo Tiki which was quite good and came with a spicy sauce that had a nice but subtle kick to it .and the Daal Tiki, which were the size of Falafel balls and were too dry. With both we got some form of yogurt and another sauce. A chutney would have been a nice added touch. For our main courses we had the Palak and the Mulai Kofta. We both really liked the Mulai Kofta which were cooked well with lot of flavor, but the Palak Paneer was disappointing, as it was somewhat bland and didn't actually use paneer. To be clear, the menu only referred to the entree as "Palak" (Spinach), but instead of using actual paneer cheese they used Mozzarella, which in my opinion is fairly lazy. I understand that Paneer is not easy to come by and/or not so affordable in Israel, but this place should either make their own or use a more similar substitute (Chalumi) or maybe offer a vegan substitute (tofu). We finished with the Banoffi which wasn't worth the price as it was small and fairly pedestrian. Overall, this place is a very nice addition to a city which food-wise is mostly known for the best Falafel in Israel. The fact that Northern Israel has a vegetarian Indian restaurant is miraculous in and of itself, as 10-15 years ago it was unthinkable and shows just how far Israel has progressed in terms of vegetarianism and expanding its cultural palate. Jyoti does not have the menu selection, range of flavors, or quality of some of it's southern counterparts such as Beer Sheva's "Little India" or Ashdod's "Namaste". But, if you are in the north and love fresh Indian food, Or if you just really want a good healthy and hearty meal, than Jyoti is definitely worth a visit, I enjoyed it and look forward to visiting again soon.