At Sabbah: A Charcoal Fire at the Edge of Haifa Bay

The smoke reaches you before the door does. At Halutzei HaTaasiya 96, on the commercial stretch where Haifa Bay turns toward Kiryat Haim, a long charcoal grill sits at the center of the room and never really rests. Skewers lie across the embers in neat rows, fat dripping onto the coals, and the cooks turn them with the unhurried rhythm of people who know the job by heart. The air carries lamb fat, cumin and the sweeter edge of charred onion. A basket of sesame focaccia, still warm from the stone oven, lands beside a spread of small salads before anyone has finished ordering. Israeli pop plays low under the clatter of plates and the chatter of tables full of families. This is At Sabbah, a shipudia that has decided the format deserves more care than it usually gets, and the evidence starts arriving within minutes.

The whole menu is organized around the grill. Everything is cooked to order over charcoal, and the skewer list reads like a map of the animal. There is a juicy kebab in beef, lamb and chicken versions, chicken thighs and wings, merguez sausages, grilled hearts and chicken liver. For those who want to go further, the list stretches to picanha, lamb chops, veal sweetbreads, goose breast and goose liver, plus a salmon skewer for anyone at the table who prefers fish. The entrecôte arrives a shade under medium, as requested, with a crust from the coals and a tender center. The chicken kebab is the surprise of the menu. The kitchen grinds it on site with goose fat, which keeps it moist over the heat and gives it a richness that chicken rarely earns on a skewer. It is one of the better versions in the region.