(I don't know how to edit the wiki properly - best I could do to update a few hechsherim - so if someone could add this in, they could.)
Ate leil Rosh Chodesh with my brother at Mesubin restaurant in Bet Shemesh. What follows is a description of my experience; it should be taken as my opinion but not fact. I am providing this as a way to help you determine if you are interested in eating there; if you have no interest in eating there, this review is not relevant. I don't do expensive restaurants normally, so I have no way of comparing to other places.
Website:
https://www.mesubin-rest.co.il/Location: Yigal Alon 2. Also accessible from the "Misaaf Tziraah" bus stop on the 38.
Hechsher: Rubin
We had made up to meet at the restaurant around 9PM. I took the 8PM bus 617 from Yerushalayim, which did not actually pick me up from Shefa Chaim until 8:20. I got off the bus at 8:57, getting to the restaurant door at 9:05. Although my brother had tried to make a reservation, it turns out that they don't do that for only two people. He was assured that there would be room anyways. This turned out not to be the case. Based on snatches of conversation I heard throughout the night from various staff, this was a busier night than they were used to (though this is a guess). My brother was late but I asked about a table at 9:10. We were seated at 9:25 or so, even though I had only spoken to the person at the door once and there were another few people waiting who seemed to think they were ahead of us and were far more pushy. (I was quietly standing two feet away, saying nothing, but she looked over their shoulders and waved at us.)
We waited almost no time at all before getting menus, and they provided in English when we asked. We're quick deciders and our order was taken very quickly. The waiter apologized for taking our order on his smartphone instead of on restaurant hardware. My brother gets indigestion from sesame, so we asked for no sesame toppings wherever it wasn't already in the dish when prepared.
The Chumus/Basar plate came very fast - maybe five minutes. It comes with two pitas, a plate of chumus and a pile of ground beef in the middle. Also some homemade pickle slices (tasted like American half-sours) and schug. When I went to wash, I noted that the window to the outside was right next to their dumpster, and it was ossur to make a beracha next to the sink. The pitas had been warmed and were fine. The meat was savory and not flavored too much.
"Of Tempura" and "Noodles Yakitori" both came about fifteen minutes later - topped with sesame that was clearly added after the dish was done. We pointed this out, and the person who had brought it (not the one who took the order) asked if we had specified this - we confirmed that yes, we had. Without further ado, the dishes were brought back to the kitchen, returning maybe another fifteen minutes later without the sesame. (Don't ask how my brother lives without sesame in EY - or how I myself did for the 1.5 years that it gave me indigestion.)
A similar story with the wine. We ordered the PC Moscato off the menu (lchovod Rosh Chodesh, about 50 shekel more than in a store). However, they brought some other brand, which I only picked up later and noted that it had only a Bet Yosef. I had to point this out to the waiter and they took it back. We ordered a very good semi-dry white instead (and another 60 shekel more), which was nice but not what I was in the mood of. This one had a Rubin. No recollection which wine it was.
The Of Tempura was about ten largish pieces of chicken in plain tempura, and a small bowl of teriyaki sauce which was very good. The chicken was very soft inside the tempura but IMHO the dish (an appetizer according to the menu) should have come with half the chicken at half the price, being that there wasn't any flavor but the teriyaki sauce. I enjoyed the first few pieces, as did my brother, but we ended up taking four pieces home.
The Yakitori Noodles consists of stir-fried noodles and various other vegetables, topped by so many sprouts (nabatim, y'all) that you can't see what's in there until you move them to the side. The sauce seemed to be peach-based instead of soy-based, and I would have appreciated less of the sauce. I had about a third, my brother only a bit, and we took half home.
Together with the second gilgul of the noodles arrived the "Yakitori Pargit" - three huge pieces of grilled chicken (officially 240gr) with just a touch of some soy-based sauce. That was amazingly soft and delicious. (There were no leftovers.)
Officially the chicken comes with a side, which we had chosen (french fries), but we didn't get it until we asked for it. The fries were no different than that you would get at a pizza store. We had almost none of it, but we didn't need it. (I'm sure the kids were happy to eat them the next day.)
Prices (shekel): (Note that the English menu online seems to have outdated prices - see the Hebrew one online for the difference)
Tempura chicken - 59
Chumus basar - 69
Yakitori noodles - 119
Yakitori pargit - 109
PC Moscato (that we didn't get) - 89
White wine we actually got - 145
We tipped and paid 285 a person (lchvod Rosh Chodesh).
I was impressed at how quickly the food came, considering that every table was full and the staff looked harried. I would eat there again if the food was free (like it is on Rosh Chodesh); otherwise my tastes tend toward cheaper fast food. Hope this review is helpful.
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