Djimalaya - Hummus & Grill - recommended by Vegans And Friends

Today I’ll tell you about the Djimalaya in Berlin-Mitte. I have already written about the branch at Kantini in Bikini Berlin here. Now we were in the head quarter at Invalidenstrasse 159.

I went there for the first time a year or two ago and apparently I was so enthusiastic about the restaurant that I took business cards home with me. I recently came across them. And I thought: “Ah yes! I know that place”.

What do they offer at Djimalaya?

The kitchen is Israeli. The subtitle says “Hummus & Grill”. With this you can already imagine what kind of dishes are on the menu. So that you can get an exact picture and know whether it is worth going there, I want to give you a detailed insight on what the have on offer.

Obviously there are hummus plates. The basic version is served with olives, pita bread, pickled cucumber and a chili-garlic-lemon sauce and it is vegan. As an add-on you can order beef kebab, chicken skewer or spinach mushroom pan. The latter is also vegan.

The second focus – grilled dishes – offers chicken shashlik, beef kebab, lamb hip, salmon fillet and, as a vegan option, stuffed aubergine. The side dishes include hummus, s’chug (a spicy sauce of Yemeni origin), grilled vegetables and pita bread.

Side dishes can be shared in balagan style (balagan = chaos, mess). Falafel, tabbouleh, haloumi, sweet potatoes and much more are served here. Most of it is vegan.

As you can see, the Djimalya is an ideal place where vegans and non-vegans can eat together.

What did we eat?

It is of course great to sit at the table with the owner’s wife. She knows the menu inside out and can give tips.

As appetizers we had olives, tahini with tomato and s’chug and pita bread. This made it very pleasant to bridge the short waiting time for the other dishes.

And then it started.

Hummus with mushroom and spinach pan, the grill dish with chicken shashlik and the one with stuffed aubergine, shakshuka and wonderful falafel came on the table. You can find the photos at the top.

Djimalaya Behind The Scenes

If you are already sitting at the table with the owner’s wife, you also get the opportunity to meet the boss.

Ofer is actually an architect, but he also has a great love for his home kitchen. That way Berlin’s culinary landscape is enriched by a cozy restaurant. Ofer loves to design rooms, you can feel that in the stylish furnishings of the Djimalaya.

Since the shop was filled to the last seat and I want to avoid someone showing up in a photo without knowing, here is just a small sample of the inner workings.

If you have to wait a little bit for a table, take a seat on the waiting bench next to the entrance.