The first of several new eateries in the works from Zahav owners Mike Solomonov and Steve Cook is about to open. K’Far, an Israeli bakery and cafe led by James Beard Award-winning chef Camille Cogswell, has its official debut on Wednesday, July 31, with daytime hours only to start. Look for dinner to be added in August.
Named for the Hebrew word for “village,” K’Far is located in the new Harper apartment building at 110 S. 19th Street in Rittenhouse. Cogswell — coming from Zahav, the best restaurant in the country — is the executive chef. The chef de cuisine is Troy Wilson, also a Zahav alum.
Cogswell’s K’Far menu includes Israeli and Jewish favorites like rugelach, babka, pistachio sticky buns, and borekas filled with potato, Bulgarian feta, or jam and sweet cheese. Salads, grain bowls, toasts made with slow-cooked Yemenite pull-apart kubaneh bread, and Jerusalem bagel sandwiches fill out the menu, which is available via counter service during the day. (Jerusalem bagels are more oval than round, crusty, and covered in sesame seeds.)
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The baked goods and sandwiches are available early. The salad and bowls, offered from 11 a.m., include one with slow-roasted salmon, sumac, labneh, and cucumbers. There’s coffee from Ox Coffee and alcohol, with lots of low-proof cocktails. Challah will be sold on Fridays.
In the evenings, K’Far will switch to table service, with a different menu made up of dishes like Turkish-style eggplant stuffed with coffee-braised beef and lamb shank braised in sour cherry juice with pickled rose petals, pistachios, and saffron rice.
Breakfast options are in the $3 to $10 range. Lunch is $6 to $13, and dinner entrees will be $12 to $28.
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The restaurant, designed by Philly-based Boxwood Architects, seats 76 across tables, the counter, the bar, and an outdoor patio facing 19th Street.
K’Far isn’t taking reservations yet; it’s walk-in only. For now, the hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Sometime in August, the hours will extend to 10 p.m. during the week and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Take a look inside, and keep scrolling for more food photos:
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