StPeter – Hope and Survive

I think just about every tour to Israel makes a trip to St. Peter’s Restaurant. Our tour did … and every tour I have looked at does. My mother went on an Israel tour back in 1978 or so … and her tour group went to St. Peter’s, too. So, if you go on a tour to Israel, chances are good that you too are going to have the opportunity to visit St. Peter’s Restaurant.

Going to St. Peter’s Restaurant for lunch

This restaurant caters to tour groups so there is a very large parking lot that accommodates several buses at any given time. Reservations are taken so there is no wait – or, we didn’t have one. In fact, the day we went to the restaurant, it wasn’t very full at all, at least not when we first arrived. There was a bigger crowd by the time we left.

The restaurant sits right on the Sea of Galilee. It is a lovely setting. While I am not aware of how I have read that there is easy access to the water from the restaurant.

I saw very few dogs while in Israel. I was surprised to find this little Chihuahua-type dog right outside of the restaurant. Being the animal lover that I am, I not only had to photograph it, I feel compelled to share it with you!

The restaurant is set up to serve huge groups quickly and efficiently. Notice that the walls are all glass so you can look out on the Sea of Galilee as you eat.

Menu in January 2019. There weren’t many choices. I don’t know if that was true for every visitor or just for those on tours. 80 nis translates to $22.14 US. Given how expensive things are in Israel, I guess that is a fair price, especially since the somewhat-limited salad bar was all you can eat.

There are a couple of comments I have to make about the menu. When I saw “baked potato,” I expected what we get here in the United States: a big foil-wrapped potato onto which is slathered butter, sour cream, cheese, and maybe chives and bacon bits. Not so. You’ll see a picture of the baked potatoes below. You’ll see why I spent some time wondering when they were going to be bringing out the baked potatoes.

The same could be said about the coffee the menu says we will get. What we got was a tiny, tiny taste of coffee. A couple of small sips. For a coffee drinker like me who can easily drink a pot of coffee or more, that was just a tease!

The salad bar included hummus, some sauces with which I was unfamiliar, fresh veggies, and more.

This is the St. Peter’s Fish, eyes and all. It was mostly skin and bones. There was very, very little meat on mine. St. Peter’s Fish is tilapia, so it is a very mild fish. Notice the potatoes. Those are what were called baked potatoes! Perhaps they were baked, but they certainly did not fit what my mind saw when I read that we would be having baked potato with our meal!

I had a taste of my friend’s kebab. If I ever return to the restaurant, I will have the kebab. I thought it was really good and it would have been far more filling than the St. Peter’s fish was.

You can see the bar behind some of our tour group. The restaurant efficiently gets you in, fed, and back out.