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Israeli food in Palo Alto starts with one name. Oren's Hummus opened on University Avenue in 2011, caught on with locals and Stanford students and grew into a Bay Area group from that single shop. The original is still downtown and a faster branch sits at Town & Country Village. A small kosher counter on El Camino Real adds the Yemenite side of Israeli cooking. Castro Street in Mountain View has another Oren's a short train ride away.
Each place here was confirmed in 2026 through its own site, its first-party ordering page, a verified directory page or the current list of the local kosher certifier. Menus change, so treat any dish as an example. For Greek, Turkish and Lebanese food, see our Mediterranean and Middle Eastern guide.
What Israeli food is
Israeli cooking is a young cuisine built from many older ones. Jews from Morocco, Iraq, Yemen, Eastern Europe and the Balkans brought their dishes. Arab and Palestinian cooking shaped the everyday staples. The result is a table of salads, dips, grilled meat, pita and pastries, with hummus treated as a full meal rather than a side.
- Hummus. Served warm in a wide bowl with tahini and olive oil and often topped with chickpeas, meat, eggplant or a cooked egg. You scoop it with pita.
- Sabich. Fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, salad and tahini in pita, often with amba, a tangy mango pickle sauce.
- Schnitzel. A thin breaded cutlet, usually chicken, eaten in pita or with fries.
- Israeli salad. Finely chopped cucumber and tomato with lemon and olive oil.
- Shakshuka. Eggs poached in a spiced tomato and pepper sauce.
- Malawach. A flaky Yemenite flatbread fried in a pan, eaten with grated tomato and hot sauce.
- Bourekas. Puff pastry filled with cheese, potato or spinach.
- Malabi. A milk pudding scented with rosewater and topped with syrup and nuts.
Oren's Hummus, 261 University Avenue
Oren's Hummus Shop is where the group began. The company says the original shop served fresh, authentic Israeli and Mediterranean food and quickly won over locals and Stanford students. It now runs restaurants in San Francisco, Mountain View, Los Gatos and Lafayette, plus farmers market stands and a catering kitchen in San Jose. Its Cupertino branch closed in September 2026. The Oren's locations page lists current hours for every branch.
Hummus and pita are the core and the company says both are made fresh several times a day. It serves Angus beef, all-natural chicken and organic eggs and buys most of its produce from local family farms. Many ingredients for the hummus and tahini are imported from the Mediterranean.
The weekday happy hour, Monday to Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m., is a cheap way to sample the smaller plates: schnitzel bites, falafel, fries, quick-fried cauliflower florets, bourekas and challah French toast sticks. A Grab & Go menu sells dips and sides to take home. The restaurant runs an online waitlist rather than reservations. It is open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Our happy hours guide lists other early-evening deals downtown.
Oren's Hummus Express, Town & Country Village
Oren's Hummus Express is the quick-service branch at 855 El Camino Real, Suite 162, across the road from Stanford. The company lists it with its own phone number and shorter hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The format suits a fast lunch or a takeout order after a campus visit. For a longer sit-down meal, the University Avenue restaurant is the better bet. Our Town & Country Village guide covers parking and the other shops.
The Ma'lawah Bar, 4131 El Camino Real
The Ma'lawah Bar is a small counter at 4131 El Camino Real, Suite 100, in south Palo Alto. Chef Doreet Jehassi started it in 2019 as a delivery service from her home in Santa Clara, according to J., the Bay Area's Jewish news outlet. She opened the Palo Alto counter in 2024. The name comes from malawach, the Yemenite flatbread. J. listed falafel, shakshuka, vegan pizza, sabich, salads and shakes and reported that the menu is vegan unless a dish includes a hard-boiled egg.
Sunrise Kosher, the Vaad of Northern California, lists it among the Palo Alto eateries under its supervision. That means Shabbat hours: in 2024 the counter closed early on Friday and stayed closed on Saturday. Check current hours before a Friday visit. Our kosher food guide covers the other supervised options in town.
Oren's Hummus, Castro Street, Mountain View
The Mountain View restaurant is at 126 Castro Street, a short walk from the Mountain View Caltrain and VTA station. Its first-party ordering page shows the clearest picture of the Oren's menu. Hummus bowls come classic, Jaffa style or topped with eggplant, sabich, cauliflower, chicken, Moroccan beef or braised lamb. Grilled plates include chicken skewers, beef kebab and a harissa lamb skewer. Pita sandwiches include green herb falafel, sabich, chicken schnitzel and arayes, pita stuffed with spiced ground meat and grilled. Desserts include baklava, malabi, chocolate mousse and chocolate babka. An all-day breakfast section adds quiche, French toast sticks and egg pitas.
It opens at 10:45 a.m. daily and closes at 9:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The take-home case sells hummus by the tub, Romanian eggplant, Moroccan carrots, labane, tabouli and bottles of green harissa and tahini. Our Castro Street guide covers the rest of the street.
Vegan, kosher and allergy notes
- Vegan. Hummus, falafel, Israeli salad, tahini and most eggplant dishes are plant based. Labane, feta fries, schnitzel and malabi are not.
- Gluten. Oren's lists a gluten-free pita in its take-home case and a gluten-free quiche. Falafel is often fried in shared oil, so ask.
- Sesame. Tahini is made from sesame and appears in most dishes. Tell staff about a sesame allergy before you order.
- Kosher. The Ma'lawah Bar is supervised by Sunrise Kosher. Oren's does not state kosher certification. Izzy's Brooklyn Bagels on California Avenue is another supervised option if you need a kosher breakfast.
Our vegetarian and vegan guide has more plant-based choices.
Tips for eating Israeli food here
- Eat hummus as the meal. Order a topped bowl and extra pita rather than hummus as a starter.
- Go at happy hour. Oren's downtown runs small plates from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday.
- Plan around Shabbat. Kosher counters close early on Friday and stay shut on Saturday.
- Stock the fridge. The Grab & Go case at Oren's is handy for a hotel stay or a picnic. If you are in town for a few nights, you can compare hotels near downtown Palo Alto within walking distance of University Avenue.
Good to know
- Oren's downtown runs an online waitlist, not reservations.
- Oren's Hummus Express keeps shorter hours than the downtown restaurant.
- Oren's Hummus in Cupertino closed on September 11, 2026. Palo Alto and Mountain View remain open.
- The Ma'lawah Bar is kosher and closes for Shabbat.
- Hours change around holidays. Check before you go.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Israeli food in Palo Alto?
Oren's Hummus at 261 University Avenue is the best known. It opened in 2011 and was the first restaurant of a group that now runs several Bay Area locations. Oren's Hummus Express at Town & Country Village is a quicker branch. The Ma'lawah Bar at 4131 El Camino Real serves kosher Yemenite food.
Is there kosher Israeli food in Palo Alto?
Yes. Sunrise Kosher, the Vaad of Northern California, lists The Ma'lawah Bar at 4131 El Camino Real among the Palo Alto eateries it supervises. It serves Yemenite and Middle Eastern food such as falafel, shakshuka and sabich. Oren's Hummus is not listed as kosher.
What is sabich?
Sabich is an Israeli pita sandwich of fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, Israeli salad and tahini, often with amba, a tangy mango pickle sauce. Iraqi Jews brought it to Israel. Oren's lists sabich as a pita sandwich and as a hummus bowl topping. The Ma'lawah Bar serves it too.
Does Oren's Hummus take reservations?
The downtown restaurant runs an online waitlist instead of taking reservations. Oren's Hummus Express at Town & Country Village is quick service, with online ordering for pickup. Both handle catering orders.
Is Israeli food good for vegans?
Very. Hummus, falafel, Israeli salad, tahini and many eggplant dishes are vegan by nature. J. reported that The Ma'lawah Bar's menu is vegan unless a dish includes a hard-boiled egg. Ask about dairy in sauces and desserts at Oren's.