Café Mocharena

There is a way to do breakfast right and there is a way to do it wrong.On those late weekend mornings and when midnight hunger strikes,there is nothing better than a thick omelet,coffee,home fries and ham.

Café Mocharena in Ramallah offers breakfast done right all day long.

Off Ramallah's busiest street,the unpretentious café is frequented by all kinds of people looking for adequate food at all hours.Its menu is extensive -everything from wine and cheese to hamburgers to crepes.Judging by the graffiti upstairs,this is one of the places where Ramallah's growing teens fill their stomachs.

And for good reason,too.The wide variety of omelets are fluffy;the coffee is rich,the home fries golden brown.Crepes filled with chocolate or cheese satisfy those sweet and salty urges.Deli- style sandwiches are fat with sliced meat and cheese.And this is one of the few places in a largely Muslim community where ham and bacon are on the menu.

Mocharena's service is to be expected –nothing fancy,but not bad either.The servers are polite and will get your order right,but speed and special touches are not their forte.At this laid-back café, you may not notice.Prices range from $4.50 for an omelet to $2 for a slab of cake.Entrees reach the $12 range for full meat and pasta platters.

Location:Turn right of the southern end of Ramallah's Main Street,opposite Rukab's Ice Creem.
Menu:Americana.Alcohol served.

Phantom Diner Rating:+++

Rating Scale:
++++next to heaven
+++a place to come back to
++if you're hungry you'll eat anywhere
+not a ghost f a chance

Note:The views expressed in this section reflect the Phantom Diner's personal experiences in the restaurants featured.Restaurants given poor reviews will be revisited within six months to check on improvements.