Food

You’ll have to scrounge for inexpensive stomach degrumbling. By far the cheapest places to get a large meal (that isn’t falafcl) are Eilat’s many bars. The Hard Luck Cafe on 15 Algomim St. serves up big portions offish and chips, spaghetti, schnitzel and the like for NIS7. The Underground Pub in the Tourist Center has a sweet deal at 6:00pm-the first 50 customers after the hour get a free meal and large beer for N1S4. HaTmarim Blvd., uphill from the bus station, has many pizza and grill joints.

If you’re famished, try the Fisherman House (tel. 37 98 30) adjacent to Coral Beach, where all the grease you can eat costs only NIS16. (Salad bar alone NIS10. A/C and a great view of the sea. Open daily noon-midnight.) Pancake Eilat in the Shalom Center (tel. 37 36 92) across from the airport serves excellent steaks (with chips and salads) for NIS21.50. A filling meal of pancakes costs NIS7-9; choose from a full page of pancake recipes. Many hostels have 15% off coupons. Open 8am-midnight. The Maman Red Sea Fish Restaurant (tel. 37 19 58), behind the Moriah Hotel and literally on Northern Beach, serves full-meal deals for NIS16-19. (Open 8am-3am.)

Since many accommodations in Eilat provide cooking facilities, you can eat well and inexpensively by purchasing food at the supermarket at Eilot St. and HaTmarim Blvd., three blocks inland from the bus station (look for the blue and white squares on the building; open Sun.-Thurs. 7:30am-7:30pm, Fri. 7:30am-2pm.) Closer to the center of town is SuperKolbo Supermarket in the Rekhter Commercial Center across the street from the central bus station (open Sat.-Thurs. 7am-11pm, Fri. 7am-9pm). The bakery on the corner of HaTmarim St. and Retamim St. has fresh pita bread and other great baked stuff (Kosher).