Photo: Tripadvisor
Amar's Bakery and Restaurant
Israeli · ItalianMain Street & Town Centre££–£££
An Israeli and Italian restaurant in Main Street & Town Centre that rates below most of Gibraltar, on 83 Tripadvisor reviews.
Gibraltar Index
4.2 / 5
A weighted blend of both, not an average. How this works
Ratings read 6 September 2026.
Our review
Amar's is a kosher bakery and restaurant at the top of Main Street, next to the parliament building, serving dairy, vegetarian and vegan food, with fresh pasta, pizza and an English breakfast alongside the pastry counter. It scores 3.6 on Tripadvisor from 83 reviews and 4.3 on Google from 396, for an Index of 4.20. The reviews were re-read on 6 September 2026; the newest is from 18 August.
For observant Jewish visitors it is close to essential, and the reviews say so plainly: a kosher certificate on the wall, a taxi driver sending a Jewish traveller straight here, and a hiker's relief at finding somewhere they could eat at all. The most affecting review, posted on both sites in July 2026, is from an autistic visitor helped through a sensory overload by a staff member, who then ate there every evening of the stay. Etty is named as friendly, and the chocolate cake, the pastries, the cappuccinos and a lemon-scented pastry cream all get warm words.
The sit-down cooking is where it goes wrong, and August 2026 was a poor month. Jacket potatoes came microwaved and raw inside at £50 for four with drinks, two Russian reviewers found the vegan sausages inedible and a £15 fish and chips unappetising and left hungry, and a February 2026 reviewer called it the worst restaurant they had visited, blaming the glass-washing. Older complaints are of the same kind: a twenty-minute wait at a dirty table with two hungry children, raw pizza, a bread roll hard as stone.
Language comes up repeatedly, and not always kindly: staff who "suddenly had no English" when a complaint was made, a 2023 account of being forbidden to speak English, and a warm welcome despite the language barrier. Take it as a place where ordering is easier at the counter than through a complaint.
Come for the pastries, the coffee and the counter, and above all if you keep kosher or eat vegan, because then it is one of very few options on the Rock. Treat the cooked plates as the gamble the reviews say they are. Nobody from Gibraltar Index has eaten here; this write-up is drawn from the reviews.
Written from the Tripadvisor reviews and both platforms' scores on 6 September 2026, not from a meal we ate — nobody from Gibraltar Index has eaten here. We show the Google rating but have not yet read Google's reviews for the write-up. The recurring themes it draws on are below.
What reviewers consistently say
Our summary of recurring themes across the 26 most recent reviews, written in our own words and read on 6 September 2026. Recent reviews from both platforms are quoted, with attribution, further down.
- Kosher, dairy and vegan at the top of Main Street, which makes it essential for some visitors.
- The counter is loved: pastries, chocolate cake, coffee, a lemon pastry cream.
- Cooked dishes disappoint often, with August 2026 bringing raw jacket potatoes and inedible vegan sausages.
- Language difficulties recur, especially when something goes wrong.
- Google at 4.3 is far kinder than Tripadvisor at 3.6.
What it gets right
- Kosher, vegetarian and vegan food where little else is
- Pastries, cakes and coffee that reviewers rate highly
- Staff described as kind, one going well beyond the job
What it gets wrong
- Hot food frequently poor, and poor value when it is
- Service and communication falter under complaint
How it compares
It holds 3.6 out of 5 on Tripadvisor from 83 reviews — well below the Gibraltar median of 4.1 across 106 restaurants with enough reviews to rank, and on a moderate number of reviews.
It is priced in the middle of Gibraltar's range.
How the Gibraltar Index Score is built
It is not an average of the two. Each source is weighted by how many reviews it carries, then pulled toward the Gibraltar average so a high score from a handful of reviews cannot outrank a strong score from thousands. Amar's Bakery and Restaurant scores 3.6 from 83 on Tripadvisor and 4.3 from 396 on Google, which the model blends to 4.2.
We read the 26 most recent Tripadvisor reviews and summarised what recurs, in our own words; the reviews we drew on are quoted below, attributed to their authors. The Tripadvisor and Google scores are each shown 1:1 as those platforms publish them; the Index Score is ours and the formula is above. Nobody from Gibraltar Index has eaten here, so nothing is a first-hand verdict.
Recent reviews
Shown from each platform, attributed to the reviewer. We don't edit them — read the full set at source.
- 2026-08-11
Absolutely awful.
Absolutely awful lunch. We ordered jacket potatoes, microwaved but not actually cooked. The cheese was rock solid from over cooking, raw potatoes inside, cheap tuna. 4 potatoes, 4 drinks. £50 We told the staff they suddenly had no English. All in all, definitely avoid.more →
Coombsy70 · via Tripadvisor
- 2026-07-08
Above and beyond.
Sorry that this review is late, I've been on Trip Advisor less than a week. I visited Gibraltar for the second time 2 months ago and the venue was recommended to me via a local taxi driver after I mentioned that I'm Jewish. So I visited after unpacking at the holiday apartment. I'm very autistic and have other disabilities and I was havinmore →
naomibV4977HQ · via Tripadvisor
- 2026-05-30
A TRUE delight
Wow... the little typical window on the pastries that at the moment was very tempting. Once past the threshold, a great welcome despite the language barrier... and I loved it... so, so good..😉! The pastry cream with a hint of lemon... a beautiful discovery and a true delight. THANK YOUmore →
sabs712 · via Tripadvisor
- 2026-03-19
Basic snacks and drinks
Basic food and drink options to takeaway or eat in at the top of Main Street. Drinks were basic types of hot drink and soft drinks, we had coffee and a bottle of water. There were also snacks options both savoury and sweet to choose from, we had a chocolate croissant. Service was at the table or you could go to the counter.more →
timrF7435DQ · via Tripadvisor
- 2025-07-24
........................................................................................................................
After such a long and exhausting hike in the mountain and a long walk back, we happened to come to Amar Bakery. We were all tired, exhausted, and hungry. We went in to buy water. As kosher keepers, we don't eat anywhere. When I went in, I had a kosher certificate. I was so happy. We drank, ate, rested, and also received help from Avery nimore →
raphig1972 · via Tripadvisor
- 2026-08-18
Buen local ,todo muy bueno,pasta fresca hecha de ellos, buenos precios Horario inglesmore →
Paula Alexandra Cinca · via Google
- 2026-08-12
Брали классический английский завтрак (веган вариант). Их веганские сосиски - это отрава для человеческого желудка. Мой муж не смог их съесть. Я не смогла их съесть, хотя я ем даже сырой тофу. Бобы из банки Heinz в разы вкуснее чем те, что подавали в этом кафе. Печеный помидор был неплох. Омлет, так себе - ни соли, ни перца. Обслуживание more →
Алена Скобелева · via Google
- 2026-08-06
Как можно сделать фиш энд чипс невкусными?, ну это точно талант. Неоправданно дорогой ценник за посредственную еду(вышеупомянутые фиш энд чипс 15£). Ещё никогда на кошерной еде и еде для вегетарианцев так не наживались. Вегетарианские сосиски даже выглядят у них так, как будто их до этого кто-то ел, может не один раз. К сожалению не советmore →
Timo Jaskelainen · via Google
- 2026-08-05
Really enjoyed our daily breakfast or/and lunches at Amar’s during the week we spent in Gibraltar. The food and cakes were delicious. Etty was super friendly and helpful and we can’t wait to return!more →
Ben Feiner · via Google
- 2026-07-28
Restaurante vegetariano estupendo y con platos muy bien servidos y contundentesmore →
Enrique Holguín · via Google
Reviews are the opinions of their authors, reproduced from Tripadvisor and Google with attribution and a link to the original. Amar's Bakery and Restaurant did not provide them and Gibraltar Index did not solicit or edit them.
Photos
Photos: Tripadvisor