Joseph Barel, the Egyptian-born director of Arabic-language news for Israel Television (IBA), and later Channel 1 TV, conceived the original idea for the show.

The sitcom-series depicted events in a Middle Eastern restaurant in Jerusalem, owned by an Arab-Israeli restaurateur named Abu-Rahmi (Jacques Cohen), and his wife Umm Rahmi (Marlene Bajali), and employing a funny chef - Hakim (Bassam Zuamat), a charming and charismatic waiter - Abdu (Gassan Abbas), a tongueless waiter named Ma'aruf (Halil Halladi), and a cross-eyed dustman called Artin (Na'im Khakim).

Jewish-Israeli guest stars appeared as diners at the restaurant, among them Sefi Rivlin (as a burglar), Tzipi Shavit (as a suicidal character who refuses to follow a diet), Gadi Yagil, and many others.

Jacques Cohen eventually left the show following a dispute within the production, and the fictional restaurant was henceforth run by his wife and the chef.

A spin-off theatrical play, "A wedding at the Big Restaurant" (Hebrew: חתונה במסעדה הגדולה), was produced in 1988, created by Eli Sagi and featuring the original cast.