As always, the restaurants listed are not ranked, but rather appear in alphabetical order. Two are certified kosher (in addition to the two referenced in the previous paragraph), and most of the establishments serve kosher wines and offer vegetarian/vegan meals. All also have English menus and English-speaking wait staff.
Ambiance: The restaurant section of this large wine shop cum delicatessen is entirely al fresco, comprising two seating areas – one enclosed – on a large patio in front of the gourmet store. Most of the seating is at high tables on hard wooden stools, although there are a few smaller and lower tables. Contemporary popular music plays at moderate to loud levels.
Happy hour: There is 25% off both food and drinks, Sundays through Thursdays, 18.00-19:30.
Drinks: As might be expected from an upscale wine emporium, the bar/restaurant has a very extensive international wine list, with no fewer than three pages listing wines by the glass, and 10 listing wines by the bottle. Exclusive vintages can be priced into four figures. Deli Vino serves no cocktails, but one may order premium whiskey/alcohol. Bottled beer (mostly imported) and premixed cocktails may be purchased in the store and consumed on the premises.
Menu: The three-page food menu, created by talented and experienced Chef Tom Levy, comprises five sections: Platters (cheese/charcuterie/smoked fish), Salads, Bruschettas, Chef’s Specials and Desserts. There are ample vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Some of the platters may be purchased in the store to take home.
Recommended: The house focaccia, endive salad, arancini, artichoke chips, lemon pie.
Ambiance: This popular joint owes its quirky name to its location in Jaffa’s Flea Market, where the sprawling Faruk Bashuk takes up most of both sides of a narrow alley. There is limited indoor seating, mostly at the bar, and lots of outdoor seating, at small wooden tables with colorful wicker chairs, and even several couches. Pleasant contemporary music plays at a non-intrusive level. There are live music performances on Tuesday nights and Friday afternoons.
Happy hour: There is 20% off food and 50% off alcohol, Sundays through Thursdays, 17.00-20.00.
Drinks: Specialty and classic cocktails are served from a fully stocked bar. There is a more than adequate international wine list, including kosher options, with all vintages available by the glass and bottles. There is imported and domestic craft beer on tap and in bottles.
Menu: The two-page food menu is not divided into sections but progresses roughly from starters to intermediate dishes to main courses (which include pastas and pizzas). There are plenty of vegetarian options, but vegan ones are rare (although the kitchen will probably leave cheese out of certain dishes, on request). Gluten-free options extend even to the pizzas. The separate dessert menu lists no fewer than seven choices.
Recommended: Funky Cosmo (cocktail); the house bread basket; sea bass tartare, baked brie; bread pudding (dessert).
Ambiance: This gastrobar is located on a lively pedestrian street in Florentin, lined with restaurants and bars. There is low seating outdoors, and also plenty of indoor seating, at the bar and high tables. The wooden furnishings are basic, including the hard wooden chairs. Mexican music plays at a comfortable sound level (sometimes barely audible in the al fresco seating area).
Happy hour: There is 25% off the entire menu, Sundays through Thursdays, 17.00-19.00.
Drinks: The full bar serves Mexican cocktails made with premium tequila and mezcal. There is a very limited wine selection, but all vintages are available by the glass as well as bottle. San Miguel beer is on tap – and even michelada, Mexico’s unique mixture of beer and tomato juice.
Menu: The food menu reflects the most authentic Mexican food in town, and comprises five sections: Totopos (handmade nacho chips with assorted dips), Fish, Meat, Vegetarian and Desserts. All dishes are large enough to share, and there are plenty of vegetarian/vegan options. Mezcal is especially friendly for people wanting to avoid gluten, as corn flour is used universally instead of wheat flour.
Recommended: Paloma (cocktail); Totopos (nachos); Tiradito, Aguachile; Esquites; Carnitas; Flan (dessert)
Ambiance: This upscale restaurant, located on a key corner of upper Dizengoff, has recently undergone a handsome makeover, adding a bar seating area to one of the two sidewalk al fresco seating areas. An elegantly designed marble bar dominates the small interior, which also contains a few high tables. Most of the outdoor seating is on wooden chairs at small, low tables. Rhythmic music plays at a pleasant level (a bit louder indoors). The service is friendly and efficient.
Happy hour: Norder’s early evening Promo menu has been streamlined, but still offers a substantial 30% off the entire main menu, Sundays through Thursday, 17.30-19.30.
Drinks: The fully stocked bar, serves six specialty cocktails and six aperitivo cocktails, while featuring six classics. There is also a more than adequate international wine list, with sufficient options by glass. Domestic, craft and imported beers are all on tap.
Menu: The kitchen is helmed by a new chef who is no less talented than the previous one. The revamped food menu, revised seasonally to ensure freshness, comprises four sections: Starters, Vegetable, Fish (including seafood) and Meat (beef, actually). There are ample vegetarian, but far fewer, vegan options. A separate dessert menu (also with a vegan option) is occasionally supplemented with daily specials. Brunch is served on weekends.
Recommended: Chicollo (cocktail); the house sourdough bread, with chili jam; tuna tataki; entrecôte skewer; fennel and kohlrabi salad; Basque cheesecake.
Ambiance: The two branches of this duo of sushi and sake eateries are in Levontin and Neve Tzedek; the latter outlet is compact, with counter seating either overlooking the sushi chef or the street. There are a few small tables on the sidewalk. The musical soundtrack plays at a level conducive to conversation.
Happy hour: There is 20% off the entire menu, Sundays through Thursdays, 17.00-19.00. In addition, Okinawa has also recently introduced Shokuzen – Japanese aperitivo, with one free small plate when ordering a glass of wine, or three small plates when ordering a bottle. All of this on top of value lunches, weekdays between 12.00-16.00, even for take-away and delivery.
Drinks: The full bar serves specialty cocktails, and as the name implies, this is a place to experiment with sake (Japanese rice wine). There is a more than adequate international wine list, with vintages available by the glass and bottle. Naturally, there is Japanese alcohol and beer (as well as other imported and domestic brands), and excellent green tea.
Menu: The extensive, book-sized food menu comprises too many sections to list here, including salads, soups, starters, tempura, noodle and rice dishes, buns, side dishes and dozens of sushi rolls and combinations, along with many standard Japanese raw fish dishes. A smattering of other Asian cuisines are represented throughout. The desserts are Western desserts, although the crême brulée is flavored with yuzu (Japanese citrus).
Recommended: Shokuzen; Japanese pickles; Wakame (seaweed), Sashimi salad; Asian style tiradito (ceviche); Twister (special sushi roll); Yaki Udon (noodles); Chocolate cremino (dessert)
Ambiance: A surprisingly elegant fine dining restaurant for its location, at the western edge of Carmel Market. There is comfortable seating both indoors and al fresco, with an additional room for private events across the street. After 21.00, the restaurant turns more into a nightspot, with a DJ, joined by professional (scantily clad) dancers performing from 23.00.
Happy hour: There is 15% off on food, Mondays through Thursdays, 12:00-19:00. On the same days, there is 1+1 on alcohol, 18.00-19.00.
Drinks: The full bar serves five specialty cocktails, plus classics. There is a more than adequate international list of kosher wines, with adequate availability by the glass, as well as domestic beers on tap.
Menu: The kitchen is helmed by talented chef Shaked Pahima, formerly of Messa. The food menu comprises four sections: Appetizers, First Courses, Chef’s Courses and Desserts. As a kosher dairy restaurant, neither meat nor poultry is served – but there is plenty of fish, both raw and cooked, as well as salads and pastas. The delicious desserts are also characterized by their beautiful presentation.
Recommended: Spicy margarita (cocktail); taboun-baked focaccia; the house bruschetta (with red tuna), fish lahmajoun, sweet potato asado (with crème fraîche); truffle cream pasta; crème brûlée and yuzu ring semifreddo (desserts)
Ambiance: Situated on the strategically located corner of Dizengoff and Arlozorov Streets, the popular wine bar Rova is often jam-packed. Most seating is outside at high tables with hard wooden chairs, but there are also a few low tables with soft seats and couches. The soundtrack is loud and rhythmic.
Happy hour: There is 20% off food and 50% off alcohol, Sundays through Thursdays, 17.00-19.30. Additionally, a second bottle of wine is always 50%.
Drinks: As suggested by the name, the wine list takes center stage, with an impressive roster of vintages that somehow manages to fit on one page. The vast majority of them are also available by the glass. In addition, there are six specialty cocktails, and a decent selection of domestic and imported beers, both on tap and in bottles.
Menu: The extensive food menu comprises seven sections: Rise and Shine (breakfast, with some of the dishes still available during happy hour), Tapas (meant to accompany the wine), Salads, Boutique Pizzas, Main Courses, Kids’ Menu and Desserts. There are ample vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free options. (Value lunches are served weekdays, 10.00-16.00.)
Recommended: Little P (cocktail); arancini; caprese salad, liver pâté; cheesecake with berry coulis (dessert)
Ambiance: From the same folks behind the stunning Whiskey Bar and Museum (see our previous review on these pages), Tasting Room – also in the Sarona Compound, and also certified kosher – features award-winning design and a wine cellar atmosphere. There is an outdoor patio and lawn cum bar upstairs, while downstairs is furnished with both low tables and chairs and high tables (some quite long) with stools. The surrounding walls are lined not only with racks containing close to 400 bottles of Israeli wines (and a smattering from other countries), but also sophisticated pouring machines operated by a chip-enabled smart card and dispensing some 30 different vintages – a high-tech tasting experience that should be tried at least once. Rhythmic international music plays at a comfortable level.
Happy hour: There is 20% off the entire menu, Sundays through Thursdays, 17.00-19.00.
Drinks: With a dedicated house sommelier always on hand, the impressive variety of wines certainly take center stage at Tasting Room. In addition, however, the bar does serve cocktails and beer.
Menu: Tasting Room has just introduced its new food menu – a one-page listing of warm and cold sharing plates that progress in size. While neither meat nor poultry is served, there is both raw and cooked fish, and sufficient vegan/vegetarian and gluten-free options (even gluten-free bread). There are also cheese platters, and a separate dessert menu.
Recommended: The house focaccia, bruschetta (actually brioche) Saint Maure; burrata; Roman artichoke; salmon yakitori; tropical mango (dessert)
Ambiance: Just adjacent to Rabin Square, on the western (residential) side, sits this hip resto-bar, with most tables al fresco on the sidewalk and limited seating at the bar inside (but also open to the air). The atmosphere is lively, with a soundtrack to match. For all its informality, the service here is impeccable – right down to the finger bowls.
Happy hour: There is 20% off the entire menu, Sundays through Thursdays, 17.00-19.00.
Drinks: There are no fewer than four categories of cocktails/spritzers, plus three beers on tap (and even a pear cider). There is an impressively curated international wine list, with vintages conveniently available by the glass, half-bottles and bottles.
Menu: The straightforward one-page food menu is divided into two categories – Cold and Hot (the larger section) – with a separate Sweet Bites (dessert) menu (including a drink section). Since dishes are updated frequently, the menu bears that day’s date. There are limited but sufficient vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free options.
Recommended: The Levinsky margarita and Montenegro spritz (among the cocktails); the house sourdough bread; veal sirloin roast beef (cold); leek and bechamel croquettes, mussels in Pastis butter (hot); lemon cream (dessert), Ristrettotini (dessert cocktail).
Ambiance: Located in the former premises of Kitchen Market in Namal Tel Aviv, Treysar – which was named Best New Restaurant in Israel by American Express just last year – has two indoor dining areas, one overlooking the sea, the port and the boardwalk, and the second overlooking the vegetable market. There are also a few seats at the bars and at the counter in front of the open kitchen. When the restaurant fills up, and/or the volume of the rhythmic music increases, the place becomes a bit noisy for quiet conversation.
Happy hour: On Mondays through Wednesdays, between 18.00-19.00, there is 15% off the food menu, plus the option of ordering a special [seasonal] aperitivo menu consisting of five mezze for NIS 66. In addition, there are selected discounts on wine by the glass and bottle.
Drinks: The mixologist has created five specialty cocktails (plus one dessert cocktail), all made with Israeli spirits. Likewise, the wine list features exclusive Israeli vintages, primarily from lesser-known boutique wineries. In a similar vein, there are three less well-known craft Israeli beers.
Menu: The kitchen is helmed by multiple award-winning Chef Aner Ben Rafael Furman, who revises the food menu every month to ensure that ingredients are always at the peak of their freshness. The one-page menu comprises four untitled sections, although the first two are primarily vegetarian (not necessarily vegan), while the third is devoted to fish and seafood, and the last to meat. There are ample gluten-free options. A separate dessert menu features six desserts prepared by a dedicated pastry chef. A waiter, who explains the concept behind the restaurant to all first-timers, will also happily build a meal for you with representative dishes from each of the menu sections.
Recommended: Orange Lady (cocktail); the house sourdough bread; the aperitivo menu; pichi kobe; sea fish larb, calamari; Citrus (dessert)
