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Bard’s Eye View of Israeli Restaurants and HotelsIntroduction
IntroductionI’d like to give you some background to serve as a caveat before reading my reviews as well as some remarks about Israeli restaurants in general. If you’re looking for the typical snooty wine and connoisseur review, you’ve come to the wrong place. I don’t drink alcohol so I can’t offer any commentary on wine lists or other drinks. I’m a carnivore who hates most veggies other than potatoes. I like seafood, but not fish and about the only deserts I eat are chocolate and vanilla ice cream, milk shakes and chocolate cake. If you’re still interested in what I have to say, read on. Here are a few observations I’ve made during the nearly 30 years of visits to Israel. Most Israeli hotels offer breakfast as part of the nightly rate, although sometimes you have to pay more. Some are more or less elaborate, but they typically consist of various breads and salads. Israelis have a million ways to combine, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions and that is a staple of breakfast. Hotels will also often have cereals and the nicer ones have someone to make omelettes. Tourists tend to eat smaller lunches because they’re on the go. For me the best meal of all in Israel is a schwarma from a small falafel and schwarma stand. It’s usually lamb or sometimes chicken, sliced from a large piece of meat on a rotating spit and put in pita with your choice of toppings and sauces. In the U.S., gyros are similar. Typically, the pita is a small half-moon but sometimes you can get a laffa [sp?] which is a giant size pita. For five dollars or so you can stuff yourself on one of these sandwiches. Dinner is my big meal so I like to find the best meat and seafood around. As you can guess, this means I rarely frequent kosher restaurants unless I’m with someone who has stricter dietary habits. Unless I mention that it is kosher, the restaurants I’m reviewing are not. Most Israelis speak English and unless you go somewhere out of the way chances are someone on staff will be able to communicate with you and a menu is probably available in English, albeit often with some creative spelling. As in most foreign countries, you are taking a risk if you try to modify what is on the menu. In America, diners have grown used to making elaborate changes in the dishes presented on the menu, but your chances of getting what you want get smaller the more complicated you make your order in Israel. The wait staff in most restaurants tends to be very good looking, but not terribly friendly, at least to Americans. They are not likely to spend time chatting at your table the way many Americans do. Service is rarely included and they do not usually let you put tip on credit card. If you ask before getting the bill, they will sometimes add it so you can charge the tip also. Israelis these days tip 12-15%, but most restaurants are not noted for their service. There are a handful of franchises such as Aroma coffee houses, and American imports such as McDonald’s, but it’s less common than in the U.S. One disadvantage of this is that restaurants have short life spans and the favorite you discovered on one trip may be gone the next time you visit. At dinner, bread is usually extra and can be more expensive than you expect. Israelis make great bread so it is usually worth the cost. Some restaurants offer tiny salad dishes of different sorts, but the American-style house salad is uncommon. A dinner salad is typically just that, big enough for dinner. Food often comes by the gram and for Americans that’s pretty meaningless so it’s hard to know what you’re getting, though waiters can give you an idea. When it comes to steaks, I usually go for whatever is the mid range size. Also meat is cooked on the rare side. I like my steaks medium rare but in Israel that is closer to rare. The problem is medium is still closer to medium than medium rare so I usually just live with having the meat slightly undercooked as I prefer that to overcooked and sending something back typically ends in disaster. I am a filet mignon man because I hate fat, but Israelis like entrecotes and while fatty, they are tasty. You can eat inexpensively in Israel, but the places I go for dinner tend to be in the $30-$50 range depending on the number of appetizers I order and whether I have desert. Even at these restaurants, you can get out for less money if you don't order steaks or seafood. One of the minor annoyances of Israeli restaurants for me is their penchant for playing American music. You have to seek out places that have music of the natives. Perhaps the best innovation in recent years has been the outlawing of smoking in restaurants. For years, the only thing worse than patrons chattering away on cell phones was the Israeli penchant for smoking. Alas, cell phones remain an annoyance. Assuming you still care, here are a few brief observations about some of the restaurants I’ve frequented. Manta Ray - Tel Aviv
Right on the beach of Tel Aviv, at the end closest to Jaffa, this mainstay is isolated from the crowds but popular with locals. You can eat inside in a comfortable, air-conditioned room that still looks directly onto the sea or outside where even the shady tables can be broiling during summer months. It is good to make reservations since they frequently ask even if the restaurant is empty and it is otherwise difficult to get a seat outside at peak times. This is a place that serves small appetizers, but I skip them and order the bread. It’s fresh-baked focacia served with olive oil and salt and delicious. I always order the mussels. They used to be served with chorizo, which I didn’t eat, but they refused to leave out, and now serve it with artichoke hearts. Once I ordered their seafood pot, which has a variety of shelfish as well as crabs. Coming from Maryland I’m spoiled when it comes to crabs and the ones available in Israel are pretty lousy, usually small with little meat and what is there is mushy. The ambiance is great; I could sit staring out at the sea for hours and you may be sitting for a long time because the service is usually not very good. When I’m staying down at that end of the beach at the Dan Panorama or David Intercontinental, Manta Ray is where I go for lunch. Prices are moderate though shellfish is typically $20-$30. Alma Beach Goo Cha - Tel AvivThis is my current favorite restaurant in Israel. Apparently it is the favorite of many Israelis because it is typically packed for dinner and so popular a second location was opened on Ibn Gavirol Street. They both have the same menu, but the newer restaurant is more sedate. The original is on the popular pedestrian area on Dizengoff and is a cauldron with people eating inside and outside, at the bar and counters. The wait staff is rushing about and there is more of a frenzied pace. Wait staff is friendly but too rushed to linger. Occasionally get something wrong, but are quick to make amends and often comp a drink or desert. Though they have meat and pasta and other things on the menu, this is the place to go for seafood. I made the mistake of ordering the ceasar salad as an appetizer the first time and got one of those Cheesecake Factory size meals for two. They serve a few slices of grain bread which is good but not as good as the fresh baked breads you get at some other restaurants. On my last visit I tried their crab bisque for the first time, huge bowl and very tasty broth. I've had very good shrimp in cream sauce, but usually just go for a big pot of mussels marniere with think crispy french fries. They have kilo or half-kilo portions and have never failed to satisfy me. Whatever you order, however, make sure to save room for the chocolate cake. This flourless cake in chocolate sauce is the best cake I've eaten in my life. The tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream I get with it is usually frozen with ice chips that drive me crazy, but not even this minor annoyance can spoil that cake. In fact, if you just want desert, go to Goo Cha. Be sure to make a reservation and you may want to specify a table inside or outside otherwise you could get stuck at the bar or counters, which is okay for most people but the seats are too small and uncomfortable for me. Open: Sun-Sat 12:00-2:00 A Place for Meat - Tel AvivI can’t think of a better named place for someone like me to eat. Located on a small, quiet street in Neve Tzedek behind the Dan Panaroma and David Intercontintal hotels, this intimate bistro has maybe the best caeser salad I’ve ever eaten (35 NIS) and close to the best onion rings (a side comes with the meal or is 14-18 NIS as extra). On my last visit, I had delicious calamari, lightly fried with aioli sauce (22/44 NIS depending on appetizer or dinner portion). They serve some nice big, juicy steaks - 200/250/500 gram for 105/135/155 NIS. I go for the 250 gram filet with beef or mustard sauce and it is good and filling. I don’t like chocolate mousse, but I tried my companion’s and it was fabulous. This has become one of my new favorite restaurants. Moderate to expensive depending on how big a steak you order. Closed Sunday. Cafe London - Tel AvivOn the boardwalk next to the Sheraton Hotel you’ll find several restaurants next to each other. I chose Cafe London, in between On the Beach and Fish Bone. My waiter told me they are all basically one restaurant and this was apparent from the menu, which featured everything - burgers, pizza, pasta, salads, meat, seafood. I'm usually leery of places that serve too many types of food as I find the quality tends to be inversely related to the number of different food types. I asked for bread and waiter asked if I wanted garlic bread. He came back with a large plate of tasty garlic bread surrounding a small salad. I ordered shrimp in cream with mushrooms and it was delicious. It also came with an American-style side salad, something of a rarity in Israel where salads are typically extra and come in meal size portions. Didn't really need the salad after the one that came with the garlic bread, but it had a tasty dressing and I managed to eat both. For a beachfront, Cafe London had reasonable prices and huge portions. This is a great place to hang out near the beach and look at the sea as well as to check out the action on the boardwalk.
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