Tel Aviv: Where to eat this summer in the White City

If you are one of the lucky diners to bag a coveted seat at Chef Raz Rahav’s counter to sample Ashkenazi-inspired haute-cuisine delicacies like Rahav’s own take on kasha (or buckwheat)a kasha dessert with kasha popcorn, you will be left in no doubt as to why.

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Tirza

Tirza may be OCD’s little sister, but, she knows how to show her guests a good time. This popular new wine bar is not only an excuse to visit the ultra-happening area around Levinsky market, but an opportunity to try Raz Rahav’s award-winning cooking without breaking the bank. Bites like the sashimi with horseradish ponzu or the caramel bread with butter and caramel.

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Montefiore

The restaurant in the stylish Montefiore Hotel enjoys the kind of perennial popularity most places can only dream of. Maybe it’s the chic interior, the excellent service, or the delicious Mediterranean-Southeast-Asian-inspired menu, but local and visiting food lovers simply can’t get enough of this place.

Kick things off with the “cha-gio” nems, or Vietnamese spring rolls, before moving onto mains like sea bream with lemongrass cream and herbs.

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Opa

As one of the world’s most vegan-friendly cities, Tel Aviv’s plant-based offering is good enough to win over even the most hardened carnivores.

Try Opa, for example, where New York trained Shirel Berger can be found cooking up a storm with her delicate tasting menus made exclusively from seasonal veggies, fruits and seeds. The pitanga fruit served with chipotle, mustard and lime is a taste sensation, while the cabbage with koji and fermented citrus might just change your opinion of cabbage forever.

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Sereia

Keeping kosher when eating out in Israel is not as easy as one might imagine. The brand-new restaurant in Tel Aviv’s most glamourous new beachfront hotel has you covered. Sereia Restaurant in The David Kempinski is an upscale fish restaurant specialising in the freshest catches of the day and vegetarian delicacies, from wild sea bass a la plancha to cauliflower steak and freekeh risotto with greens, accompanied by an impressive, mainly Israeli wine list. On Fridays, Sereia serves a traditional Shabbat buffet dinner.

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Dvora

Arguably Israel’s most famous chef, Eyal Shani’s love of all things veggie (and tomatoes in particular) has cemented his celebrity status especially among those following vegetarian, vegan or kosher diets. Dvora is Shani’s latest kosher venture in Tel Aviv, at the Debrah Brown Hotel in Ben Yehuda Street.

Contemporary dishes like gravlax served on a large stone or the bag of garlicky green beans blend perfectly with the hotel’s bold uptown-New York City-inspired design.

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Bar 51

The once-seedy neighbourhood around HaYarkon Street is becoming quite the new Tel Aviv hot spot between swanky new hotel (The David Kempinski), uber-cool cocktail bar (Imperial Cocktail Bar), and this hip eatery. Each night, Bar 51 spills out onto the pavement outside as stylish Tel Avivians come in search of chef Moshiko Gamlieli’s contemporary Mediterranean creations, like the decadent potato and mascarpone agnolotti with sage butter.

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George & John

Beautifully set on the ground floor of the ultra-chic Drisco boutique hotel, situated in the former German-American colony in the up-and-coming neighbourhood of Noga, you will find one of Tel Aviv’s most exciting food destinations.

Led by Chef Tomer Tal, George & John’s pan-Mediterranean, modern Israeli menu pays homage to seasonal, local produce through standout dishes like the sea fish sashimi with avocado cream, caviar, jalapeño and lime sauce, and, more surprisingly, the charcoal-grilled kohlrabi with pomegranate vinaigrette.

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Animar

Watch the sun set over Tel Aviv beach through Animar’s huge panoramic windows, while tucking into Chef Hillel Tavakuli colourful concoctions.

Named 16th best restaurant in the Middle East and North Africa by the World’s 50 Best, this is modern Israeli cuisine at its best, combining the finest local, seasonal ingredients with Tavakuli’s personal culinary journey. Masterfully blending Israeli, Persian, Lybian and Turkish influences, the result is delicious, yet unexpected, polished yet unconventional. Don’t miss the roasted Jibneh cheese, with tomato salsa and Jerusalem za’atar spices, or the fried fish “cigar”, with pickled mango aioli and chili.

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Darya

Avant-garde gastronomy might not be what you’d expect from a Hilton hotel but it’s exactly what is on offer at Hilton Tel Aviv’s Darya. By the people behind Animar, Darya is a meat kosher restaurant serving food inspired by the Far East and Mediterranean.

Feast on beef skewers marinated in garam masala and served on liquorice sticks, or grilled duck with wild mushrooms, shiitake, white miso and tamarind, while gazing at the Mediterranean through panoramic windows.

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Carmel market with Localocal food tour

Tel Aviv’s most famous food market can be intimidating if you don’t know where to go. This is where a great tour guide can come in handy.

After a morning sampling tasty morsels from the many stands in and around the market – from falafel, to malabi and even Yemenite meat soup – with LocaLocal founder Tal Goring, you will never feel lost (or hungry) again.

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