Restaurants in Mediterranean Coast
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Greg Coffee
Decorated with kettles and jars of spices and coffee beans, Greg might remind you of your mom's kitchen back home. Aside from the homy feel, you get excellent coffee and brownies, while laptop users can access the free wi-fi.
reviewed
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Fatoush
Set up like a medieval Arabic house, complete with burgundy cushions, nargileh (water pipes) and candle lamps, Fatoush is an atmospheric and popular restaurant serving a fusion of Western and Middle Eastern cuisine. It's named after a kind of salad eaten by poor people of the Levant - a Middle Eastern version of peasant pie - but there is much more to the menu than fatoush.
Try the aroos al-wadi (pride of the valley), baked bread topped with minced calf meat, or tasty seafood dishes. You can dine inside a cavernous underground chamber or, in pleasant weather, it's just as nice to eat under the olive trees on the street-side patio.
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Manta Ray
Spectacularly set on the beach, Manta Ray combines a five-star seafood menu, attentive service and Mediterranean views. Pick a few dishes off the mezze platter (we liked the goat cheese and the eggplant) and then enjoy a main course of roasted scallops, sea bass fillet, grilled shrimp or a juicy steak. It's also a great place for breakfast.
reviewed
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Dinner Rush
A concept bar, this one has the bartenders doubling as chefs who serve up American diner-style food - pasta, burgers and chicken wings. Portions are large, reasonably priced and usually satisfying, but avoid the disappointing goulash. The food comes up hot and fast; it's right next to the Gan Ha'em metro station.
reviewed
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Hummus Ashkara
This is where locals go when they're after excellent hummus and fuul (fava bean paste). Further credibility was earned when a national newspaper recently voted its hummus the best in Israel. The sign is in Hebrew only, so look out for the Coca-Cola sign and the tables on the street.
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Hummus Said
Deeply entrenched in the souq, this place has become something of an institution, doling up that much-loved Middle Eastern dip to throngs of visitors from around the country. For 15NIS, you'll get salads, pickles, pita and a big glob of hummus with fuul (fava bean paste) or garlic.
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Bagels & Coffee
US-style bagels served up with your choice of cream cheese or veggie toppings.
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Messa
More than a restaurant with impeccable haute cuisine, Messa has a magical quality that raises the restaurant experience to a new level. The centrepiece of the white-on-white dining hall is an elongated table, where strangers are placed together to mix and mingle over their seafood casseroles, zucchini flowers and crème brûlée. Around the edge are small alcoves where others disappear into enormous black cushions so soft they nearly induce sleep.
The servers appear frequently to announce options for the next course, and everything is made from scratch by chef Aviv Moshe, who blends his Kurdish heritage with French and Mediterranean cooking. Following your meal, spare tim…
reviewed
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24 Rupees
Down a windswept street in southern Tel Aviv, amid motorcycle shops and warehouses, sits this extremely popular rooftop Indian restaurant. The setting is reminiscent of a Sinai tiki-camp, complete with floor mattresses, colourful carpets and low tables, but the food is definitely Indian.
You have your choice of three types of vegetarian thali and homemade drinks - try the mango lassi. There is a very mellow, secret-society vibe here and the owners Uri and Neta are dedicated to preparing food with the freshest ingredients, all making it worth the long trek. A word of advice: the door downstairs is hard to spot and looks locked - don't worry, it's not.
reviewed
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Douzan
Douzan means 'to tune an instrument.' Likewise the atmosphere and food in this restaurant is meant to tune your senses. Decorated with old clocks, musical instruments, antique furnishings and velvet cushions, owner Fadi Najar has created a harmonious atmosphere and is proud that both Arabs and Jews dine together under his roof. The food is all home cooked, prepared by Fadi's mother Leila.
It's a fusion of French and Arab recipes, with specials like chicken cordon bleu, and some unexpected treats such as sfeeha (small meat pie topped with feta cheese and pine nuts).
reviewed
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Café Tamar
This place was opened when the British Mandate was still in effect and the atmosphere hasn't changed much since those heady days.
Owner Sarah Stern (who has been in charge since 1955) can still be found at the café, gabbing with her customers about her days spent serving in the British army. Her specialty, half a bagel with cheese, a hard boiled egg and salad has been the cornerstone dish for half a century. The crowd is a mix of old-timers and neighbourhood intellectual types. Visit on Friday to watch some serious chess matches.
reviewed
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Jacko Seafood
Something of a Haifa institution, Jacko has been a consistent purveyor of seafood dishes for the past 30 years. Top marks to the excellent fish dishes, including salmon, bream, bass, shark, triggerfish and St Peter's fish. These can be prepared a half-dozen ways; try the house speciality, the Jacko, cooked in butter, garlic and white wine. Other underwater critters (calamari, crab or shrimp) are also available, plus there are grilled Turkish kebabs.
Note that there is another Jacko at Carmel Centre on 11 Moriah Blvd.
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Orna and Ella
Set inside a beautifully renovated Bauhaus apartment, with a stark white design and no musical distractions, this 15-year-old institution serves homey gourmet cuisine to locals and celebrities alike (Natalie Portman was recently spotted here). It uses the freshest ingredients brought straight from the market and everything is made from scratch. The menu changes weekly, but you can count on the seared salmon, smoked duck and great sweet potato pancakes. Don't miss the excellent pastries!
reviewed
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Suzana
If you've just come out of a performance at the Suzanne Dellal Centre, and want to enjoy another Neve Tzedek favourite, head across the street to this elegant outdoor dining establishment. Here you'll get a fusion of European and Mediterranean dishes, including stuffed vegetables and Cornish hen. Enjoy your meal on the open deck in the shade of an enormous ficus tree. If you are here in the evening, take in views of lovely Neve Tzedek while enjoying a drink on the rooftop lounge.
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Tapéo
Once you've settled in and polished of a couple of tapas snacks you can almost imagine that you've been transported to Barcelona. And like a Spanish restaurant you can find huge crowds mingling and drinking pitchers of Sangria till well after midnight. The menu is laden with delicious treats, including sliced scallops, jumbo shrimp wrapped in noodles, stuffed empanadas and grilled eggplant. It's located among other upscale restaurants, around the corner from the Cinematheque.
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Salon Mazal
A combination bookshop, library and café described by one of the volunteers as 'a centre for spreading alternative knowledge.' The café strictly adheres to a vegan menu and changes according to whoever is on duty (and all profits go towards animal rights groups). Pop in at least for some free-trade coffee served with soy milk. Lectures are occasionally held here and they have plenty of brochures and information on local events of interest to activists.
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Hashmura 1872
The premier dining address in the German Colony, Hashmura 1872 does a range of pasta, chicken, steak and lamb dishes, but the speciality is seafood. Shrimp, carpaccio (thinly sliced raw fish) or squid starters cost around ₪39 to around ₪55, and salmon, bream or mussel mains are around ₪72 to around ₪80.
A glass floor reveals the extensive wine cellar in the historic 1872 basement, where there's also an atmospheric pub.
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Brasserie M&R
Up there with the most popular Tel Aviv restaurants, this French restaurant is busy all the time - stop by around 03:00 on a Tuesday and wonder at the crowds. The big leather couches, mirrors, brass fittings and brusque service will make Parisians feel at home, while the oysters, steaks and paté will please even the most sophisticated palates. It's quietly known as a meeting place for local celebrities, but still maintains a neighbourhood atmosphere.
reviewed
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Moses
This popular burger place stays busy well after midnight, especially on weekends. You can eat outside on the deck overlooking beautiful Rothschild Blvd or sit in the air-con interior. Moses serves some of the best hamburgers in Tel Aviv: a plump, 200g mixture of seasoned lamb and beef served with tangy sauces and toppings, or you can choose from a selection of appetisers and sandwiches. After midnight the price of a burger and fries drops.
reviewed
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Donianan
Raising the bar for dining experiences in Akko, this upscale restaurant impresses with its beautifully presented appetisers and selection of fresh seafood meals. The grilled fish is the obvious choice but you could also try calamari, mussels or crab. Meat lovers may prefer the tender, marinated steak, complemented by a Golan wine. The restaurant enjoys spectacular views from its location atop the ramparts, next to Galileo restaurant.
reviewed
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Bialik Café
A unique café, this place is larger than most, with high ceilings and diner-style seating. The food ranges from excellent to amazing, and if you aren't too hungry they offer the same dishes in tapas-sized portions (for half the price). Try the salmon and teriyaki tapas or the entrecote (beef) skewers. They have free wi-fi access, live music most nights and a 'happy hour' from 16:00 to 22:00 that sees discounted drinks.
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Café Noah
Popular with writers, poets, pundits and other folk desperately attempting avoid a nine-to-five job, Noah has well-worn wood floors a small library and dozens of dusty old National Geographics. The menu offers salads, sandwiches and all-day breakfast. For a healthy treat try to the quinoa salad, prepared with a type of grain indigenous to South America. There's live jazz every Sunday. Free wi-fi internet access.
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Mayan Habira
Serving up the 'soul food' of Haifa, this restaurant can place before you parts of animals that you may have never tasted before. The classically Eastern European menu, created by the Romanian family that runs the place, includes jellied calf's foot, gefilte fish, chopped liver and petshai (boiled calf's leg). You can also try kreplach, a meat-stuffed dumpling known affectionately as a 'Jewish wonton.'
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Tierra Health Bar
Tierra Health Bar does a wide range of organic treats; we recommend the chicken breast with millet or the red tuna and mushrooms - both excellent! But even better than the food is the massage you can get from your server (seven minutes, ₪20) - the staff members at Tierra are all certified massage therapists. To complete your healthy lunch date, grab a seat at the oxygen bar for 10 minutes of 100% pure O2.
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Mandarin
Step off busy HaNassi Ave, down past a gardenlike entrance with the sign 'Mandarin' and you'll assume you're headed for a Chinese restaurant. Where you actually end up is a quaint café with a wood deck and cosy interior set to a soundtrack of funk and blues. The menu features soups, salads, big sandwiches and pastas. There is live jazz on Thursdays and free wi-fi for laptop users.
reviewed
