227 Best Restaurants in Israel

Grab a seat at the bar and sip a Peroni while you watch the young, friendly staff roll out extra-thin pizza dough in this narrow temple to Italian fast food. Toppings are tasty combinations of cheese, vegetables, and meats. If you'd rather enjoy pasta, the cooks will crank out fresh fettuccine on the countertop. There's an abundant supply of red and white wine, and seating is cozy but friendly in this intimate restaurant.

This crowd-pleaser began serving in 1986 from a boat in the marina before occupying a striking, nautical-looking building (it resembles a ship) with walls of windows overlooking the water. The fusion of South American, Asian, and Mediterranean influences creates interesting menu options. Seafood soup or seaweed salad makes a good starter, and seafood main courses include Brazilian moqueca, a fish stew made with coconut milk, and shrimp and calamari gratin with artichokes and garlic. Steak and sushi lovers have good options, too. Pair your meal with a bottle from the impressive list of regional wines.

This faux-Chinese temple has an outdoor patio overlooking the lake, and across the road is a maze of more intimate rooms entered through a garden. The kosher menu of various Asian cuisines and some international favorites is identical at both places, so pick your favorite and try the Thai soups (such as the tasty hot-and-sour soup), the lamb spareribs, or strips of beef with peanut sauce. There's a sushi bar, too.

Palestinian classics are the main draw at this tourist-friendly eatery steps from the Church of the Nativity. Try the maqloubeh, a spiced and baked chicken leg served with a colorful pilaf of yellow rice and eggplant, cauliflower, and carrots. Another great option is musakhan, chicken and onion baked in sumac spice over flatbread. There are also a wide range of pasta dishes. Palestinian Taybeh beer is on tap, and you can end with local baklava pastry or tiramisu.

Stop into this legendary institution, opened in 1940, for coffee and cake, or a meal of spinach blintzes with melted cheese, hamburgers, or Chinese dishes. Three generations of the Oppenheimer family work here, and the walls carry enlarged photographs of how the place looked when just a hut. The management swears that the schnitzel gets accolades from Viennese visitors.

This cozy restaurant bar pays special attention to vegetarian and vegan entrees, alongside carefully concocted cocktails. The Jerusalem Mix, a tempeh and portobello mushroom dish served on a grilled pita with tahini is a wonder. Be sure to order the polenta fries.

Steps from the Old City, this East Jerusalem landmark has been in business for decades—a thank-you note from President Jimmy Carter proves it. Traditional fare like stuffed carrots and onions, or musakhan chicken cooked in sumac and onions, show Palestinian home cooking at its finest. Starters like the hummus or the eggplant spread are reliably executed. If owner Zuheir Izhiman is around, ask him to share his years of local lore.

Inside an atmospheric old building, this kosher Italian restaurant has stone walls, graceful arches, and a sunny courtyard. For a main course, try the pappardelle cooked with flavorful wild mushrooms, or the earthy beet gnocchi served in a cashew cream sauce; whole-wheat and gluten-free pastas are available. The house salad, made with seasonal fruit and drizzled with a mustard-orange dressing, is delicious. After dinner, take a sip of the hot chocolate, dark chocolate, and whiskey topped with whipped cream and served in a shot glass. The wine list includes foreign and local choices.

Located in the beautiful and historic Kibbutz Dafna, this Pizza Truck is a perfect way to get a sense of the kibbutz life. Take a picnic blanket and sit for lunch on the grass, or come for dinner and enjoy the food alongside a range of delicious beers. It's everything you would want from a pizza---a thin and crispy base, creamy and smooth sauce and a variety of interesting toppings. There's also a focus on vegetarian and vegan options, ensuring that those with dietary requirements don't miss out on the quality. This is a relaxed and calm spot, perfect for enjoying with family or friends. 

This café and gift shop is a pleasant, clean place for a break before or after a tour of the Ben-Gurion Desert Home complex. It's convenient for coffee and pastries or a soft drink and a slice of pizza. The shop features wine and olive oil from the Sde Boker Winery and also sells locally produced skin-care items and cosmetics from Faran, made with minerals from the Ramon Crater area. If you have time, ask to see a screening of the short documentary Dreaming—A Love Story, about the establishment of Kibbutz Sde Boker.

Few restaurants have made a splash on the Tel Aviv dining scene as big as Popina, Chef Orel Kimchi's trendy Neve Tzedek eatery. The menu is divided into cooking techniques—cured, steamed, baked, roasted, and slow-cooked—and uses innovative flavor combinations, like pumpkin jam ravioli with amaretto, foie gras, roasted almonds, and truffle foam; a shrimp burger with yuzu aioli; or raw fish tartare with gin and tonic jelly. Snag a table on the romantic outdoor patio, or take a seat indoors near the open kitchen and watch the master at work. The "Popina Experience" tasting menu is exceptional, if your budget stretches that far. Some find Popina pretentious, while others will tell you it's the best restaurant in Tel Aviv.

This laid-back sidewalk restaurant set in the shadow of The Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv is always packed with a lively young crowd smoking cigarettes and engaging in animated conversation. They come here for the buzzing atmosphere and celebrity Chef Eyal Shani's delicious take on Israeli specialties such as grilled eggplant, chicken liver, freekeh, and malabi for dessert. Walk past at almost any hour of the day and it's clear that Chef Shani knows what the locals want. But be warned: there are no reservations and you will inevitably have to wait for a table.

In the heart of the Jaffa Flea Market, Puaa's lumpy sofas and slightly battered tables and chairs make for a kick-your-shoes-off atmosphere—and some patrons oblige. It's a popular gathering place for thirtysomething Tel Avivians, as well as young families. All the cakes, cookies, and croissants are baked fresh on the premises. There's a good selection of vegetarian dishes, including the Middle Eastern favorite majadarah (rice with lentils), served with salad and yogurt, as well as some meat and fish options.

Pasta made on the premises with ingredients imported from Italy speaks to the high quality of this premier Italian restaurant with an open kitchen and a pleasant atmosphere. Beautiful wood furnishings and a light, bright interior provide a backdrop to innovative dishes like pizza with pear, truffle, and blue cheese or salmon pappardelle with spinach and beets. Desserts are really the standouts: homemade ice cream and a pistachio crème brûlée have the locals lining up for a table.

You'll probably smell this eatery long before you see it: rich stews of eggplant, potatoes, and meat cook all day on kerosene burners, and the aromas waft into the Machaneh Yehuda market, taunting passersby. Try the stuffed grape leaves, scoop up hummus with freshly baked pitas, or order beef heaped over rice for a meal that will stick to your ribs.

Accessed directly from the promenade, this kosher steak house distinguishes itself from the pack with service as solicitous as its steaks are juicy. Wooden tables and comfy chairs set the stage for a meal that will have you begging for a doggy bag. Appetizers are named after American states: "Texas" is a serving of crispy, honey-barbecued chicken wings. Steaks, including a copious rib eye, are cooked to order and arrive with a tangle of crispy fried onions and a side of spinach that isn't quite creamed, but is delicious nonetheless. The wine list is diverse and offers several reasonably priced selections.

An impressive brick building and a terrace with lovely views of the Sea of Galilee are great draws. The dairy and salad menu of this bistro, bar, and café has a fine selection of breakfast dishes, salads, pasta, calzones, sandwiches, quiche, and desserts. Locals rave about the cheese blintzes with sweet cheese and raisins. There is music most evenings, plus air-conditioning and a full bar.

Chef J.J. Jalil returned from the United States to his mother's home village and trained in top Israeli kitchens before opening his own homage to Ein Rafah. Try the musakhan chicken, marinated in sumac for 24 hours, or the siniya (layers of bulgur and minced lamb served with house-fermented lemon). Bread is baked in a stone oven on-site, and vegetarians can order salads or vegetable stew. No alcohol is served, but you can bring your own. 

With a menu in English, Arabic, Italian, and Hebrew, Ronen Mansour serves a nice Israeli breakfast, and in the afternoon and evening you can order pasta, pizza, fish, and meat dishes that appeal to everyone. The restaurant is clean and simple, with murals of Italy decorating the walls. Delivery is available to local hotels.

At this tiny, kosher, seaside haven for fish lovers you can enjoy fresh and tasty fare indoors or on the terrace overlooking Netanya's famous promenade. The kitchen serves a wide range of excellent fish dishes, such as tilapia, cod, and gray mullet, grilled, baked, or sautéed. Entrées come with salad or roasted potatoes.

If you need a break from traditional Middle Eastern food, head to Grandpa Gepetto, tucked into an alleyway off a small shopping mall. The dark, cavelike room features gourmet sandwiches served on fresh focaccia bread, with fillings ranging from stir-fried goose breast to chicken breast with pesto. All of them have whimsical names like Mad Cow and Chicken Little. The restaurant offers English-language menus and an excellent beer selection. For an after-dinner drink, ask the hostess about Bar Basaba (Grandpa's Bar). She'll take you around the corner, unlock an unmarked door, and lead you into the coolest bar in Beersheva, hidden in the courtyard between office buildings. There you'll find local Negev beers on tap and, for the homesick, select American beers in bottles.

The specialty at this hole-in-the-wall eatery is sabich, a meal-in-a-pita popular in the region. It's considered a breakfast food (the word comes from the Arabic for "morning") because it includes a hard-boiled egg, in addition to hummus, eggplant, potatoes, salads, and spices. It's a filling snack at any time of day, however. Another popular menu item is the platter of meatballs served in a light tomato sauce. The indoor dining area consists of three or four stools at a counter, and there are a few tables outside as well.

This food stand is one of the best spots to sample the classic Iraqi-Israeli street food called sabich. The Zen-like concentration of the owner results in a hearty and thoughtful dish consisting of fried eggplant, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, tahini, and spice (if you say you can handle it)—a perfect combination of flavors. Here you have the rare options of a whole-wheat or gluten-free pita.

A modest, sweet, and genuine spot named for the dried, aged shanklish cheese that is grated over its salads, this is the ideal place to grab a light meal. Breakfast features bread baked over stones, eggs, salads, and a parade of dips; more substantial dishes include shishbarak dumplings, kebab wrapped in grape leaves, and musakhan chicken cooked in sumac. 

This imposing restaurant commanding the corner as you enter Beit She'an offers friendly service in a sparkling clean dining room. Don’t fill up on the fresh homemade salads; the grilled meat is delicious, too.

Diners crowd the tables inside and out at this simple seafood place. They are here for the fish, which locals agree is reasonably priced, well prepared, and always fresh. They've been coming here consistently for more than 20 years, despite the fact that the trendy Tel Aviv Port, with several fish places of its own, is a few steps away. For the main course, there's a catch of the day, which may include whole trout, fried calamari, or oysters in cream sauce. All the entrées come with an assortment of salads.

Old Singer sewing machines are the tables at this cafe that celebrates Palestinian and Arab artists. In addition to good coffee, you can enjoy fresh juice or lighter fare like sandwiches and salads, and you can also eat upstairs on a rooftop deck. Keep an eye on the bulletin boards for upcoming book readings and local tours. The café is a 15-minute walk from the Church of the Nativity.

Come to this Palestinian-owned chain for the freshly pressed orange and pomegranate juices or a potent cup of thick Arabic coffee. Take home a souvenir mug printed with a green circle that looks strikingly like one from a certain U.S. coffee behemoth.

Down the block from the Machaneh Yehuda produce market, Agrippas Street has some of Jerusalem's best-known greasy spoons. Loyalists claim that Steakiyat Hatzot, which means "Midnight Grill," actually pioneered the local favorite known as Me'orav Yerushalmi, or Jerusalem mixed grill—a substantial and delicious meal-in-a-pita of cumin-flavored bits of chicken hearts, livers, and other organ meats. A bulging pita sandwich, eaten standing up, will set you back about 54 shekels; you can also sit down at a table in the well-decorated dining area and pay about twice that amount for skewers of grilled meat, duck breast, or fish. There are plenty of vegan and children's options.