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At this cozy neighborhood bistro, the portions are generous, the prices extremely reasonable, and the atmosphere a friendly hubbub of clattering dishes and animated conversations. The thick menu is filled with hearty salads and pastas, as well as the signature paninis. In the warmer months, there are creative daily specials like tasty risotto. During the winter, there's a daily selection of a dozen different soups. The all-day happy hour will keep your mouth and wallet smiling.
73 Frishman St., 64352, Israel
Known For
- Popular local hangout
- Laid-back vibes
- Great panini and hearty soup in winter
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This unassuming spot nestled deep in the Carmel Market is a haven for meat lovers. The menu is short and the decor minimal but the quality is excellent; the restaurant is an extension of the Meat Market butcher's shop located just 25 meters away. Diners can choose between a selection of meats cooked on the charcoal grill or try the specialty dishes. The arais are a house recommendation that are well worth a try and the slow-cooked smoked shawarma elevates this classic street food to new heights. If you still have room for dessert, the Crack Pie is a sweet and sticky delight that you won't regret.
30 Simtat HaCarmel St., Israel
Known For
- Casual dining against the bustling atmosphere of the market
- High-quality meat
- Crack Pie dessert
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Fri. Closed Sat.
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Chocolate lovers should run, not walk, to this eatery for a mouthwatering, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory experience. Beneath pipes of imaginary chocolate crisscrossing the ceiling, children of all ages can order the likes of chocolate pizza—topped with chocolate chips, of course—or chocolate fondue for dipping toasted marshmallows and fruit like melon, dates, and bananas. There's even chocolate soup! For a souvenir, take home some hand-stenciled pralines in artfully designed tins. And yes, there are non-chocolate options, including pastas and salads. Service is famously iffy but who cares when you can gorge yourself on chocolate?
45 Rothschild Blvd., Israel
Known For
- Chocolatey treats galore
- Appealing to chocolate lovers of all ages
- Service is hit-and-miss
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Fri. afternoon
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Israel has the highest population of vegans per capita, so it's impressive that Meshek Barzilay started blazing the plant-based trail long before farm-to-table eating became trendy. Tucked away on a quiet, secluded street in Neve Tzedek, the restaurant serves only locally sourced, organic, plant-based ingredients. The original restaurant was founded in 2002 by Merav Barzilay in the small agricultural community of Moshav Yarkona. A few years later, she opened Meshek Barzilay in central Tel Aviv. The produce may not come from her own backyard any more but Barzilay continues to source directly from a meticulously selected group of Israeli farms and producers who deliver daily. Best-selling dishes include the mushroom, tofu, and lentil veggie burger and the beetroot gnocchi.
6 Ahad Ha'Am St., 6514206, Israel
Known For
- Local, organic, seasonal vegan food
- Veggie burger and beetroot gnocchi
- Leafy patio in charming Neve Tzedek
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Chef Aviv Moshe serves traditional dishes like the shredded-wheat-like pastry called kadaif, but his method of preparation is in a class of its own. This Mediterranean–Middle Eastern haute cuisine is enlivened with French and Italian touches. White is the dominant color in the lavish dining room, with marble floors and tented ceiling lamps on which video art is projected. A long, white central table with stylish high-back chairs is the room's centerpiece, perfect for mingling with fellow diners while the attentive staff serves such dishes as seared red tuna over an eggplant-and-goat-cheese roll with pomegranate dressing or sea bass with shallot ravioli. Make sure you save room for dessert as pastry chef Adi Sibrower's spectacular creations will blow your mind. Adjacent to the restaurant is the bar, a much more chaotic affair done up in stark black. Don't miss '80s night on Wednesday, when a winning combination of DJs playing retro tunes, good food, and strong drinks ensure an unforgettable night.
19 Ha'arbaa St., 64739, Israel
Known For
- Award-winning design
- Fine dining from one of Israel's top chefs
- Outstanding dessert menu
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Reservations essential
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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This lively neighborhood restaurant and bar hits the spot with refreshing margaritas and authentic, tasty Mexican fare. Kick things off with the refreshing Peruvian Tiradito with spicy yellow pepper salsa before ordering barbacoa tacos and green enchiladas. The restaurant is the brainchild of Ziv Erlich, an Israeli who grew up in Mexico and fell in love with the cuisine. He opened the restaurant with his wife Ester in 2008, and a few years later chef Roni Pazhar was brought on board. The result? A fun, boisterous bar that's also a very respectable Mexican restaurant in the middle of Tel Aviv. Happy hour starts every day at 5 pm, a good time to try the Bloody Maria, chili martini, or classic margarita. Try the churros—sweet tubes of fried dough—if you have room for dessert.
2 Vital St., 66088, Israel
Known For
- Fun, boisterous energy
- Large portions and affordable prices
- Happy hour at 5 pm
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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This bar and grill is part retro lounge, part bistro. Best known for its burgers, the place has an extensive menu that includes everything from shish kebabs to calamari and quesadillas. It's good for the whole family, with children's dishes and, for the adults, an interesting selection of cocktails. The ribs in molasses are a real treat, as is the chicken Caesar salad. Drop by after midnight, when late-night specials add to the mix.
35 Rothschild Blvd., 66883, Israel
Known For
- Outstanding burgers
- Homey ambience
- Open late (until 2 am; 4 am on weekends)
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Tucked away in a quiet corner of the city, this small, elegant bistro specializes in fine cuts of expertly prepared meat. It's purported to be the only place in Israel where you can enjoy a real porterhouse steak. And for dessert? That depends on the time of year. Tangy strawberry-vanilla pie is a winter specialty, while fig-vanilla pie is a summer favorite. The building is historic, yet the interior is contemporary, with Mediterranean tile floors in geometric patterns.
15 Yehuda HeHasid St., Israel
Known For
- One of the best steak houses in Tel Aviv
- Historic building with contemporary decor
- Seasonal desserts
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. No lunch Sun.–Fri., Reservations essential
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For one of the best meals in the city, take your place at one of the tables spilling out onto the sidewalk or alongside the small, chic bar. The menu changes daily, depending on what Eyal Shani, its celebrity chef, finds to be the freshest produce or catch of the day. A couple of delectable dishes are often featured, including lamb shawarma marinated overnight in wine grapes from the Judean Hills, and cold shrimp with green onions and tomatoes served in piping-hot homemade pita. If you arrive without reservations, you may be able to find room at the bar.
40 Lilienblum St., 65133, Israel
Known For
- Lively outdoor terrace
- Celebrity chef
- Food served in paper bags or directly on tablecloth
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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This distinguished Japanese restaurant is consistently ranked among the best in a city with no shortage of sushi. The expansive bar is the restaurant's centerpiece, and the surrounding tables are filled with all sorts of locals, from extended families enjoying an early meal to young people who arrive in clusters later in the evening. Onami presents a large variety of tastefully presented Japanese dishes, including agedashi tofu (fried and served with a sweet soy sauce), that can be combined with sushi or sashimi.
18 Ha'arba'a St., 64739, Israel
Known For
- Top-notch sushi and sashimi
- Agedashi tofu
- Going strong since 1999
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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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.
3 Ahad Ha'Am St., 6514437, Israel
Known For
- Creative cuisine from a top chef
- Exceptional tasting menu
- Open kitchen
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch except Sat.
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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.
5 Har Sinai St., 6581605, Israel
Known For
- Lively tables lining the sidewalk
- Modern Israeli cuisine
- Hipster favorite
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Fri. night
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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.
8 Rabbi Yohanan St., 61000, Israel
Known For
- Laid-back living room feel
- Excellent vegetarian selection
- Popular outdoor patio that attracts a young crowd
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sat.
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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.
99 Ibn Gvirol St., 64047, Israel
Known For
- Sabich, everyone's favorite Israeli street food
- Meatballs, fish balls, and schnitzel
- Limited seating
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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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.
45 Allenby St., 63291, Israel
Known For
- Tel Aviv's most famous sabich stand
- Ramshackle street food joint
- Minimal seating space and no restrooms
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sat.
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This laid-back bar is in the middle of the action next to Jaffa's busy flea market. It draws easygoing locals and tourists of all ages, who come for the tasty, affordable food and drinks and the lively outdoor patio. The menu is mainly local, with some Asian dishes thrown in; the service is efficient and upbeat; and the furniture looks like it's been randomly lifted right out of the flea market. Shaffa Bar doesn't take itself too seriously and neither do its guests, which is probably what makes this place so irresistible.
2 Nakhman St., 6813803, Israel
Known For
- Totally unpretentious
- Affordable food
- Plenty of outdoor seating on the patio
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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.
256 Ben Yehuda St., 63501, Israel
Known For
- Fresh fish, affordably priced
- Catch of the day
- Great meze selection and unlimited refills
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In a century-old building near the Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre, this popular eatery bustles day and night. Sample the Kurdish kubbeh (meat-filled semolina dumplings) and pumpkin soup, the okra in tomato sauce, the red peppers stuffed with meat and rice, or the Moroccan harira, a thick soup with chickpeas, veal, and coriander. To start things off, the savory antipasti platter is a welcome sight for the hungry traveler. Opt for a table on the charming terrace beneath the massive branches of an old ficus tree.
9 Shabazi St., 65144, Israel
Known For
- Unbeatable setting on a charming patio
- Middle Eastern--Israeli menu
- Convenient to Suzanne Dellal Center
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Part of the city's influx of Asian restaurants, the "Asia-terranean" kitchen of Taizu is a nod to the street food of India, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The interior design is based on the five elements of Chinese philosophy: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal, each of which is also represented in the style of food. Visit in a group and share plates such as lemongrass-infused steak, seafood dumplings, spicy Thai salad, and fragrant Indian curry. The menu is guaranteed to delight the tastebuds of every Asian food lover.
23 Menachem Begin St., 6618356, Israel
Known For
- Pan-Asian delights
- Seafood dumplings
- Indian curry
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential, Closed at lunch Sun.–Wed.
