Bet Ha Hummus

Type: Hummus
English Menu: No
Average price: 35 NIS (Fattah)
Address: 1 Ben Avigdor st.

Bet Ha Hummus (The Hummus House) probably won't appear in your Lonely Planet or any other (food) guide. It's too local. Yet this place serves one of the tastiest delicacies of the Lebanese cuisine - Fattah.

the Fattah

Fattah is made by soaking pita bread in 'chickpeas water' (water in which chickpeas were soaked) until they get soft. After that, the pita bread is mixed with hummus, tehina, larified butter, chunks of lamb meat which was fried in the butter and then on top of this all: fried pine nuts and freshly chopped parsley. WOW!

This dish is absolutely amazing - you'll probably not find something that unique and local anywhere else in Tel Aviv. By the way - the normal/ plain hummus is not such a home run, so you can pass it (quite weird that's the case at this place, but rest assured we tried both).

How to get there
The fastest way to reach the place is by taking bus from Ben Zion Blvd. (near Dizengoff Center) and then going down on the second stop of Hashmonaim st. Then walk according to the map and you're there. (you'll recognize the place by the hole above the door - see picture)


Click here to view location of Bet HaHummus and walking direction on the map

Aba Gil

Type: Organic vegan food 
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 40 NIS
Address: 55 Yehuda Halevi st.
Tel. number.: 03-5663320

Even if you are not into organic vegan food, you should go to Aba Gil and try their dishes. The dishes are simple, pure and healthy, everything that a hungry body needs. Although Buddha Burger, the other organic competitor in Tel Aviv, has more sophisticated and bigger variety of choices on their menu,  Aba Gil's menu isn't inferior.

The flag dish of Aba Gil is the "full plate", which includes hummus, tehina, brown rice, red lentils, cooked green peas, cooked vegetables, and vegetable quiche or vegetable patties. It's hardcore organic and healthy food and no less tasty (maybe except the cooked veggies, but not everything have to be perfect). We especially liked the hummus (which is also served as a seperate dish), and the quiches.

How to get there
Take bus 5 and go down on the first stop after Rothschild Blvd., than go back to Yehuda Halevi st., then go a bit foward on Yehuda Halevi st. towards Allenby. Or you can take a bus which go through Allenby (24,25) and ask the driver to go down next to Yehuda Halevi.

Click here to view Aba Gil location on the map


* Detail: The take out boxes are environmental friendly.

Jamila

Type: Moroccan 
English Menu: No
Average price: 40 NIS
Address: 31 Gruzenberg st.
Tel. nr.: 03-5166123
(Sun-Fri 12:00-18:00)

Jamilla offers delicious hearty dishes from the flavorsome Moroccan cuisin. It's a cute and small eatery-style place with a wide range of tajines,  warming soups and couscous.

The menu is different for each day of the week. But from what we ate it seems that you can have good meal each day of the week. We tried the chicken tajine with potatoes (served with delicious soft bread and some small salads of the day and tehina) and the couscous with chicken. Both great!

Jamila is not open in the night and in the weekend, unfortunately, only until 6.00pm, so be sure to drop by during the day to try out their heartwarming dishes.

How to get there
Walk on Nachalat Binyamin St. all the way down until you hit Gruzenberg. It's right on the corner.


Location of Jamila and walking directions from King George on the map

Gedera 26

Type: Mediterranean Fusion 
English Menu: No Yes (updated by comment - thanks!)
Average price: 40-60 NIS
Address: 26 Gedera st.
Tel. number: 03-5100164

Gedera 26 restaurant is exactly the type of restaurants which we like to see in Tel Aviv. Combination of great meat and seafood and pungent cold salads, all which taste amazingly good and made from fresh ingredients (and its location next to the Carmel market helps a lot with the latter).

It's hard to define Gedera's cuisine explicitly: it varies from the Arabic cuisine to European style cooking. Some dishes even remind us of home-cooked food, and some resemble high quality French bistro-food. Eating at Gedera is a culinary experience.

The salads were fresh and delicious.We ate the wheat salad with cranberries (highly recommended); Mujaddara (rice with lentils) with yogurt (OK) and roasted fennel (surprisingly taste!). Salads come in a small or large portions (10/20 NIS).

For the main dish, we took the cold roast beef, which was finely spiced, giving it a great taste and texture (pricing is 30 NIS per 100gr). We also took the Chraime (46 NIS) - a dish which is inspired by the Jewish immigrants from Libya. This is a fish dish which is cooked with spicy tomato sauce and vegetables and tasted like more! (and don't forget to dip the bread in the sauce.) Thumbs up for using good quality fish.

For our sweet tooth, we took the malabi. We must say that although we already ate the best malabi in town, we were still surprised by the malabi of Gedera. Its uniqueness is by being less "hardcore" than the rest, or in other words, not  super-sweet. Instead, it's served with fruits (14 NIS).

How to get there

Restaurant Gedera 26 is located right next to the Allenby-King George intersection, where Nachalat Binyamin starts. Click on the map below to see walking directions from the crossroad. 

Click here to view Gedera 26 location on the map

* Detail: Gedera has three types of menus: fixed lunch menu,  evening menu (changing; more seafood dishes) and Fridays menu. 

Tipico Grilled Chicken

Type: Chicken rotisserie 
English Menu: No
Average price: 25-35 NIS
Address: 1 Nahalat Benyamin st.

We raved about Shimon chicken before, completely convinced that they are the only good rotisserie in Tel Aviv. Don't get us wrong, we still think Shimon's chicken is delicious, but they have a solid competition couple of blocks away: Tipico chicken!

It's a bit more expensive than Shimon's, but it's not the same: Tipico uses a more flavorsome spice rub that contains paprika and coriander seeds. And because of the way Tipico grills the chicken, it's less greasy than Shimon's and a bit more delicate. 

Tipico's potato wedges are great as well, and are baked with the grease and juices of the chicken. 

How to get there
Nachalat Binyamin 1 is on the beginning of the pedestrian st., in the intersection of King George and Allenby, right across Agadir.

Click here to view Tipico's location on the map

Grillanda

Type: Chef Tapas Restaurant
English Menu: No
Average price: 40-70 NIS
Address: Hachava (from 74 Rokach st., Ramat Gan)
Opening hours: Sun. - Sat. 18:00-24:00
Tel. number: 03-5755162

Grillanda restaurant is the latest innovative and creative approach in the food business. Have you ever heard of a chef restaurant located on a farm and surrounded by fields and cattle? (in sheepfolds, don't worry). As you can see in the picture, you're surrounded by nature and there's an amazingly relaxing atmosphere.

The menu is basically tapas, mostly vegetarian. We started our meal with tehina with garlic (highly recommended!) and ate it with their freshly baked focaccia. Among the larger tapas dishes, we took the cauliflower salad (great!), eggplant prepared in ametal brick-oven (it's a bit spicy, but this is also great with the focaccia), and the vine leaves stuffed with rice - a common Middle Eastern delicacy, served with a pungent yogurt sauce. The only dish which disappointed us was the sous herring.

The price range of the dishes of Grillanda is 20-25 NIS per one tapas. They also have a bit more expensive dishes like a plate of cheeses or coldcuts - above 50 NIS. For the budget gastronoms it's better not to come too hungry (you need min. 4 plates to be really full).

Grilanda restaurant is indeed highly recommended, and the vast open area around the tables makes it a perfect place to come with family and kids (only if the latter appreciates gourmet :-)). It's not really in Tel Aviv, but it's a great excursion.

How to get there

To get to there place by car, you need to enter Ganey Yeoshua parks from Ramat Gan. You can go on Rokach st. in Ramat Gan (don't confuse with the one of Tel Aviv which intersects with Ibn Gvirol), which can be reached through Aba Hillel st. In front of 74 Rokach st., turn towards the path which leads to a parking lot (where you park free of charge). The entrance to the farm is near the orange guard house.

For those who wish to get to the place by public transportation, you can go on bus 20 (from Dizengoff center), and go down on Aba Hillel, Rokach station. Go up on Rokach st. and walk approximately 600 meters according to the directions as mentioned here above.

Shmaya

Type: Local eatery, Jewish
English Menu: No
Average price: 35 NIS
Address: 2 Vital st.
Tel. number: 03-6829217
(Closed on Friday night and Saturdays)

In the Florentine area, the local eatery Shmaya is legendary. It's a hole in the wall and indeed a fantastic discovery. Shamaya, the lovely owner, prepares the food by himself, which is  characterized by its Jewish and Middle Eastern influences.

Basically you choose a main course, which is served with some side dishes, such as stewed vegetables, rice, different types of beans and etc. We took the stuffed eggplant with minced beef and herbs and stuffed yams (the latter also known as "batata"), which were delicate and tasted very homy, so to speak. Though usually after eating in local eateries food coma is inevitable, Shmaya's food is relatively light and "sits" well, as Israelis like to say. Shmaya also has good vegetarian dishes and other stuffed vegetables.

The place doesn't have an English menu. But the people working here are so warm and friendly, they will be more than happy to explain it to you.

How to get there

To get to Florentin neighborhood from the center you can take bus no. 1 or no. 2 (both drive on dizengoff until Frishman st., where they turn to Pinsker under the fountain). Go down on the second station on the Ha'Alia st.(or ask to go down at Florentin st.). Then go on Florentin st. until you see Vital st. on your right (around 500 meters walk).

*Detail: We've been told by Shmaya's fans that he feeds the homeless people for free.

Sofia

Type: Bulgarian restaurant
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 40-70 NIS
Address: 16 Ha'Arbaa st.
Tel. number: 03-5614725

Sofia Restaurant is little Bulgaria in the heart of Tel Aviv, which provides the taste of the Bulgarian cuisine - salads, pastries, soups and (a lot) of meat. So, the menu of Sofia fits vegetarians and carnivores as well.

We tried the Shopska salad, which is a normal Middle Eastern salad with amazing Bulgarian cheese (tastes like Feta chesse), and also the fries is topped with this cheese. What can we say, this cheese really does the trick for these two! No wonder it's a main ingredient in this cuisine. The eggplant with garlic spread (Kiopolo) is also great, but too bad the bun which is served with it, is not that fresh.

As for the main dishes, we took the Moussaka, which rocks! This Bulgarian version of this oven dish uses a yogurt layer on top instead of bechamel, and has less eggplant than the Greek moussaka - Quite a good one! We also took the Kebab, which was quite OK and is served with rice and salad. Also, we ordered the chicken meatballs, which are braised with a yummy sweet and sour tomato sauce (served with rice).

One thing to note about Sofia - it's relatively cheap. All the main dishes noted above cost less than 40 NIS. Although you can find some better meat restaurants in Tel Aviv (not to say the meat in Sofia is bad), the combination of the special flavors of the salads, appetizers and sauces makes Sofia an affordable place which is worth a visit very much - and the flock of people is an evidence for that (make reservations for lunch times).

To end the meal perfectly, you should definitely order the sugarless apple pie. It's unbelievable how sweet and good it can be without sugar (note: for apple pie lovers only!).

How to get there

Ha'Arbaa st. is located next to the Cinemateque, on Carlebach st. You can reach Carlebach by going to the beginning of Ibn Gvirol (go south), where it intersects with Yehuda Halevi st.

*Detail: If you really liked the meat, Sofia sells some of meat dishes as raw meat for home grilling (at a lower price).

Sonia Getzel Shapira

Type: Cafe-Restaurant
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 40 NIS
Address: 1 Simta Almonit st.
Tel. number: 077-5261234

Behind the busy street of King George lies Sonia Getzel Shapira, which is a unique combination of a cafe, restaurant and a garden.

Sonia's menu has the normal cafe food - breakfast, sandwiches, salads and etc. We tried two salads which were quite OK. But their flag dish is probably the great Shakshuka - north African style fried eggs with tomato sauce and spices. They extend this one to the gourmet level and serve it with different toppings, among them you can find ground beef, mozarella and even spinach. We took the spicy Mexican one which was delicious. The shakshuka is served with a small salad and an amazing warm and fresh bun straight out of the oven (which can be ordered seperately - "Moroccan Bread").

How to get there
Simta Plonit connects to King George between Ha'Avoda and Rashi st. If you're coming from Allenby, walk on the right side and it should be on your right.

* Thanks for the tip N.!

Ha Nasih Hakatan

Type: Cafe Restaurant
Address: 3 Simta Plonit st. (Plonit alley)

"The Little Prince" cafe is was a cosy cafe-bookstore where you can sit and relax, read books, trade books, and basically do your things tranquilly.

Unfortunately, in Dec. 2010 The Little Prince cafe was closed. If you had the chance to visit there, you surely had a great time. We just hope that another cute spot like that will open in the future.

UPDATE: So HaNasaih Hakatan was closed down but now opened again on 18th Nachalat Binyamin st.! Good news!

New phone number of the place is 03-6299387
You can find the location here: http://g.co/maps/kat89

In the next opportunity we will check again the place. We left the picture above just to have a memory of the old place :)

Philippe Pizza

Type: French Pizza
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 47 NIS small pizza/ 76 NIS big pizza
Address: 20 Carlebach st. (next to Iben Gvirol)
Tel. number: 03-5100904

Philippe Pizzeria is a new concept of gourmet pizza parlour, beautifully designed and well located in the Carlebach, Laskov and Ibn Gvirol st. area, near the bars and night clubs. Philippe's pizza menu, which is labeled as "French" has 2 dozens kind of pizzas (including specials written on the chalkboard behind the counter) which are topped with different ingredients, ranging from vegs, cheeses, to pork, beef, mutton, goose and fish, including salmon. The innovative idea behind Philippe Pizza is - it's all charcoal grilled pizza (and as a an evidence you can see the stumps along the wall which are being used by guests for short reviews).

We took the Moussaka pizza, which is topped with a great beef and mutton layer, and served with an eggplant and rocket salad on it (inspired by the Moussaka from the Balkan). The second one we took was the Oriental pizza, which is supposed to have a spicy flavor, with Merguez sausages. This one was a bit disappointing and too regular, but still good.

How to get there
To reach Philippe Pizza you'll have to walk to the beginning of Iben Gvirol st., where it intersects with Carlebach and Laskov.

Click here to view location on the map and walking directions from Dizengoff st. 

Shine

Type: Cafe Restaurant
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 35-50 NIS
Address: 38 Shlomo Hamelekh st.

Young, hip, single and artistic Tel Avivians love to come to Shine to hang out, meet new interesting people or to have brainstorm sessions for work. It's tucked away in a quiet street, just perfect if you want to escape the bustling streets near the center but don't want to wander off too far away from it.

Except for the usual coffee, alcohol and other beverages, Shine also has a really good and healthy menu. The vegetarians enjoy the salads very much, but also the tofu curry with vegetables and wild rice. The curry has a delicate creamy flavor and they use a special version of tofu, named tempeh. Also the risotto with seafood is quite tasty. The risotto isn't the creamy version, instead it's savoury and made with a great broth of seafood and it has small shrimps and calamari mixed through it. The portions of each dish are quite big and can be easily shared, if you're both not big eaters.

How to get there
Walk on Dizengoff and turn right (facing north) to Frishman st. Go straight till the corner with Shlomo Hamelekh st.

Gilad and Daniel

Type: French Bistro
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 30 NIS (desserts)
Address: 300 Dizengoff st.

Gilad and Daniel is a cozy french bistro located in a quiet location on Dizengoff. It's famous for its special tarte tatin, which comes with apples or pears. Indeed a great treat! The tarte tatin is absolutely the best in Tel Aviv (runner up - Goocha's).

Also the creme brulee is wickedly good. This one can be topped only by the brulee of Dubnov 8.

Although we initially only went to Gilad ve Daniel for desserts, we found out that their Lyonnaise chicken with rice is to die for! The delicately grilled chicken breast is laid on a bed of luscious cream sauce with mushrooms, spring onions and chives. Wow!

How to get there
Go north on Dizengoff. It's close to the intersection with Yirmiyahu st. (Bus no. 5 can drop you on Nordau st. where from you can keep on going north).

Panini Lilush

Type: Italian, Cafe-Restaurant
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 40-50 NIS
Address: 73 Frishman st.

A cute small cafe restaurant located next to Rabin Square with a great variation of food, ranging from quality sandwiches to poshy risotto. Young Tel Avivians, with and without kids come here to have their Saturday brunch.

Panini is an Italian bread with fillings such as smoked goose breast (fantastic!), salmon or pastrami. Except for panini, they also serve salads and hot dishes, such squash soup, lentil soup, lasagna, pasta. The chicken soup with the Matza balls are very recommended. Less than that but still good is the peas soup.

An excellent dish is the seafood risotto with lychee and smoked goose breast, which although sounds off, is very special and highly recommended (see picture on the right). We haven't tried the pasta, but they are quite popular at Panini Lilush. The meat lasagna looks great, but the flavor is quite disappointing. It doesn't have the original meat lasagna flavor, instead they experimented with spices such cumin and cinnamon.

Also worth trying are the blintzes appetizers. These rolled pancakes with salmon, cream cheese filling or eggplant and cream cheese are served with a green salad and a thickly induced balsamic vinegar dressing that completes the meal with the zingyness.
The only dessert we tried was the chocolate souflet, which was a bit disappointing and tasted a bit like supermarket.

How to get there
Go from Rabin square on Frishman towards the sea. Located just next to the Masarik square (the northern end of King George st.)

Japanika

Type: Japanese
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 35 NIS

Address: 128 Dizengoff st., 47 Yirmeyahu st.
Tel. no.: 03-5291014 (Dizengoff), 03-5466666 (Yirmiyahu)

Japanika has many branches spread all over Israel, but lucky for us there are two of them in Tel Aviv! Japanika menu has a great variety of Japanese deliciousness. The dishes resemble a new type of Japanese fusion food, keeping the original Japanese delicateness intact. Their menu have sushi, sashimi, noodles and soups.

The Tuna Tataki on a bed of marinated seaweed is really good. Also the 'new age' sushi Japanco is very tasty. You choose two types of vegetables and one kind of fish for your sushi roll, it's outer layer is dipped in panco (Japanese breadcrumbs) and fried. The result is a crispy but delicious tasting sushi roll.

But our favorite is the Saki Teriyaki Roll. It's an inside-out roll with salmon, crispy salmon skin topped with spicy mayonnaise and a thin lemon that wraps it up. Delicious! The combination deals are good value for the money. You don't get specialties but a fine set of sushi, nigiris and hand-wraps.

The Dizengoff branch is quite small, the one at Yirmeyahu is a bit more spacious and you have a great view of the HaYarkon Park. Japanika is a place that's always packed, so make sure you make reservations beforehand.





How to get there
128 Dizengoff st.- Go stright north on Dizengoff, it's on the corner of Gordon St.
47 Yirmeyahu st. - Go straight north on Dizengoff, take right on Yirmeyahu st. and keep on going till you get thereץ

Walking directions on the map, from Dizengoff Center:
128 Dizengoff branch
47 Yirmiyahu branch