Carmella Banachala

Type: Bistro Restaurant 
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 80-100 NIS
Address: 14 Rambam st.
Tel. number: 03-5161417

Carmela banachala is located next to the bustling Carmel market and you can tell it by the market inspired ingredients in their dishes. This semi-poshy bistro/ restaurant gives your palate a special tour through France, Eastern-Europe until the Middle-East with their well-prepared dishes.

We ate a menu-set, which contained some vegetable appetizers, side dishes, fish and meat dishes. Unfortunately, not all of the dishes were equally delightful. The simple, fresh parsley, coriander salad and the roasted eggplant salad were Mediterranean-ly good:

The carpaccio was a bit disappointing, lacking the delicate flavor and was actually a bit bland. The warm chickpeas salad, as ordinary this dish might sound, was surprisingly delicious and made a good local impression on the taste buds.

The fried sardines and steamed white fish fillet with creamy mashed potatoes also didn't impress us that much, but we really liked the pictures :-) :

The grilled spring chicken fillet was quite tasty, but it just didn't have the "wow-factor". Our favorite was the three small pieces of perfectly cooked beef sirloin in the most amazing red wine sauce:

The meal was topped off with a combination dessert of: creme brulee, "krembo", brownie, and a mousse:

How to get there
Walk on Nachalat Binyamin St. till you hit Rambam st., the second street on your right. Turn right and go 20 meters till you see the extraordinary of the place.

Click here to view walking directions to Carmella Banachala 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. 

Abraxas North

Type: Chef Restaurant 
English Menu: No (Menu is reprinted twice a day)
Average price: 180 NIS pp. (for 3 course dinner)
Address: 40 Lilenblum st.
Tel. number: 0546-786560

Abraxas North is one of the best restaurants in Tel Aviv, if not the best of them. It's not pretentious at all, as some will criticize, referring to the eccentric character of the Chef, Eyal Shani. The food is ridiculously good. It's not a budget dinner, so crack your piggy bank for it. We think that in this case we should just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Mangold leaves with Parmesan and cherry tomatoes salad:

Grouper stew and entrecote:

Pizza with homemade creme fraiche and creme patissiere with guava:

How to get there
Abraxas North is located in Lilenblum st., which is intersected with Allenby st. To reach the area, you can take bus 5 and go down at the last stop of Rothschild Blvd., then walk 10 min (see the map below). Or, walk on Allenby towards south and then turn right to Lilenblum st., the turn after Rotschild Blvd.

Click here to view Abraxas North's location and walking direction

Shushkashvili

Type: Tapas Restaurant
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 50-60 NIS pp.
Address: Hatachana (Old Jaffa train station)
Tel. number: 03-5160008

Sushkashvili, though designed more as a bar, is a very good tapas restaurant in the beautiful compound of the old Jaffa train station, known as "Hatachana". There are dozens of tapas: salads, grilled vegetables, spreads and dips, meat and fish, all to make your meal tasteful and colorful!

We took at Sushkashvili an eggplant spread with a great fresh-out-of-the-oven bread, which was a great combination to start with. Then we went on eating red fish with burgul (quite good), beef chorizos (done very well), fish meatballs (was just OK) and beet salad with blue cheese (a bit disappointing).

And they are not stingy with the portions at Shushka shvili, the prices are also quite affordable. Only the meat and fish dishes are up to 40-50 NIS, but the other dishes are cheaper. There is also a beautiful terrace outside, perfect for gazing over the Hatachana area (remember to make reservation for these seats in advance).

How to get there
It will be a bit more convenient for you to take a taxi. From Tel Aviv center it should be around 30NIS.
To reach Hatachana by bus, you can take bus no. 25 and go down at the first stop of Sderot Yerushalaim (Jerusalem Boulevard), then go backwards for 500 meters. Hatachana should be on the right of the main road (Kaufmann st.), behind the parking lot. Or bus no.18, it stops a bit before Sderot Yerushalaim. Ask the driver where to go down for the last station in Kaufmann st. (or say the station before Sderot Yerushalaim).

Click here to see walking directions on the map

Giraffe

Type: Asian-Fusion restaurant

English Menu: Yes

Average price: 50-60 NIS

Address: 49 Iben Gvirol st.; 21 Ha'Arbaa st. (Officers' club)

Tel. number: 03-6916294, 03-6851155

Giraffe was one of the first Asian noodle bar restaurants in Tel Aviv and its popularity hasn't changed since then. Combining the Asian flavors such as Japanese, Thai and Chinese on their menu, Giraffe is attracting a big crowd.

There's a lot to choose from on Giraffe's menu and can be time consuming... Among the appetizers, we liked the tofu salad with vegetables and peanut sauce. The shrimps egg roll had a very weird smell, so it's definitely not one of our favorites. Giraffe also has several types of sushi, but Giraffe is not the place for it. We rather eat sushi at a better sushi restaurant, like Sakura and Japanika.

Our favorite main dishes are the "Spicy Philippine noodles" and the "Lemon chicken". The Philippines dish is prepared with coconut milk mixed with a red curry paste and pieces of chicken. It's a little bit spicy for sensitive taste buds. The Lemon chicken is great! Slices of crispy chicken, served with fried white rice and a tangy-savoury lemon sauce.

Moadon HaKtzinim (Officers' Club) is a chic branch of Giraffe. The menu is a little bit different, but based on the same idea.

How to get there

To reach the Ibn Gvirol branch: if you're coming from Dizengoff, take left when you hit Ibn Gvirol st.

To reach the Officers' Club: Ha'Arba'a street is next the Cinemateque, on Carlebach st. You can reach Carlebach by going to the beginning of Ibn Gvirol (go south), where it connects to Yehuda Halevi st.

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.

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).

Suzanna

Type: Restaurant
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 60-70 NIS
Address: 8 Shabazi st.
Tel. number: 03-5177580

Oh Suzanna! One of Tel Aviv's best restaurant in one of the most beautiful areas in Tel aviv, Neve Tzedek. Breathe in the architectural and artistic atmosphere in the narrow and beautiful alleyways. It's only a matter of time that before you will stumble upon Suzanna.

To make a long story short - all the dishes at Suzanna's look, smell and taste amazing. Start off with great hot and cold entrees (called "meze", many of them are vegetarian). We tried the fried cauliflower, grilled eggplant, bell pepper salad and the Jerusalem artichoke, all SO yummy! You can really eat a whole meal just of those.

Suzanna's menu has a couple of good vegetarian dishes, such as the salads and stuffed vegetables. As a main dish we ordered the filo pastry with eggplant and goat's cheese. Nice and delicate stuffing with a cripsy layer of the filo, what a combination! But the menu of Suzana also contains a couple of meat dishes, like lamb kebab, skewers, entrecote and also seafood such as sea bream, mullet, shrimps and calamari, which we kept for some other time. Highly recommended!

How to get there
Reaching Neve Tzedek by bus can be annoying, but anyway - Take bus no. 25 towards Jaffa, ask the driver to go down at Charles Clore park. Then, you have to go find your way east, away from the beach, to the inside neighborhoods. Ask around how to get to Shabazi st., they will probably know. Taxi from the center will cost approximately 30-35 NIS.

Pasha

Type: Turkish
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 65 NIS (Business deal)
Address: 8 Ha'Arba'a st.

The word 'pasha' is an honorary title in the military in Turkey and we would definitely rank this restaurant to one of the highest!

Many other Tel Avivians will agree with us that Pasha is a great restaurant, hence why it's always packed. It's designed beautifully and divided into two parts, one part has 'normal' tables and chairs and the other part has more 'bar-like' seats.

Thanks to the business menu that they have, you can enjoy the great Turkish dishes for an affordable price. The business menu includes different kinds of yummy appetizers, such tahina, falafel, salads etc, as you can see on the picture, and a main dish: Kebabs, Pargit (spring chicken), steaks, Kubeh and etc.

But don't leave this restaurant without trying the spring chicken stuffed with pistachios and cashewnuts! That's a winning combination of a creamy flavor of the nuts that fits perfectly with the juicy spring chicken meat. We've also tried the "Masahne", which is tenderloin on a Pita, which was also very good. The meat is of good quality, very juicy and full of good flavors.

How to get there
Ha'Arba'a is next to the Cinemateque, on Carlebach st. You can reach Carlebach by going to the beginning of Ibn Gvirol (go south), where it connects to Yehuda Halevi st.
* Detail: Pasha is a kosher restaurant.

Chadar Ha Ochel

Type: Fusion
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 60 NIS
Address: 23 Shaul Hamelech Blvd.
Tel. number: 03-6966188

Chef Omer Miller came up with the concept of having a restaurant with an Israeli multi-cultural cuisine. The restaurant is set up like an army dining hall, with all of the utensils on the long tables where you sit right next to each other. It does create a cosy atmosphere and it's easier to socialize with the one sitting next to you.

The main idea is - Sharing. The dishes are a like medium size tapas, which are shared with your table mates. It's recommended to order 1-3 dishes per person, depending on how hungry you are. We definitely recommend you to take the fried cauliflower served with tehina,. the veal kubeh, the chopped liver and the great bread.

Chadar Haochel also serves pots and grills, mostly meat stews. We tried the beef stew, which was disappointing. Its flavor cannot be compared to the dozens of tasty tapas which we liked much more. .

Unfortunately, in 2010 Chadar Ha ochel raised the prices, and removed some of the better tapas dishes, which were also very affordable. Still, it's a great place for lunch or dinner.

How to get there
Shaul HaMelekh starts at London Ministore on Ibn Gvirol. Go straight until you see a long staircase taking you to a big square. Cross the square diagonally to reach the place.

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

* Detail: This place is always packed before and right after the performance hours of the theater and opera house and theatre nearby. Avoid these peak hours if you want to have a quiet dinner - after 20:30hrs the perimeter is clear :-)

Dizengoff Center Food Court

Type: Food court, Multi-Cultural

English menu: No menu at all
Average price: 25-30 NIS per meal
Address: Dizengoff Center
Open: Thursdays 12:00-21:00; Fridays 10:00-16:00

The food court is divided into numerous stands. The stands have huge metal plates on which the sellers keep the food warm. You can take a peek before you order and some sellers let you taste before buying a whole plate. Most of the sellers speak English, otherwise you just point at what you want to eat and they scoop it on a plastic plate for you. The prices differ a lot, so ask how much each item is before you choose. Note that there aren't any seats but you can sit near the stairs.

For the meat lovers, we would recommend to eat at the Persian stand (on the 2nd floor near the escalator and sometimes in front of the Superpharm on the ground floor), where they sell kebabs, skewers, meatballs, stuffed vegs with meat, chicken legs. Try the rice before you add it to your portion, as they are not always tasty. The stand which sells tortillas with chicken or beef stew is also recommended. This stand also has vegetarian fillings, such as eggplant or bean stew. It is located in front of the DIY store.

If you rather want to eat a light lunch, you can try out the small sushi stand. The sushis aren't the best in town, but they are edible. The Druze stand can also be considered as 'light food' and is located near the entrance. The old lady there sells Druze pita (looks like a huge pancake) with fillings such as parsley, cream cheese, labane (some kind of white cheese). Otherwise you can take the stuffed cabbage with rice which is a special Druze delicacy.

The Food Court also sells drinks, fruit juices and lemonade. Next to the Persian stand you can buy almond 'juice' at the fruit stand. If you still feel like eating a desert, indulge yourself by going to the Poffertjes stand (Dutch mini pancakes) on the 2nd floor (or sometimes in front of the Superpharm) and order a portion with butter and maple syrup. It's a great way to end your tour at the Food Court.

Currently the food court is divided to two floors - the bottom and the 2nd floor.

How to get there
The Dizengoff center is located at the intersection of King George and Dizengoff streets. The food court is located at the east side, at the bottom floor and on the 2nd floor.

* Detail: There are water taps near the stands to wash your hands.