Eden

Type: Persian
English Menu: No
Average price: 55-70 NIS
Address: 16 Neve Shanan st.

If food surfing is one of your goals in Tel Aviv, so Eden is the place. This Persian restaurant provides a great Persian food experience and feeds its loyal clients for many years now.

The waiter will happily detail all the unique dishes and styles of the kitchen. We remained solid this time and ordered the Kebab, highlighted also by the restaurant itself as one of their best dishes. Indeed, not many restaurants in Tel Aviv serve such flavorsome grilled meat, let alone the great Persian rice served with it - spiced up with spicy and sweet herbs. Very palatable. We also ordered the Gundi, which is a mixture of chicken and chick peas, cooked in chicken soup (a bit like Matzah balls). This one was a bit less impressive than the former (indeed tasted too much like a giant Matzah ball).

How to get there
Not only located in today's poor neighborhood of the old central train station, you will have to find the right path inside Neve Shaanan. Follow the map and recognize the sign above in the picture below:

• Walking direction from Tel Aviv central bus station (take bus 5 or any other)
• Image of the sign above the path leading to the restaurant

* Detail: Don't be afraid of the Persian basil and radish given to you as a tiny starter, it's quite yummy after couple of bites!

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

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. 

Erez Yemen Quarter

Type: Local eatery, Yemenite 

English Menu: No 

Average price: 25 NIS 

Address: 24 Nahliel st., The Yemen Quarter 

Tel. number: 03-5102555

Yes, it's another local eatery post. We wouldn't mention it, if it wasn't worth eating there (really!). Most people don't know where to eat, when they're done strolling the Carmel market. That's why we want to open up this 'hidden world', the Yemen Quarter, for some outlanders.

Erez is not the only good place in this picturesque neighborhood, but they have a vast variety of food and it's all so good and cheap! They have the usual hummus dishes, skewers and Yemenite soup meals (but for the real soup experience, stop by at Rina and Zchariah).

But what we loved is the schnitzel dish and believe us, a good and affordable fresh schnitzel is hard to find. It's a simple dish: deep fried breadcrumb coated schnitzel and 3 side dishes. You can choose from: humnus, fries, white beans, green beans, rice, tehina or a chopped Israeli salad. Great value!

It's recommended to come either before 12pm or after 1.30pm, if you don't want to stand in line for a seat.

How to get there

To be honest most of the time we go there we lose our way, but still: You can reach the Yemen quarter by going through the narrow streets on Allenby st. on the right of the Carmel Market/ Nachalat Binyamin. See map for clearer instructions. (It's not recommended to go through the busy Carmel market.)

Click here to view walking direction to Erez on the map

Bahadonas

Type: Hummus
English Menu: No
Average price: 25-30 NIS
Address: 150 Ibn Gbirol st.

Yeah, it's another great hummus place in Tel aviv, and actually one of the good ones. Bahadonas hummus is quite special, it's tangy in a way which reminds us of Abu Hassan's hummus a bit, although the texture is a bit different (and the plate of Bahadonas is much bigger). Bahadonas also has great crunchy-non-greasy fries.


Bahadonas is a nation wide chain so you might stumble upon them outside Tel Aviv. In Tel Aviv Bahadonas has two branches, one on Dizengoff, and one on Ibn Gvirol. For an unknown reason, the one on Ibn Gvirol is far much better than the other one.

How to get there
You can take bus no. 25 and go down at Pinkas station. Walk a bit back and you'll find it. You can also take bus 5 and go down at Bazel station. Go all the way down towards Ibn Gvirol and the place will be in front of you.

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).

Rauf et Atina

Type: Fish restaurant
English Menu: Yes

Average price: 75 NIS (Fish and salads)
Address: 81 Kedem st., Jaffa
Tel. number: 03-6818793

One reason to go to Jaffa's to eat is for their fish restaurants. We were looking for a good one and we fell in love with this Jaffa look-and-feel fish restaurant (and the local presence also hints that).

The traditional way in these fish restaurants is to order the fish and with it you'll get plenty of yummy mezes - such as: humus, tehina, fries, eggplant salad, pickled salad, cucumber salad, carrot salad, olives and pickles, parsley salad, tabbouleh salad, spicy tomato salsa etc. You'll also get some bread and pita and everything can be refilled all the time. Watch out though, do not fill your stomach before the fish is served! (a common mistake of beginners).

The fish (a whole fish, not a fillet) can be grilled or deep fried (grilled is a better choice). We took a sea bream and a European Seabass, and enjoyed the latter more. By the way, you can easily share a fish dish with two persons, but one person will have to pay 30NIS for the salads. This is still very much worth it.

In Kedem st. you have some other famous fish restaurants, including the nearby Hazaken ve hayam (the Old Man and the Sea). Although it's quite popular and offers more salads then Rauf et Atina, we think is less in quality and less tasty. If you are a looking for another fish restaurant (which is also not that far into the margins of Jaffa) try Abdu Hadayag.

How to get there

We are sorry to say that we didn't find any convenient way to reach this street with public transportation. A taxi from Tel Aviv center should be about 40-45 NIS.

Click here to view location on the map (for driving instructions, use the map's 'directions' feature).

Abu Marwan

Type: Hummus, Middle Eastern
English Menu: No
Average price: 25 NIS
Address: 129 Yeffet st, Jaffa

What a fine local Hummus place this Abu Marwan, which can be noticed by its  constant smoke coming from the grill/ bbq making skewers and eggplants.

Abu Marwan has an "all included" deal - you pay 25 NIS and get a yummy hummus plate, great fries, mini falafel balls and a (mediocre) salad. The result is a fine lunch which leaves you with a great taste.
But we couldn't stop just here. It is a must (!) to take the specialty - grilled eggplant with tehina and lemon (20 NIS), which adds a pungent flavor. In addition you can also order chicken skewers (around 15 NIS per skewer), which aren't fantastic, but just OK.
Finish the Hummus tour sweetly with the nearby Mutran.

How to get there
It's a bit messy, but you'll make it:
Take bus 25 towards Jaffa/ Yafo, go down at the fifth station on Sderot Yerushalaim (at no. 134). Go a bit backwards and take left at Bat Ayin st. Go up straight until you hit a main street, Yefet. Go straight until you see the smoke.

Mutran sweets

Type: Sweets, Middle Eastern
English Menu: No need
Average price: 20 NIS
Address: 99 Yefet st. in Jaffa

Mutran sweets is one of the best places to try Arabic sweets delicacies. In the store there are dozens of different cookies and other sweet treat, neatly arranged for you to pick and enjoy at home.

In case you feel like trying out the sweets there, Mutran also has a cozy and air-conditioned space where you can sit and enjoy one of their treats. Recommended very much is the sweet and savoury knafe, crunchy angel hair noodles covering goat cheese inside, served warm. The malabi is also one of the best in Jaffa. The tea and coffee are a bit pricy there, though usually extremely fit the desserts.
How to get there
It's a bit messy, but you'll make it:
Take bus 25 towards Jaffa/ Yafo, go down at the fifth station on Sderot Yerushalaim (at no. 134). Go a bit backwards and take left at Bat Ayin st. Go up straight till you hit a main street, Yefet. There take left, and it should be on your left.

* Note: The coffee and tea are not for free.

Sabbich of Oved

Type: Sabbich
English Menu: No
Average price: 18 NIS
Address: 6 Sirkin st., Givataim

Well it's not really in Tel Aviv, but most of the Tel Avivians ate at this legendary place. So, Oved is just selling sabbich. More than the taste which is considered by many to be the best sabbich, the preparation of the sabbich is accompanied by a precise repeating football game ritual: Every action (adding salad, eggplants, parsley and etc.) is described with a unique verb Oved developed by himself.

Unfortunately, Oved cannot do the whole ceremony in English but he will be very welcoming and happy to explain in detail. And don't worry, he will not let you miss out the final stage in the sabbich making - how many teaspoons of hot sauce (red) and Amba (yellow mango-based hot sauce) to put in the Pita - according to the scores of a football match. (For instance, if you're from the UK, he'll make it Arsenal vs. Man Utd.)

How to get there

You can take bus no. 63 from Tel Aviv Ben Zion corner with King George (facing upwards). Ask the driver to tell you where to go down. You should find bus 63 on the other side of the street when you go back to Tel Aviv.

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.

Asli Hummus

Type: Hummus
English Menu: No
Average price: 20-25 NIS
Address: 338 Dizengoff st.

Hummus Asli is considered to be Tel Aviv's best hummus. You'll probably back up this statement after you've tried the pungent hummus, which is served in many different kinds: with tehina, ful (broad beans), hot mushrooms and etc. We also recommend on the fried Kubeh (semolina pastry filled with beef). The place is clean and is well airconditioned inside and the only downside is the low level of service that you might encounter.

How to get there
It's located at the northest point of Dizengoff. You can walk all the way there, or to take bus no. 5 and go down at Nordau, and from there you walk for 5-7 min. It's across Moses Station.

Rina and Zcharia

Type: Local eatery, Yemenite

English Menu: Yes

Average price: 30-40 NIS
Address: 22 Hakovshim st.

Rina and Zcharia restaurant is one of the best local food experience you can have. Their menu contain original Yemenite food, of which the soups are mostly recommended. Their special soups are made of meat which was stewed in a big pot for hours, giving the meat and broth an amazing taste and texture. Besides the soups, they also have skewers and vegetables dishes (pick the whole grain rice with okra). All dishes are served with a Yeminite pita and Lachuch (a spongy pancake like bread, see the pic below) which fit the soups perfectly, some Zhug (spicy sauce) and Hilbe (semi-spicy jam-like spread made of the Fenugreek plant, in the pic too).

Rina and Zcharia are an old couple who run this place for many years and they will be happy to help you to choose what you like. They will usually recommend on the normal dishes - beef or chicken - and not on the more local dishes (e.g. kidney or lungs soup), as they are afraid you will not like it. If you are really adventurous, try to surprise them by asking for the Bis soup (cow's udders soup, sounds like the word "bees" in English).

Open: Sun-Fri until 15:30.

How to get there
Hakovshim st. starts on Allenby street near the beach. You can go down on Allenby towards the beach until you hit Hakovshim st., then you take left and then go straight all the way. Or, you can take left from Allenby to Ge'ula street, that connects to Hakovshim in the middle (then take left to Hakovshim).

Odelia

Type: Local eatery, Middle Eastern Food
English Menu: Yes

Average price: 20 NIS
Address: 89 Ben Yehuda st.; 1 Daniel Frisch st.
Tel: 03-5224222

The food at this small local eatery is cheap with a local taste. Odelia's main dish is a medium size plate with rice, couscous or burghul, served with stewed beef, lamb, chicken or meatballs, and some potatoes on the side. They also have a variety of hummus (with masabcha, eggplants, lamb meat, ful, and also grilled meat.

First - it's amazingly cheap. Most of the cooked dishes are  20 NIS. The second - it's very local. That is, the meat is certainly not the fillet nor tenderloin. It's not the best of Tel Aviv restaurants, but for a tourist looking for a cheap filling meal with a local atmosphere, this is the place to go to. The grilled dishes are a bit more expensive - 25/35 NIS for small/big meal.

How to get there
Odelia is located next to the intersection of Ben Yehuda with Gordon street. You can go on Dizengoff and turn left (if you face north) on Gordon. Go up until you hit Ben Yehuda, cross the street and then take right (the building above Odelia has a big '89' number on it). For the Daniel Frisch st. - The street is connected to Ibn Gvirol, a bit north of  the London Ministore. From Dizengoff center,  go to Dizengoff-Ibn Gvirol crossroad, cross to the other side and  take left. The street will be on you right.

Walking directions from Dizengoff Center:
Ben Yehuda branch
Daniel Frisch branch

* Note: Odelia accepts cash only.