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.!

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.

Pu'ah

Type: International
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 50 NIS
Address: 8 Rabbi Yohanan st. in Jaffa
Tel. number: 03-6823821

In the midst of the Yafo Flea market, you will find this cute bohemian cafe called Pu'ah (named after the owner), attracting all walks of life and tourists. Even when passing by Pu'ah, it will catch your attention by the environmental, grungy look and feel of the place. All the items from dishes to chairs and tables at Pu'ah are for sale. Pu'ah has a very nice and unique atmosphere, which makes it a great place take end your flea market tour and grab something to eat or drink.

The menu at Pu'ah has a lot of vegetarian options. We tried the veggie burger, which was OK but (a bit dry from the inside), and so is the pumpkin dumplings. Better dishes were the the fried cauliflower which is served with a delicious yoghurt dip, and also the gnocchi with chestnuts in a creamy cheese sauce, which is voloptuously tasteful.

If you don't feel like eating anything, it's of course also a great place to have a coffee of cold drink. The service isn't fantastic, but this uniqueness of Pu'ah will make you overlook this.

How to get there

Take bus 25 to Jaffa/ Yafo and go down at the second station of Sderot Yerushaliam. Go a bit straight, turn right at Olei Zion st. Go straight about 200 meters, then turn left at Yehuda Margoza st. Go straight and then take right at the second st., this is Rabbi Yohanan st. Taxi from TA center should be about 35-40NIS

Orna and Ella

Type: Restaurant, International
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 40-60 NIS
Address: 33 Sheinkin st.
Tel. number: 03-5252085

The legendary Orna and Ella restaurant doesn't really need any recommendations. This place is running for years and became a symbol of Tel Aviv and Shenkin st. The food is amazingly good, these women know how to cook! The atmosphere inside is warm and serene - the space is divided into three relatively small parts (the balcony is at the back). The service is good, nice and friendly.

You definitely do not want to miss out on the most famous dish for years - the yam patties: Delicately sweet with a great cream and chives dip. We also chose from their weekly specials menu: the risotto balls (great!) and the shrimps salad (good but too small). And for the main dish we took the meat pie - a mix of minced beef and chicken liver, gently spiced with mint (wow!).
The Orna and Ella restaurant is known all over the country and maybe also beyond. And their food is so good, that you will have to get in line to be able to eat here. Or you just call before to be put on the waiting list beforehand. Don't miss out on this place!

How to get there
Sheinkin st. is located near the Carmel Market and Nachalat Binyamin. You can get to Sheinkin st. through the beginning of King George st. or Allenby, it's a side street on King George st.

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. 

Cantina

Type: Italian Restaurant
English Menu: Yes
Average price: 60-70 NIS
Address: 71 Rothschild st.
Tel. number: 03-6205051

Cantina ('winery' in Italian) blends in perfectly with the liveliness of Rothschild Boulevard. The balcony of the restaurant is by far more crowded and laid back than the indoor more pretentious atmosphere. But who want to miss all the action on Rothschild and sit inside?! Anyway, it's very much recommended to make reservations beforehand because is popular as hell.

Cantina restaurant's menu offers mainly pasta, but they also have a couple of pizzas. Some meat and seafood dishes. They also have some small salads side dishes.

In general, the food is good but it was absolutely NOT what we expected considering the popularity, price and design of the place. Anyway, we did enjoy the spicey spaghetti with mullet filet - Delizioso! A second runner up would be the tagliatelle with asparagus and shrimps. We also tried the portobello with penne, but it didn't rock our world. In short, Cantina is a great one time experience especially if you are in the neighbourhood or if you want to impress your date. But for the better and more affordable Italian food, we are sticking to Pappa's.

How to get there
Go on Rothschild towards south. It is next to Mazeh st.

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.

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.