Shana Tova fellow foodies. As the summer has come to an end and life returns to normal, there is an abundance of new places opening all over the country.
KOSHER
Café Gan Sipur (Mehadrin) – Gan Sacher finally has a coffee shop, which is the first mehadrin branch of Café Gan Sipur, a chain of cafes in parks around Israel. The menu includes typical café options like breakfast, salad, pasta etc, as well as a varied kids menu.
Breizh Crêperie has opened at The First Station serving sweet and savory crepes with an authentic buckwheat French recipe, including vegan and vegetarian dishes.
Another new bar has opened in Shuk Machane Yehuda, this time it is German themed and called Berlina. The bar serves five types of sausages, the original, chorizo, asado, merguez and beef liver sausage, along with various toppings including sauerkraut, salsa verde, guacamole, mango chutney and mustard.
Former Master Chef contestant Jackie Azoulay has opened a stall in Shuk Hazafon Tel Aviv, called Jackie. The menu includes traditional Moroccan dishes like meatballs, stuffed artichoke, slow-cooked Asado, couscous dishes, Moroccan fish and various salads.
Rhythm Social is a lounge bar on the roof of a residential building in Netanya which closes at 11pm. The bar serves vegetarian finger food and will feature House and Techno DJs. The food is kosher but it is open on Shabbat.
Following the success of his restaurant Zakaim, Harel Zakaim is bringing vegan shawarma to the masses with the opening of Sultana on Ibn Gvirol in Tel Aviv. The shawarma is made from forest mushrooms and is served with crispy fries in a pita, laffa or on a plate. The restaurant is kosher without a certificate.
Babaji is a new vegetarian Indian restaurant in Florentine Tel Aviv, with many vegan and gluten-free dishes. The restaurant does not have a kashrut license but is closed on Shabbat.
For those who have always wanted to try a kosher Agadir Burger, now is your chance. The popular burger chain opened its first kosher branch in Besser Towers in Bnei Barak, near Ramat Gan, and it is mehadrin. More kosher branches are due to open all over the country. For now, it only serves lunch but will soon be open in the evening as well.
Yanagi Bar is a Japanese restaurant run by two people from Minato in Herzilya. The original restaurant in Kibbitz Sdot Yam closed a few months ago and has now reopened in Pardes Hanna-Karkur.
The kosher options in Downtown Haifa have increased with the opening of Efi’s Kubbeh (Hakubbeh shel Efi). The restaurant serves a variety of kubbeh soups, as well as fried kubbeh, Iraqi kebabs and sambusak.
Niche Food Culture is a new kosher private dining room in Ashdod from Chef Nir Dahan, who once managed the kitchen at Segev Express’s restaurant. The venue holds up to 28 people and the six-course set menus cost NIS 200-300 each, including wine or beer.
Saba Simha is a new neighborhood-style dairy café in Sderot with tapas, salads and other interesting baked dishes. The café is owned by 5 friends from a nearby kibbutz and offers student prices for alcohol.
The following chains have opened new kosher branches: Mexicana Grill in Modiin, Falafel Neto in Yokneam and Burgerim in Eilat.
NOT KOSHER
Cafe Asia recently opened in Cinematheque Jerusalem where Lavan used to be and is still part of the Adom Group. The menu was created with the help of Chef Moshe Badishi of Minna Tomei in Tel Aviv, and focuses on Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, with some Korean and Cambodian dishes. The full menu is available here.
Pizzeria Flora from Shuk Machane Yehuda has opened a second branch on Rehov Azza in Jerusalem.
Nununu – Dirty Dining is one of the hottest new fast food places to open in Tel Aviv from Chef Guy Gamzu of Aria. The menu consists of bread rolls with tasty fillings such as shredded beef, mac & cheese, BBQ chicken and Chicago-style sausage. There are also dessert fillings of either ice-cream or cheesecake.
Gamzu has also opened Haiku Skybar on the 18th floor of the new Lighthouse Hotel from the Brown Hotels. The hotel restaurant is on the 5th floor, with a view of the sea and Tel Aviv skyline and for now, serves breakfast.
Larger & Ale is a British style pub in Sarona Tel Aviv, from Ran Dor Chai, owner of Oscar Wilde and Whiskey Bar & Museum. The bar promises to offer beer at London prices (less than Israel would you believe!) and bar snacks like corned-beef sandwich, Gouda cheese toast and salami platter.
El Pueblo Mexican and burger restaurant has opened in Moshav Aniam in the Golan, in place of mehadrin restaurant Zigel. It is quite unusual for a restaurant owner to change from mehadrin to non-kosher but good news for those looking for tacos and cheeseburgers.
COMING SOON
Chef Uri Arnold, the owner Souvlaki in Netanya and former owner of “Arnold” is opening Roots, the first kosher chef restaurant in Akko. The menu will be Levantine style and the restaurant itself is in a large stone building with an outside courtyard.
EVENTS
- Round Tables Culinary Festival – November 2018
- OpenRestaurants 13-17 November 2018
RECENT POSTS
- Round Tables Culinary Festival – November 2018
- Celebrating Succot in Israel – Kosher Guru
- L’ Hayim, S&P Magazine – Debbest Kosher Restaurants in Israel
- Creative Food in a Classic Surrounding
- Debbest Dishes – August 2018
To read previous monthly roundups, click here.
Categories: Monthly Roundup
