Israel Prepares for the Holiday Season and Petach Tikva has a booming new culinary scene.
Winter is approaching and with it comes the festive season of Hanukah and Christmas. Bakeries around the country are already selling sufganiyot of all kinds and below are just a few options for sufganiyot in Shuk Machane Yehuda. Petach Tikva is the new hot city in the Israeli culinary scene, with several new openings this month and more to follow.
Kosher
Kurtoshuk is a new dessert stall in Shuk Machane Yehuda, serving filled Hungarian kurtosh or chimney cake. The cone shaped pastry, has a crunchy outside and fluffy inside, with a choice of various fillings inside the cone.
Armonim restaurant, which was previously in Moshav Segula, has reopened in the new Dream Island Spa Hotel in Sde Yoav, inland from Ashkelon. The menu includes a number of dishes with chestnuts (armonim in Hebrew), including starters dishes of mushrooms in chardonnay with chestnuts and thyme, and grouper and chestnut cigars with mushrooms and truffle cream. Main course dishes include chestnut ravioli with tassos olives, and grilled veal sweetbreads with chestnuts.
The hotel also has a kosher dairy restaurant called Terra, which is run by the Armonim team and is open for breakfast and lunch.
Pitmaster is a new meat “experience” in Petach Tikva. The experience involves six different types of meat, all of which are prepared and cooked in front of diners, before being served directly to them by the chefs in the pit. The meal costs NIS 250 per person including beer and wine.
Memphis Burger has opened a third branch in Petach Tikva.
Vivino, a chain of family-friendly Italian restaurants, has opened a new kosher branch in Petach Tikva. They already have a kosher branch in Beer Sheva and non-kosher branches in Haifa and Zichron.
Aziza is a new street food restaurant in Raanana, focused primarily on pita with fillings such as kebab, asado, steak and eggs, Brazilian sausages, as well as vegan and vegetarian options.
Not Kosher
Last month I reported that Hola in the Dan Tel Aviv would close in November, to be replaced by a restaurant by Chef Hilel Tavakuli, former head chef at Pastel Tel Aviv. Introducing Animar, which has already opened with a trial Mediterranean menu, divided by size, small, medium, large and huge (full Animar English menu). The menu offers smaller dishes for those who just want a bar snack and larger dishes for those wanting a full meal.
Anyone who was a fan of Indian restaurant Munnar in Tel Aviv, which closed last summer, will be pleased to know it has reopened, with one of the previous cooks as the new owner. All the food is South Indian style vegan and vegetarian.
One of Tel Aviv’s many vegan havens, Anatasia, has opened a new factory store which not only provides people with another location to get delicious vegan food, but the new Anatasia store also offers a deli delivery service. Here is a copy of Cafe Anatasia’s English Menu.
Alma Spencer is a new business lounge and restaurant in Ramat Hachayal in Tel Aviv, which is a great setting for business meetings and small events. During the morning there is a breakfast buffet for NIS 95 per person and in the afternoon there is a set lunch menu for NIS 145 per person.
Calata 15 is a new Italian restaurant in Herzliya Pituach by Rachel and Andrea Maji. The couple already owns a number of restaurants in Italy and London, but now that they live in Israel, they decided to open their first restaurant here. The menu is still in the trial phase but it includes 18 different kinds of pasta, hand-made by an Italian chef, using flour imported from Italy to ensure authenticity. The 20 pizzas on the menu are made in the large taboon oven at the entrance to the restaurant. The restaurant has the same name as the Maji’s sister restaurant, Calata 15 in Pesaro in Italy, the town where Andrea grew up.
Brazilians missing home and lovers of Brazilian delicacies will be pleased to know that Brigaderia has opened in Raanana selling classic Brazilian sweets. The owner Meire Nussbacher decided to sell her home treats to Israelis, having moved to Israel from Brazil a few years ago. She started with a kiosk in Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv and now has a full store in Raanana.
Kentucky Fried Chicken will be once again opening in Israel, but this time it will not be kosher. The company claim that it was hard to make the authentic KFC kosher. The first branch is due to open in Nazareth by the end of the year, with more branches to follow.
Arab Chef Omar Elwan has opened Il Forno in Manda Village and San Marzano in Sakhnin. Il Forno has a traditional Italian menu and San Marcano has an Italian menu with an Arabic influence.
The trend of Arab chefs opening new restaurants continues with Mescha by Chef Dahul Sefdi, who previously worked at Diane restaurant in Nazareth. Mescha is in Kfar Tavor, a Galil town close to Haifa and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Other News
Benny Hadayag will open a kosher branch in Petach Tikva. Kosher branches have been opened in the past but didn’t survive, so I hope this one does. Segev Kosher will also be opening in Petach Tikva’s new culinary complex, in Shop Time.
Three years after opening the Reshet 8 chain, Chef Moshik Roth is ending his partnership with them.
Israeli company Cafe Cafe is planning to bring UK coffee and sandwich chain Pret a Manger to Israel in the next few months. I am personally very excited as I love the food in Pret, particularly the Pret Granola Bar.
The ice cream chain Iceberg will be closing all 14 stores after 20 years of activity.
Nagila Vegan Restaurant and Pablo Mexicani Bashuk in Jerusalem have both closed.
Events
- Walk Eat Jerusalem 4-7 December 2019
- Judean Hills Wine Festival 5-27 December 2019
- West Galilee Winter Festival 19-21 December 2019
Recent Posts
- Judean Hills Wine Festival 2019
- 8 Israeli Restaurants Join the World’s 50 Best Discovery List
- Toasting the Best of Israeli Wines at TerraVino 2019
- Lux Haifa – Traditional Local Arabic Food with a Modern Twist
- Eataliano dalla Costa – Italian Arabic Fusion on the shores of Haifa
- The Tastes, Smells and Sights of Wadi Nisnas
- Debbest Dishes October 2019
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Categories: Monthly Roundup
Reblogged this on Noshing Across the Nation and commented:
Just wanted to put it here maybe because I am dying to go to Israel again.
Enjoy this beautiful post.
Thanks so much, glad you like it and be in touch if you make it back to Israel!
Here’s hoping!