Israel Restaurant Openings and Foodie News for October.

As I haven’t created an Israel Foodie News update for a few months, this one is jam-packed with Israel restaurant and cafe news — proving that the Israeli food scene never stops evolving. Israel’s culinary world continues to show its resilience and creativity.

While the war is not over, the incredible return of the 20 hostages on Erev Simchat Torah has lifted our spirits. We continue to pray for the safe return of all those still being held and for our brave IDF soldiers to return to their families.

From exciting new Israel restaurant openings to foodie events and updates from top chefs, here’s your monthly roundup of what’s new to eat and discover across Israel. Follow Debbest on Facebook and Instagram for insider foodie tips and the latest updates on Israel’s ever-evolving culinary scene.

Kosher Israel Restaurant Openings

• Alma is a dairy fish restaurant and bar in Pardes Hanna. The menu features fresh, interesting dishes cooked on a charcoal grill or in a taboon oven in the open kitchen.
• Barista Tom is a cafe in Mevaseret Zion.
• Briza is a food truck complex in Naharya, overlooking the sea. Trucks include vegetarian Indian, smoked & grilled meat sandwiches, fish & chips, pizza, and ice cream.
• Cafe Fleur has opened a third branch in the Play Hatzuk Beach Hotel, on the cliffside overlooking the sea.

• Dudu Outmezgine has opened its 20th branch in the Azrieli Mall in Holon.
• Duvdevan Bakery (Mehadrin) is a cafe and bakery in Arnona, Jerusalem.
• First Jerusalem (Badatz Machpud) is a Moroccan grilled meat restaurant on the corner of Ben Maimon and Azza Street in Rehavia.
• Habibi Hamburger (Badatz Beit Yosef) is a burger restaurant in Ramla; the original restaurant is in Gedera.

• Jorno Bakery (Dairy not supervised) has opened its fifth store in Sarona Market, on the outside, overlooking the garden. If you haven’t tried their food before, I highly recommend going.
• Juju Asian Kitchen (Mehadrin) is a sushi restaurant due to open soon in Mamilla Boulevard.
• Lotie is a cafe and bakery in Even Yehuda serving fresh croissants, sweet and savory pastries, cakes, breads, sandwiches,  matcha tea, and coffee.
• Lifta is a meat restaurant located in Center One Mall, featuring dishes by Chef Eli Davis, serving a variety of modern and traditional cuisine.
• Motza is a newly built meat and fish restaurant in Motza, located outside Jerusalem, owned by the same team behind Tzidkiyahu grilled meat restaurant in Talpiot.
• Naitai is a Thai restaurant in Modiin’s city center.
• Onigiro is a Japanese fast food restaurant in Kfar Saba serving a variety of onigiri, gyoza, and sweet buns.
• Port 19 has opened the first kosher branch of the gourmet burger chain in Tel Aviv, including smash burgers with vegan cheese.
• Salon Bazelet is a cafe in an old, round basalt building on Kibbutz Ortal in the Golan.

• Seniora Bakery (Tzohar) is a bakery in Tel Aviv owned by Studio Seniora.
• Sher (Dairy no supervision) is a cafe and bakery in Pardes Hanna.
• Solo Pizza Pie has opened a new branch in Netanya. The project provides work and skills training for at-risk youth.
• Terrace is an Italian dairy restaurant in the Botanica Hotel in Haifa.

• The Well is a cocktail bar with chef dishes in Rishon LeZion. It is located inside an ancient well in a historic building.
• Verde is an Italian bistro and bakery in the Reichman University area of  Herzliya. During the day, the menu features a variety of sweet and savory breakfast pastries, sandwiches, salads, pizza, and pasta. In the evening, an extensive wine menu accompanies a food menu tailored to complement the wine.

Not Kosher Israel Restaurant Openings

• Amore is an Asian-themed meat restaurant and bar located on King George Street in Jerusalem.

• Anicca is a vegan cafe located on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, the sister cafe of Anastasia.
• Asa Izakaya is a Japanese restaurant on Ahad Haam,  where the Social Club used to be. The menu is varied, and the most expensive dish is NIS 98.
• Bandit is a neighborhood food and wine bar in Tel Aviv, owned and operated by Chef Yossi Shitrit. Dishes range in price from NIS 28 to 118, including 12 savory dishes, 2 daily specials, and 3 desserts.
• Bar Vermini is a Spanish tapas and Vermouth bar in Nahalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv and the sidekick of Vermuteria.

• BBQ Mirage is a shawarma and grilled meat restaurant in the Druze town of Isfiya, south of Haifa. It used to be a small store but has reopened as a comfortable restaurant. The shwarma is cooked horizontally over a coal fire, rather than vertically.
• Bel Ami is a classic French brasserie in The Reception Hotel off Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv. It is currently open for breakfast and brunch with rave reviews, and it will eventually open for lunch and dinner.
• Casa Playa is a beach club and restaurant in Ashkelon.
• Chota is a small bistro in downtown Jerusalem, co-owned by Chef Ilan Chota of Satya and Chef Denis Turk, who worked with him at both Chakra and Satya .

• Eso is a Spanish tapas bar on Dizengoff Street. The happy hour from 6 to 7:30 pm includes a pitcher of red or white sangria, or a bottle of cava for NIS 50.
• Gazzetti is a wine bar and delicatessen located opposite Gazzetta, owned by the same owners, next to Habima Square in Tel Aviv.
• Knafe Kaak has opened a new branch in Station Park in Tel Aviv, serving the classic knafe inside kaak (Arabic sesame bagel).
• La Tigre Neapolitan pizzeria, from Florentine, has opened a second branch at Basel Square in North Tel Aviv. In addition to the traditional pizza selection, there is a lot of hype about the dessert menu, which features five types of tiramisu: classic, chocolate peanut, fresh berries, amarena cherry with pistachio, and lemon meringue.
• Lilie is a beach restaurant in The Reef Eilat Hotel, open for lunch and dinner.

• Lisa is a bar in Ashdod that serves 40 brands of beer and offers bar food such as fish and chips, hot dogs, burgers, schnitzel, and steaks.
• Lucky Chicken, the crispy chicken chain, has opened its first branch in Tel Aviv. The menu will feature some new dishes, including chicken waffles, chicken Caesar, and chicken with salted caramel.

• Milano is an Italian bakery in Kiryat Ono owned by the same people as Pomo Conditoria.
• Nanosh is a traditional Middle Eastern restaurant in The First Station complex in Jerusalem, open on Shabbat. The menu includes hummus, shakshuka, grilled meat, fish, arayes, and other Arabic dishes.
• Obi is a food complex in the Yavne area of ​​Tel Aviv, featuring an indoor area with a charcoal-grill kitchen, a lounge overlooking a custom-made DJ booth, an open courtyard, and a back bar. The kitchen is managed by Chef Didi Preminger, who is half-Japanese and serves his own unique twist on Japanese cuisine.
• Pranzo is a delicatessen on Basel Square in Tel Aviv.
• San is a self-service Asian restaurant in the Zim Urban Complex in Ganei Tikva. It is the sister restaurant to Mojo and Mojo San (Kosher) in Netanya.

• Sana is an Asian restaurant located on Kibbutz Degania Bet, owned by the same owners as 1910.
• Sazanca is an Asian restaurant in the Big Fashion Ashdod complex, the 9th restaurant from the Kisu Group, and the largest so far. The group includes Fu Sushi, Naylon, Kisu, and Enzo.
• Shimi’s is a food truck on Michmoret Beach serving drinks and snacks.
• Sud is a sushi and wine bar in Jerusalem’s city center.
• Suzana is a bistro located in Moshav Be’erotayim, Emek Hefer, by Chef Sivan Magen, serving brunch Sunday to Friday and dinner on Wednesday and Thursday night.
• Zanzi is a rooftop bar with an Italian menu, on the roof of the Spiral Lighthouse in the South of Eilat, overlooking the Red Sea.
• Zinnia is a diner-style restaurant serving a mix of French and American classics. It takes the place of Zuni, under new management.

• TikTok star Meitar Saadon is opening a Jerusalem branch of his burger and street food restaurant Bisrabak on Agripas near the Shuk.
• Brown Jerusalem Hotel has opened in Bayit Vagan, near Shalva Center and Shaare Zedek Hospital, a refurbishment of the Shalom Hotel.
• Chakra won Israel’s Best Restaurant at the World Culinary Awards. Nominees include Animar, Milgo Milbar, OCD, Eucalyptus, and The Prince. The award for Israel’s Best Hotel Restaurant went to George & John at The Drisco Hotel, beating Golda’s at The Jaffa, Herbert Samuel at The Ritz Carlton, Palace at The Waldorf, and Surfside at The Sheraton. I would love to know how these nominations are made, as these are a very random mix of places; some are no longer open!
• Darya (Kosher) at the Hilton Tel Aviv has a new tasting menu for NIS 350 per person without drinks, or NIS 470 with wine pairings.
• Dinings Japanese restaurant on the roof of The Norman Hotel in Tel Aviv has reopened for the first time since the beginning of the war.
• Malka, by Eyal Shani in Tel Aviv, has a new happy hour from 5:30 to 7 pm, with a selection of dishes for NIS 54-61, with 40% off the drinks menu and 20% off wine bottles.
• Metaphora Art Cafe and Hasimta Bar in Jerusalem, and Parod Country Lodge on Kibbutz Parod in the Galil are now under Tzohar supervision.
• Eyal Shani’s Miznon has opened a branch in NYC’s Rockefeller Center. This is the 5th branch of Miznon in NYC, and a sixth branch is due to open soon at Columbia University. Only the Times Square branch is kosher.
• Chef Aner Ben-Raphael Forman‘s Telem restaurant in Tel Aviv’s Kochav Hatzafon neighborhood is now open for lunch.
• Zahara is a restaurant at the Nucha Hotel set to open soon.
• The following restaurants have closed or will close:
  • 8 Ball Imperial, Imperial Craft Cocktail Bar, La Otra, and LP in Tel Aviv will be closing at the end of October.
  • Cafe Landwer on the corner of Rehov Azza and Ben Maimon in Rehavia has closed.
  • Edna in Ramat HaSharon.
  • HaKosem is closing in Sarona Market.
  • Joya in Herzliya Pituach.
  • Lehemke bakery in Kiryat Shmona.
  • Max Brenner in Herzliya Pituach.
  • Munnar Indian restaurant in Tel Aviv.
  • Muu steak restaurant in Jerusalem.
  • Tzemach, the vegetarian restaurant from the Machneyuda Group in Jerusalem, has closed and will reopen as a meat skewer (steakiah) restaurant.

Recent Debbest Dishes

• One of my clients had an event at Shalva, with dinner catered by Cafe Shalva. As usual, the pizza, pasta, and salads were delicious.
• I finally made it to Craft Pizza (Mehadrin) in Modiin with some friends and their kids, where I enjoyed the Umami pizza with white sauce and the cheese pasta pockets with basil cream.
• I had the pleasure of organizing a dinner for 20 in a private dining room at Katzir in The David Kempinski Hotel. I chose the menu and made sure to include the tongue as a starter and the succulent chicken and chips for the main course. Here is a video of the meal.
• I went to check out Laura (Not Kosher), a modern Mediterranean restaurant located in the Tantur Hills Hotel, run by Chef Johnny Goric. We tried a few delicious salads, but the standout for me was a green salad with homemade gravadlax. The desserts were excellent, especially the traditional halawet el jibn.
• I had the opportunity twice this summer to eat at The Fire Place by Blue Smoke, a kosher pop-up restaurant in a private home in Hendon (London). The first visit was an 11-course Japanese Omakase over the 9 days, featuring some incredibly creative dishes. See more here. The second visit was a  ‘Summer Social’  7-course chef tasting menu with some fantastic fish and meat dishes.  Photos of all the dishes are in this reel.
• A foodie friend from London came to stay for the weekend, so I took her for a delicious brunch at Tzemach, where we shared the classic polenta, Camembert, and fennel jam focaccia, as well as the feta with cherry tomatoes and gazpacho. We also had time for a light dinner at Azia 19. The menu has changed since I was last there, and I was excited to try some new dishes, which included miso tuna nigiri, salmon tartar maki, and lamb dumplings. We, of course, ordered the sesame Caesar salad, which I cannot resist.

Recent Posts, Reels, and Articles

• London roots, Israeli soul: Katzir is Tel Aviv’s tastiest kosher story, The Jewish Chronicle
• Chef’s Secrets: Daniel Raymond, Chef of Katzir at The David Kempinski Hotel
• Head north for an Israeli getaway with a difference, The Jewish Chronicle
• Fraser Family Shuk Tour

Follow Debbest on Facebook and Instagram for regular updates, and subscribe to our newsletter to discover the latest and greatest in the Israeli food scene. Catch up on previous monthly roundups by clicking here.

We would all love to hear from you if you visit any of the places mentioned above! Share your thoughts, photos, and reviews in Restaurant Club Israel‘s Facebook group.

This list of new Israel restaurants was compiled through personal research and should not be copied without permission or full credit for its content. ©Debbest Israel.