A Summary of the Top Ten Israeli Chefs & Restaurants Worldwide.

The popularity of Israeli food worldwide has grown immensely, primarily thanks to a select few Israeli chefs who have established a presence in certain cities, such as Ottolenghi in London, Admony in New York, and Solomonov in Philadelphia. As the love of Israeli cuisine has grown worldwide, some Israel-based chefs have successfully expanded abroad while maintaining their local restaurants in Israel. It is probably no coincidence that the most successful of these chefs are also TV celebrities, namely Israeli Chefs Assaf Granit, Meir Adoni, and Eyal Shani. I have been fortunate enough to dine at only a few of these restaurants, so it would be impossible to rank these chefs in a specific order; the list below is alphabetized by last name.

Chef Einat Admony

Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Chef Einat Admony moved to New York over 20 years ago and owns one of the city’s most well-known Israeli restaurants, Balaboosta, a Middle Eastern fine-dining establishment. She also owns Yalla Falafel, which has multiple branches across California. Admony is the author of two cookbooks: Balaboosta and Shuk.

Chef Meir Adoni

Known for his attention to detail and creativity in flavors and presentation, Chef Meir Adoni  closed all of his Israel-based restaurants to focus on restaurants in Europe, which include:

• Samna is a modern Middle Eastern restaurant with branches in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Marbella, Spain.
• Sasazu is a restaurant with two locations in Prague.

Chef Assaf Granit & Chef Uri Navon

The chefs first gained fame in Israel thanks to their restaurant, Machneyuda, located near Jerusalem’s food market. Chef Assaf Granit gained notoriety as a celebrity chef after appearing as a judge on the TV show Game of Chefs. As well as several locations in Israel, the MachneYuda Group has the following restaurants around the world:

• Baba is a beach restaurant in the Cap D’Antibes Hotel in the South of France, open for lunch and dinner. During the summer, a separate bar serves cocktails and bar food. Baba Glaces is an ice cream cart on the hotel terrace.
• Berta is a restaurant and cocktail bar in Berlin.
• Boubalé is a restaurant in Le Grand Mazarin Hotel in Le Marais, Paris. The menu is inspired by A
• Coal Office is a chef’s restaurant in Tom Dixon’s showroom in King’s Cross, London. The menu is incredibly creative, and the restaurant has excellent service and an energetic atmosphere!
• Kapara is a Middle Eastern-inspired bistro in Paris, replacing Balagan.
• Sella is a waterside restaurant located on Plage de Public in St. Barth.
• Shabour is a Michelin-star restaurant in Paris.
• Shana is a wine bar with a small food menu on the same street as Shabour.
• Tekés is a vegetarian restaurant located opposite Shabour in Paris.

Find out more about the Machneyuda Group’s restaurants in Israel – Exploring the Ever-Expanding Machneyuda Group. The group has published The Palomar Cookbook.

Chef Yossi Hadad

A well-known chef in Bucharest and judge on Romanian MasterChef, Chef Yossi Hadad owns Israeli-influenced restaurants:

• Mace by Joseph Hadad is a less formal restaurant with a Moroccan-inspired menu and a large terrace.
• CAJU by Joseph Hadad is a casual brasserie with Moroccan and Israeli-inspired food and a varied cocktail menu.

Chef Yotam Ottolenghi

Chef  Yotam Ottolenghi and his business partner, Chef Sami Tamimi , grew up in Jerusalem. They met while working for Israeli-owned Baker & Spice in London before opening their first restaurant in 2002. Since then, the duo has expanded to include several restaurants across London and one in Switzerland

• Ottolenghi is a chain of delis and restaurants in London. The branches in Bicester Village, Hampstead, Islington, Richmond, and Spitalfields have a deli and a restaurant, whereas Chelsea, Marylebone, and Notting Hill are delis with little to no seating. There is also a branch in Geneva, Switzerland —the first outside the UK, in partnership with Mandarin Oriental.
• Rovi is a 90-seat vegetarian restaurant focusing on fermentation and cooking over fire.
• Nopi is a chef’s restaurant in Soho that offers a changing seasonal menu with fresh salads, meat, and fish.

The chefs have written several cookery books, including Jerusalem, Ottolenghi The Cookbook, Ottolenghi Simple, Nopi, Plenty, Plenty More,  Sweet,  Flavor, Ottolenghi Test Kitchen and Comfort. Sami Tamimi also wrote Falastin.

Chef Sarit Packer & Chef Itamar Srulovich

These two Israeli chefs have been working together since relocating to London. They started at the Oxo Tower before moving to the Ottolenghi Group, where Packer was the Executive Chef of Nopi and Srulovich was Head Chef of Ottolenghi Belgravia. The couple now owns three restaurants in central London:

• Honey & Co. is their first restaurant, located on Lamb’s Conduit Street in Bloomsbury. It serves elevated versions of home-cooked Israeli food.
• Honey & Co. Daily is a deli, bakery, and cafe in Bloomsbury.
• Honey & Spice is a delicatessen on Warren Street. The menu changes daily but always includes a selection of hot dishes, fresh salads, dips, and baked goods for takeaway or eating at the tables outside. The store also stocks all the ingredients people need to make recipes (spices, freekeh, kadaif).
• Honey & Smoke on Great Portland Street serves a variety of Middle Eastern dishes, including grilled meats, seafood, vegetables, salads, dips, and falafel.

Packer and Srulovich have written several cookbooks, including Honey & Co, Honey & Co: At Home, Honey & Co: The Baking Book, Golden, and  Honey & Co Chasing Smoke.

Chef Shahaf Shabtay

While most Israeli chefs focus on serving Israeli cuisine in their restaurants worldwide, Chef Shahaf Shabtay is drawn to Asian cuisine, which he combines with his classic French culinary training. Over the years, he has opened and closed Zenzi in Mumbai and Nithan Thai in Berlin and Tel Aviv. He more recently opened Pop & Pope restaurant in Tel Aviv with Giorgio Armani and still has the following restaurants abroad:

• Mess is an Asian restaurant in Shanghai, China.

Chef Eyal Shani

Famous in Israel for his love of tomatoes, roast cauliflower signature dish, and putting everything inside of pita bread, Chef Eyal Shani is a TV personality and judge of MasterChef Israel. He owns several formal and informal restaurants throughout Israel, all listed in this post: Everything You Need to Know About Chef Eyal Shani Restaurants. Here is a selection of Shani’s restaurants around the world:

• Gila & Nancy is a restaurant and drag club in Berlin.
• HaSalon Las Vegas is a fine-dining restaurant located within The Venetian Resort.
• HaSalon Miami is a partnership with Carbone and ZZ’s Club owners.
• HaSalon NYC is a fine-dining restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City. The restaurant also includes Bar LEFT, which serves small-plate versions of the main menu.
• Malka is a kosher bistro with branches on the Upper West Side and Dumbo in New York and a third branch in West Palm Beach.
• Miznon is Shani’s street food restaurant with branches in:
  • • Canada:  Yorkville & Union Station
    • Las Vegas:  The Venetian
    • London: Notting Hill & Soho
    • Los Angeles: Grand Central Market
    • Melbourne
    • New Jersey: Bell Works (Kosher) and American Dream Kosher coming soon.
    • New York City: Chelsea Market, Hudson Yards, Rockefeller Center, The Hugh, Times Square (Kosher), and Columbia University, coming soon.
    • Paris: Canal, Grands Boulevard, Marais & Wagram
    • Singapore

• North Miznon is a cross between Miznon and North Abraxas in Singapore.
• Port Sa’id‘s outpost in New York is in Hudson Square. Like the Tel Aviv branch, it is more of a bar than a restaurant and encourages walk-ins.
• Seven North is a Middle Eastern restaurant with branches in Vienna and Prague. Its vibrant atmosphere and menu are designed for sharing.
• Shmoné is a bistro on 8th Street in Greenwich Village, NYC, with a seasonal, market-driven menu. Shmoné earned a Michelin star in 2023, 2024 & 2025.
• Shmoné Wine is a walk-in-only wine bar next to Shmoné, offering small bites and wine from around the world.

A complete list of Shani’s restaurants worldwide can be found here: Everything You Need to Know About Chef Eyal Shani Restaurants.

Chef Mike Solomonov

Born in Israel and raised in Pittsburgh,  Chef Mike Solomonov is probably the most well-known Israeli chef in the US. He and his business partner, Steven Cook, are the co-owners of the CookNSolo restaurant group, which includes several restaurants in Philadelphia:

• Zahav is an Israeli restaurant focusing on mezze, charcoal-cooked skewers, and taboon-baked dishes.
• Dizengoff is a modern Israeli restaurant.
• Goldie is a chain of kosher falafel stores.
• Jaffa Bar is an oyster bar with Israeli flavors.
• K’far is an Israeli-style all-day cafe and bakery.
• Lilah is an event catering service at The Weitzman.
• Laser Wolf is an Israeli meat grill skewer house. In partnership with the Boka Restaurant Group, it also has a rooftop branch at The Hoxton Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

They also own other restaurants in Philadelphia that do not serve Israeli food (Abe Fisher & 10 branches of Federal Donuts & Chicken). Here is an interview with Chef Solomonov about his first restaurant, Zahav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgGeeDA1LJo&ab_channel=TheCulinaryInstituteofAmerica The duo has also published several cookbooks, including Zahav: Israeli Soul, and Federal Donuts.

Other Israeli Chefs Around The World

• Chef Gal Ben Moshe opened Parzival Restaurant in Prague in September 2025, after closing his restaurant Prism in Berlin, which received one Michelin star for 6 years in a row. Ben Moshe also heads up Pastel and Grace in Tel Aviv.
• Chef Alon Shaya owns Saba in New Orleans, Safta in Denver, Miss River at the Four Seasons New Orleans, Silan at the Atlantis Hotel in the Bahamas, and Safta 1964 by Alon Shaya at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.  The chef is also the founder of Shaya Restaurant in New Orleans, but is no longer affiliated with the restaurant.
• Uri Scheft’s Breads Bakery has several locations in New York City and serves a selection of Israeli baked goods, including his famous Chocolate Babka. Breads Bakery is the sister restaurant of Lehamim Bakery in Tel Aviv, and he has written a cookbook called Breaking Breads.
• Chef Eran Tibi owns Bala Baya in South London and Kapara in Soho. The restaurants serve traditional Israeli dishes with a modern twist.

Here is a list of Top Israeli Cookbooks. To receive updates as they happen, please follow me on Instagram and subscribe to my newsletter.