DrunK iN teL aViV – Tel Aviv Bars and night life

Erez, an authentic Yemenite restaurant, is kosher and amazing. What food! It’s hard to walk through the area and not be drawn to the amazing aromas of Yemenite soup, rice and meatballs. Sooo good! You feel like Grandma Tziona cooked a Shabbat meal and gave it to everyone. And my choice of the word “gave” is not coincidental. The prices are ridiculous, and you almost feel uncomfortable. My wife and I have never paid more than NIS 70 for both of us! We were stuffed. They offer salads, pita bread, hummus, tehini, moussaka, meatballs, rice and vegetables, beans, soup and much, much more. Any combination you try will be cheap…

Don’t expect comfort and a beautiful décor. The tables are simple, both inside and outside, it’s narrow, the silverware is placed in the middle of the table, there’s noise from the customers, the kitchen and the staff and there’s a mishmash of smells. That’s its charm. It feels like home, combined with a warm, hearty eastern aroma. It’s not a place for a date or romance – just go there to eat.

Don’t miss the Yemenite soup and rice with meatballs.

Enjoy and save some for me…

Erez Restaurant
Address: Nachlieli 28, Yemenite Vineyard, Tel Aviv

Tags: Yemenite Vineyard

As a result of the recession that hit recently, here is a recommendation for a very, very tasty, inexpensive and satiating Saturday morning breakfast.

Every few weeks, my wife and I go to Hummus Asli on Saturday morning to enjoy a calorie-rich meal.

They offer amazing hummus (you can add an egg, cowpeas, mushrooms, etc), Jachnun, excellent Kube, chopped salad, eggs, pickles… it’s amazing.

And when you get the bill, you feel kind of bad – just NIS 60-70 for a couple, and that was when we splurged and got a Coke.

So this Saturday, wake up, drink a cup of coffee and head over to Asli. We’ll save you a spot.

Hummus Asli
Address: Dizengoff 338, Tel Aviv

Tags: Dizengoff, hummus

When you turn onto HaTa’asiyah Street (adjacent to HaMasger) it’s hard to figure out the link between the neglected industrial zone and the rave recommendations I got for the kosher, elegant (meaning expensive!!!) restaurant located there.

But the minute the door closes behind you, everything falls into place. The noise from the street is replaced by a pleasant, well-lit, quiet, intimate and elegant space.

The non-meat menu (with Mediterranean influences) is based on fish, pasta and specialty dishes, and they offer an array of boutique wines. Among the recommended dishes are fish falafel, pumpkin carpaccio and various fresh fish, all of which are served by a very pleasant, professional staff. Don’t miss the bread, pastas and desserts – made on the premises, as the restaurant has a bakery and confectionery.

In addition to the tables spread out in the spacious restaurant, there is a long bar, a yard and private room that can accommodate up to 30 people. The restaurant is also available for private parties that can host up to 150 people.

For those of us with the cash to spend, don’t miss out on this restaurant! The relaxed, elegant atmosphere and varied menu, which is surprising and rich, will make you come back again and again.

DECA Restaurant
Address: HaTa’asiya 10
Phone Number: 03-562-9900

Tags: HaTa'asiya, kosher

You’ve probably noticed the phenomenon but haven’t realized that it is actually a phenomenon.

“Office Restaurants” are located in business districts and usually offer business lunches with home-style dishes or salads and basics like schnitzel, chicken breast and other things that don’t require a certified chef.

Lots of these places offer cheap, kosher food… The kind that appeals to everyone, so anyone can eat there every day…

Unlike other restaurants, when office workers go home, the restaurant employees go home as well.

My “office restaurant” is hybrid of a café and restaurant – it’s on the ground floor of the Levinstein tower, in the building’s backyard. In a place that has seen various owners, the past year it has been home to a nice restaurant, with even nicer owners, and a generous, smiling staff. The restaurant is called “Shay and Dror,” after its owners. To those who work in the tower and go out to eat in the heat or rain – don’t!

They really have everything…

They have salads, schnitzel, chicken, hamburgers, pasta and even “special” dishes on occasion. The crown jewel – and my favorite dish – is the salmon skewer. I swear it’s better than those served at the expensive restaurants I’ve eaten at…

Regarding desserts – they recently started selling someone’s homemade cakes and cookies, and the brownies they have are incredible!!!!

The prices are reasonable, the service is great (though slow at times…) and you don’t have to step outside.

For smokers, there’s a backyard, so you can merge lunch and a cigarette break…

Enjoy…

Shay and Dror
Address: Derech Menachem Begin 23, Levinstein Tower

Tags: kosher, Menachem Begin

My name is Sigal and I’m addicted to Hummus Nachmani.

At this very moment, as I type these words with one hand the other is clutching my stomach and I’m thinking – how did that plate of hummus fill be up so much? Me, who can eat 400-500 grams of hummus with meat in just a few minutes? And then I realize that it’s so good that I finished the entire bowl of hummus in five minutes.

Hummus Nachmani has been at the corner of Yehuda Halevi and Nachmani Streets (that’s how it got its name) for years. I must admit that my appetite for hummus only came about in the past year. Obviously there are different types, my favorites being hummus with tehini and chickpeas, with or without an egg, and hummus with meat…

They serve green spicy sauce on the side, the origin of which lies in the owner’s Polish mother’s secret recipe …

Of course there are also cowpeas and mushrooms and pine nuts, and many other things…

If you eat there, they have various home cooked dishes that aren’t hummus, including check breast or meatballs.

The other amazing thing is the salad that Samir prepares. With a huge, sharp knife he chops the vegetables so tiny – cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage and a lemon rind! Heaven! Then he sprinkles parsley and mint over it. The food is served with pita bread that I haven’t seen since I was at Falafel Shimon in Pardes Chana…

Bon Apetit…

Hummus Nachmani
Corner of Yehuda Halevi and Nachmani Streets

Sometimes I want to feel like a tourist in my own city, and the truth is that the momentary sense of unfamiliarity that I feel in my most natural and banal surroundings is exactly what I need when I crave excitement.

That’s what happened last weekend when I took a towel and a friend to the beach near the Opera Tower. Yeah, it’s not the best beach in Tel Aviv, but there are lots of tourists there who make you see the city through their eyes. Well, we didn’t actually talk to them, but we did listen, and listening to people on vacation is enough to feel a bit of a vacation vibe.

Later, when we were too hungry to think straight we found ourselves at Amy’s, on the corner of Allenby and HaYarkon streets. The place was packed full of tourists and we were the only Israelis there. What can I say? Awesome! Not only did we feel like we were abroad, the prices were reminiscent of India and Sinai, rather than Paris. We ate a huge gnocchi dish for NIS 25 and had two glasses of lambrusco for the price of one (two for NIS 18).

The cab drivers might screw over the tourists in Tel Aviv, but feel like the snooty restaurants on Rothschild screw the locals.

Café Amy’s
Address: HaYarkon 52, on the corner of Allenby 7

Tags: Rothschild

One of the most unique places in Tel Aviv, this excellent restaurant is situated in an old stone building that dates back to the Ottoman Empire. The rural French kitchen boasts excellent meats and a wide array of alcohol and wine from around the world. We spent several hours there on appetizers and excellent wine in the middle of the day. It’s a place where you can stop time and take a break from the city. On other occasions we’ve gone there for long dinners, for a unique and always enjoyable culinary experience.

Yoezer Wine Bar
Address: Jaffa Clock Tower 2
Phone Number: 03-683-9115

Tags: Jaffa

What single male or female doesn’t know that feeling on Friday night, when you’re sick of snooty dishes in garlic and butter sauce and just want a home cooked meal that will make your tummy happy and will send you home to your couch to pat your stomach and mutter, “Why did I eat so much….?”

Last Friday I felt that way, plus I was starving after a three-hour afternoon nap.

Then a friend remembered HaMitbachon. She didn’t really remember – it’s always on her mind and she suggested that we go.

We invited another “homeless” friend and headed towards the market. We snagged the table on the balcony, which was great, though the fan didn’t quite reach us. We didn’t let the heat get to us and started ordering…

A finely chopped Arab salad, beets and bread for starters. Meat couscous, meatballs and Friday night chicken for entrees.

Accompanied by beer and white wine (have I mentioned that I need to get my liver examined?), it was excellent and exactly what I needed on a Friday night.

It didn’t prevent me from going home to eat my mother’s excellent food the following day, but definitely hit the spot that night…

HaMitbachon
Address: Rabbi Akiva 18, on the corner of Gedera Street, Tel Aviv
Phone Number: 03-516-3689

Tags: Rabbi Akiva

One of my favorite sushi places in town is hidden somewhere on Bograshov Street. It’s not as inexpensive as Japanika or as pricey as Yakimono, but it is very good. My favorite dish is called Black Mamba – salmon wrapped around a tiny ball of rice, with red tuna on top – delicious.

They are very generous with the fish and everything is fresh.

You can choose dishes off of the conveyor belt (prices vary according to plate color) or order from one of the friendly members of the wait staff.

It doesn’t really have a restaurant vibe – and that’s a good thing.

MOON – Sushi Bar
Address: Bograshov 58, Tel Aviv
Phone Number: 03-629-1155, 03-568-6818
Sunday to Friday: noon-12:30 A.M.
Saturday: 7:00 P.M.-12:30 A.M.
Price: NIS 60-120 per person
Business Lunch: Sunday-Friday, noon-6:00 P.M.

Tags: sushi

La La Land is a nice, lovely restaurant on the Tel Aviv beach.

It has a mix of comfortable couches, bamboo swings, a long bar and the option of sitting outside, right on the sand.

The décor is a combination of dark wood floors with white furniture, giving the place a pleasant, prestigious atmosphere unlike other places on the boardwalk.

The menu includes seafood, fish, salads, meat and other dishes.

We recommend sitting near the sea on a hot summer night and enjoying the nice breeze. If possible, get there in time to catch the sunset…

La La Land – Beach Restaurant
Address: Gordon Beach, Tel Aviv
Phone Number: 03-529-3303
Sunday-Saturday: 6:30 A.M.-4:00 A.M.

Tags: Beach