Dramatic news for Israeli cuisine: “Shmona”, the flagship restaurant of Eyal Shani in New York that opened last May in Greenwich Village, entered the extended list of the New York Michelin guide along with 13 other restaurants and the guide’s critics showered it with high praise.
The expanded list of the Michelin guide in New York includes more than 400 restaurants, and is considered a list of contenders for the crown competing for a first Michelin star or for inclusion in the guide’s “Bib Gourmand” list, an extensive category dedicated to excellent restaurants at accessible prices. The inclusion of “Shomena” in the list does not guarantee it a Michelin star or inclusion in the “Bib” list, but is considered a significant achievement for any restaurant in the world’s largest cities.
“This sleek little space punches well above its weight with a dazzling neo-Levantine kitchen,” This is what was written in the New York Michelin, “Many restaurants pride themselves on using fresh ingredients, but at Shmona they take this philosophy to another level and make up the entire menu every day.” The cooking relies on the grill all the way to dessert, with the appearance of roasted figs on Chantilly cream. The flavors are impressively precise and create a concentrated meal that is surprising in its accessibility and modesty.”
Whether Shmona is still far from a Michelin star or not, the inclusion of the restaurant in the Michelin guide is a huge achievement for the two and his and Shahar Segal’s restaurant group, about a year afterAssaf Granit became with the Parisian “Shabro”. The third Israeli chef to win a Michelin star (he was preceded by Moshik Roth in Amsterdam and Moshe Ben Gal in Berlin). In an interview with Mako in 2021, Shani stated that “I have no ambition to enter Michelin, it’s like a prison. It also mainly appeals to older people, and I want in all my actions to appeal to young people.” Somehow we still have a feeling that he won’t resist.