It’s not you who’ve gone crazy, it’s the freaking reality. These strange days affect not only your feelings: these are really disturbed days in Israel, and this is also accompanied by a small and strange wave of restaurant closings (some people attribute it to a protest, we A little skeptical about it) that influences the local culinary scene. But every end is a new beginning, and for every restaurant that closes, we have a few new ones that have opened. And all these are just from the last two weeks.
were opened
La Sita
The last thing the Carmel Market area needs is another wine bar, and thankfully La Cita is not a wine bar. But it’s not a restaurant either. The owner Avishai Ben Harosh, who ran Bar A Vin and was one of the owners of Cafe Tamati, emphasizes that it is a bistro-bar and serves grandmother’s Moroccan food with a twist from Paris, at lunchtime with large pots and generous portions like in the old Hapoalim restaurant that operated until recently at the location (“Kobe Buffet” ), and in the evening in a bistro/tapas bar atmosphere. Worth checking out. Carmel 4
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Let’s have a Saturday. La Cita (photo by Shlomi Yosef)
Tel A Vin
Is Tel Aviv on its way to becoming one big wine bar that is annexing more parts of the city with each passing day? All the signs show that it is, and until we too become a wine bar, we can recommend a visit to Tel A Vin, an unpretentious wine bar with a pleasant terrace overlooking Ben Gurion Avenue – an area that lacks proper places to hang out – with small dishes from a menu created by chef Dan Gershonovitz (Ivy , Taizo, Mona) and glasses of wine for NIS 40 and less. Ben Gurion 39
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Tel Aviv (Photo: Amit Ofek)
Coffee Martini
For too long we haven’t been intrigued by a new restaurant opening in the heart of the city, and Cafe Martini which is a collaboration between chef Idan Peretz (Poppina), mixologist Mor Coral (223) and Yona Sasson (Luca Velino) is definitely a refreshing opening: an Italian bistro bar, designed by the Israeli architect- International Sa’ar Tzafir, with an interior space designed as an Italian aperitif from the 1960s and an outdoor area that simulates an Italian garden with lemon trees and a lemonade cart. All this on Dizengoff. A pleasure. Dizengoff 130
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Martini and pizza, just what you need now. Cafe Martini (photo by Megan Maimon)
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Maison Kaiser
Two years ago, people in the city lined up for the excellent French pastries of the Maison Kaiser chain of boulangeries, and the captains of the brand decided to open a luxurious French bistro under the same name. The public was a little less enthusiastic about the heavy Parisianness and last week it was announced that the place was closed “for the purpose of a renewed examination of the restaurant, the holidays are coming and the change is required”. When we visited there we found out Five-star desserts But not much more than that.
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It was the most European location in Tel Aviv. Maison Kaiser Bistro (Photo: Public Relations)
mass
In the last year, there was a good buzz around what Chef Moshik Stern did in the renewed Mesa after the departure of Chef Aviv Moshe, and our restaurant critic was also quite satisfied when he visited there at the beginning of the month Without knowing that this is one of the last meals that will be served there. In reports about the closure, it is claimed that the democracy protest that takes over the city every night and empties it of diners had a part in the decision.
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No more. Mesa (Photo: Afik Gabai)
Weiss
Weiss opened almost two years ago with a cloud hovering over its head. The historic Beit Weiss where it is located, on the corner of Herzl and Ahad Ha’am streets, housed a long chain of restaurants and bars that did not survive in the last decade. Despite a strong opening under chef Gil DeHaan, and after several management upheavals in the last six months, Weiss did not escape this fate and announced its closure at the beginning of the week. We found problems there from the first moment.
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The end of the tea ceremony at the Weiss restaurant (photo: Time Out system)