Pastoralism in the heart of the city? When it comes to Chef Pastel’s restaurant anything is possible. With a winning combination of beauty, atmosphere and especially delicious dishes – the restaurant picks up more and more compliments, and even in 2014 it won first place as ‘the most designed restaurant’ in the global Space Design Award Idea -Top. Now, following the entry of Michelin-starred chef Gal Ben Moshe, Prof. Rafi Carasso has returned to his favorite restaurant for an extraordinary tasting meal.
Pastel Restaurant has long regretted its banner – to be the most beautiful. And certainly, after a few years of activity, it can be said of her. “The entrance to the restaurant is through the square of the Performing Arts Center in Tel Aviv, right next to the Cameri and the Opera,” said Prof. Caruso in his opening remarks.
Chef Gal Ben Moshe, who is responsible for the impressive menu, owns the Michelin-starred Prism restaurant in Berlin. Carasso noted that the chef “worked in Berlin for 15 years and landed straight to pastel with new energy, a new menu of Mediterranean flavors, touches of international cuisine combined with cooking techniques – both classic and innovative.” As a result, he said, “the tastes and atmosphere in the restaurant have changed, both the successes and the music for more oriental music, not to mention more Arabic, if you like it – it’s already a matter of taste.”
As part of the restaurant, you can choose between ordering dishes from the main menu or the tasting menu, which costs 395 NIS per diner and includes 10 dishes, from opening to dessert. Prof. Rafi Carasso, who came to taste as much as possible, choose the tasting menu and open the impressive meal with Ancient cereal bread and olive oil butter.
Along with white wine from the south of Italy, join the table for the opening dishes of the meal – amusing to the palate. “A rice cake arrived, with eggplant ice cream and a grated yoghurt stone on top. Cracking in the mouth, the cake cracking at once with the melted ice cream – a real celebration of flavors. The cake was joined by a lamb tart which was great. . .
After opening the appetite, it was the turn of the first course – entias, zucchini, radish, salmon, yogurt, which Prof. Caruso described as “lust for the palate.” Immediately after, a dish of lamb Andoia calorie, potato, rigella, chili oil was served to the table. “This is also a great dish, very spicy,” Caruso said, “the calamari was stuffed with finely chopped lamb, and it was a great combination of sea and land – calamari stuffed with minced lamb.”
He claims, “The excess chili that matched them brought it to perfection for those who like spicy. No doubt it is a Michelin dish, but if you are terribly spicy like I was, take a bite of the potato that is there on a fire extinguishing standard. The sauce is Italian sauce, “A kind of salami that is spread. This sauce, in fact, this sausage, consists of shoulder meat, belly, stomach and the head of a small, low veal cooked together with the hottest peppers that come from the south of Italy.”
Another dish that was part of the celebration of flavors was a lamb dish in sour cherry sauce, alongside onions in the oven and burgul. “The lamb portion was a little hard for my taste though very tasty. The onion next to it was a delicacy, a combination of sweetness with the cherry sauce and the wine that accompanied the dish – really whole,” Carasso noted in his review.
Lamb Sour cherries, onions, burgul (Photo: Prof. Rafi Carasso)As a final dish, Prof. Rafi Kerso tasted the pumpkin dish with pistachio lime, semolina, white chocolate and yogurt. “A wonderful, special dish, not too sweet and that’s really what was good about the dish,” said Carasso, who referred to the 4 saucers accompanied by the cookies that were also served – and summed up the experience: “Cheap but there is also a menu where everyone can choose what they want. Great food, pleasant atmosphere, I will definitely go back there.”
Pumpkin basil pumpkin, semolina, white chocolate, yogurt (Photo: Prof. Rafi Carasso)