34 editor picks in Tel Aviv.
34 cheap eats places in Tel Aviv, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Tel Aviv: the places editors actually return to. All Tel Aviv food.
Abu Hassan on HaDolfin Street in Jaffa serves hummus and the ful triangle plate in the shop Ali Karavan opened in 1972, after selling from a cart since 1959.
OrderHummus, ful and msabbaha triangle plate
TipArrive by noon; the hummus sells out most afternoons and the counter shuts for the day the moment it does.
Jasmino is a small charcoal grill counter on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv, firing kebab, chicken, house-made sausage and spicy veal heart into pita with tahini.
OrderCharcoal-grilled kebab and spicy veal heart pita
TipOrder at the counter and eat standing; the grill runs until 05:00 on Thursday nights when the queue is longest.
HaKosem on Shlomo HaMelech Street in Tel Aviv has fried falafel at the King George Street corner since 2001, now a queue-out-the-door institution.
OrderFalafel with hummus and salad in pita
TipAriel Rosenthal opened it as a small stall in 2001; expect a queue at lunch and eat standing if the tables are full.
Irit cooks Yemenite lachuch with a crispy egg, grated tomato and zhug in a small shack-like cafe beside her childhood home on the edge of Carmel Market.
TipLook for the bright blue door on Simtat HaCarmel; hours can shift, so come mid-morning on a weekday.
Shlomo and Doron on Yishkon Street in Tel Aviv is a Yemenite family hummus counter dating to 1937, now run by its fourth generation and shut by mid-afternoon.
OrderYemenite-style hummus with ful and tahini
TipCome for an early lunch; the counter closes by mid-afternoon, and fourth-generation Elad adds new hummus dishes to the classics.
Sabich Tchernichovsky on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv fills pita with fried aubergine, boiled egg, tahini and amba, and shuts for Shabbat on Friday afternoon.
OrderSabich: fried eggplant, egg and tahini in pita
TipPick your toppings at the counter, from tahini and amba to spicy sauce and chopped salad; the pita comes generously filled.
Shmuel grills homemade kebabs and Jerusalem mixed grill in pita, ciabatta or on a plate at a Carmel Market diner on Rabbi Meir Street, for lunch only.
OrderKebab and Jerusalem mix in pita
TipCome for lunch only; the grill closes by mid-afternoon and there is no dinner service at this market counter.
Hanan Margilan on Mesilat Yesharim Street in Tel Aviv has served Bukharan soups and charcoal-grilled kebabs to Shapira's workers since 2007.
TipThere are no reservations, so arrive early for a table; order the dushbara dumpling soup and a charcoal-grilled kebab.
Gorkha Kitchen on Rosh Pina Street in Tel Aviv serves Nepali-Indian momos and curries in south Tel Aviv, opened by a group of Nepali friends around 2020.
OrderChicken momos and Nepali-Indian curries
TipOrder the chicken momos, the kitchen's signature dish, and expect a wait during the dinner rush.
Cafe Levinsky 41 mixes house-made gazoz sodas and preserved-lemon sandwiches in a tiny corner kiosk that Benny Briga opened at Levinsky Market in 2012.
OrderGazoz soda and preserved-lemon sandwiches
TipAsk Benny for a gazoz built from the day's fruit, herbs and flowers; the old 1975 Susita truck now survives only as a small model.
Abouelafia on Yefet Street has baked ka'ak, pita and sambousak in Jaffa since 1879, a round-the-clock counter that predates the state of Israel.
TipOrder the cheese-filled sesame ka'ak straight from the oven; it barely survives the walk outside.
Falafel Gabay on Bograshov Street in Tel Aviv fries crispy falafel for soft pita or a plate piled with toppings, plus stuffed peppers, hummus and shawarma.
OrderFalafel plate piled with salads, pickles and chips
TipOrder the falafel plate; it comes with a pita so you can build a sandwich, and the toppings pile up fast.
Abulafia's Allenby Street branch in Tel Aviv bakes the Jaffa bakery's knafeh, sambousak and bourekas around the clock, every single day of the week.
OrderKnafeh, sambousak and bourekas
TipSambousak with different fillings, knafeh and malawach all come off the same trays, so point at whatever is freshest.
El Mano on Yesod HaMa'ala Street in Tel Aviv blends Vietnamese and Filipino cooking, a family kitchen serving egg rolls and lechon since 2020.
OrderVietnamese egg rolls and Filipino lechon
TipOrder the rice paper egg roll and the Vietnamese-style fried chicken wings, two dishes that show off the Filipino and Vietnamese mix.
HaMinzar on Allenby Street has poured cheap draft beer since 1992, open from 08:00 until 04:00 most nights and round the clock on Thursday and Friday.
TipMismatched furniture and a young crowd; go after 02:00 for the true late-night regulars.
Sabich Frishman on Frishman Street in Tel Aviv stuffs pita with fried eggplant, egg, tahini and mango amba, eaten on bar stools at long communal tables.
OrderSabich: fried eggplant, egg and tahini in pita
TipThe mango amba is the point; ask for extra if the counter is light-handed with it that day.
Haim Bourekas on Mesilat Yesharim Street in Tel Aviv bakes Bulgarian-style bourekas in the Shapira neighbourhood, with a vegan version beside the classics.
OrderBulgarian-style cheese and spinach bourekas
TipGo before 09:00 for the cheese bourekas straight from the oven, still steaming when the paper bag is folded shut.
Shlomo and Doron on Yishkon Street in Tel Aviv is a Yemenite family hummus counter dating to 1937, now run by its fourth generation and shut by mid-afternoon.
TipCome for an early lunch; the counter closes by mid-afternoon, and fourth-generation Elad adds new hummus dishes to the classics.
Hanan Margilan on Mesilat Yesharim Street in Tel Aviv has served Bukharan soups and charcoal-grilled kebabs to Shapira's workers since 2007.
OrderDushbara dumpling soup and charcoal-grilled kebabs
TipThere are no reservations, so arrive early for a table; order the dushbara dumpling soup and a charcoal-grilled kebab.
Etzel Zion on HaYarkon Street in Tel Aviv is a kosher schnitzel counter that skips knives and forks, stuffing chicken schnitzel into a pita or baguette.
OrderChicken schnitzel in a pita or baguette
TipOrder it in a pita or a baguette; this is a grab-and-go counter that closes at 18:00 and all weekend.
The Tunisian Sandwich Center on HaPatish Street, run by the Ramla Market original's Haim Bukovza, bakes its own baguettes for Tunisian and merguez sandwiches.
OrderTunisian sandwich and merguez sausage in baguettes baked on site
TipOrder the Tunisian complete, the most popular baguette on the menu, or the merguez sausage version; the bread is baked on site.
Lucy on Derech Menachem Begin in Tel Aviv serves Ethiopian stews over injera from a small family-run dining room in south Tel Aviv, with vegan plates too.
OrderEthiopian meat and vegetable stews over injera
TipOrder the vegan combination plate: five stews of chickpeas, green beans, carrots, potato and peas on one injera.
HaMalabia on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv pours rosewater malabi pudding from a corner stall by Carmel Market, in dairy and vegan versions with toppings.
OrderRosewater malabi pudding with syrup and toppings
TipOrder the vegan version if you want a lighter, less-sweet malabi; regulars mix and match syrups and toppings.
HaMinzar on Allenby Street is the late option when little else in Tel Aviv is open, pouring cheap beer until 04:00 and all night on Thursday and Friday.
OrderA cold draft beer with the simple bar menu; nobody comes for the food alone.
TipMismatched furniture and a young crowd; busiest right after the clubs close.
Tony Vespa on Rothschild Boulevard, across from Habima Square in Tel Aviv, sells thin-crust pizza by weight from a display counter, most of it eaten outdoors.
OrderThin-crust pizza sold by weight
TipOrder by weight, not by slice; ask the counter to cut a small piece first if you want to try more than one topping.
22 Rothschild on the corner of Rothschild and Nahalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv prices everything, drinks and burgers alike, in multiples of 22 shekels.
TipA late stop on the way to or from the clubs nearby; it opens at 20:00 and runs to 05:00 on Friday nights.
Berlin in Florentin on Chayim Vital Street keeps drinks cheap and the music loud, the kind of Tel Aviv bar where one beer turns into a full night.
TipSunday happy hour runs half off every drink; the crowd builds fast after 22:00.
BeerBazaar's restaurant and bottle shop on Yishkon Street, near its Basta day bar, keeps around 100 Israeli craft beers flowing by Tel Aviv's Carmel Market.
TipThe Basta day-bar annex on Rambam Street closes at 19:00; the Yishkon Street room runs later.
Chinese Bao Buns on Neve Sha'anan Street keeps Chinese cooks on its dumplings and stir-fries after several changes of owner; three Filipino women run it now.
OrderFried dumplings, stir-fried cabbage and noodles
TipThe photos lining the entrance wall double as the menu; point at whichever dish looks best that day.
Dudu Bar on the Nahalat Binyamin pedestrian stretch keeps a casual, unfussy dive-bar mood on a dressed-up street in Tel Aviv, pouring cheap draft beer.
TipThe 20 percent discount window runs 18:00 to 20:00 most nights, before the street fills up outside.
Burika Center in Tel Aviv's Carmel Market fries burika, a deep-fried pastry of potato and soft egg, into pita at the stall found by Kobi's shouted calls.
TipFollow the shouting, not a map; Kobi calls out the dish name loud enough to be heard over the whole market aisle.
Levinsky 53 is Dalit and Avi's kubbeh bar in Tel Aviv, simmering Iraqi kubbeh soups and frying kibbeh in a room that feels like a grandmother's kitchen.
OrderA bowl of kubbeh hamusta with lemony chard, or the classic fried kibbeh with minced meat.
TipDaytime only, closing at 17:00 Sunday to Thursday; the kosher certified kitchen shuts for Shabbat on Friday evening.
Cafe Levinsky 41 mixes house-made gazoz sodas and preserved-lemon sandwiches in a tiny corner kiosk that Benny Briga opened at Levinsky Market in 2012.
TipAsk Benny for a gazoz built from the day's fruit, herbs and flowers; the old 1975 Susita truck now survives only as a small model.
Hummus Abu Adham on Karlibach Street has served hand made hummus in Tel Aviv since 2003, prepared daily by founders Ron and Yehuda without preservatives.
OrderA bowl of Mashwasha hummus with warm pita straight from the counter.
TipOrder the mashwasha, the house specialty, and eat it warm; the counter closes at 18:00.
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