Shemaya is a middle eastern restaurant in Florentin, Tel Aviv.
Editorially verified September 28, 2026 by Elliot Marsh, TableJourney editor. Source.
Why locals love it: Shemaya is a one-man kitchen in a modest Florentin storefront; the slow-cooked hummus is gone by early afternoon most days and never remade.
Tip: Come before 13:00 for the hummus; once the pot empties for the day, the kitchen moves on to the evening stews.
1.5 hours
Unwind on the beach with local wine as the sun sets over the Mediterranean. We take care of everything so you can just show up, kick back, and craft a souvenir to take...
Guided tour · 5h 30m
Walk 4,000 years of history in one 5.5-hour route: ancient Jaffa, Neve Tzedek, the Bauhaus White City and Carmel Market, with tastings and a licensed guide in English ...
Guided tour · 2 hours
On this extravagant tour we will have a food tasting of the Sarona Market and Azraeli Center. Your tour guide is also an Israeli soldier in the reserves.
Address: Chaim Vital Street 2, Tel Aviv-Yafo
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.
Why locals goA small shack-like cafe beside the house where Irit grew up, behind a bright blue door on a lane off Carmel Market, with no fixed menu.
TipLook for the bright blue door on Simtat HaCarmel; hours can shift, so come mid-morning on a weekday.
The Fisherman's Restaurant in Hangar 1 at Jaffa Port has served classic fish cooking on the waterfront since 1973, facing the fishing boats in the harbour.
Why locals goA classic fish restaurant in an old port hangar facing the moored fishing boats, easy to miss among the newer Jaffa Port venues.
TipAsk what came in that morning rather than ordering from the printed menu; the freshest catch changes by the day.
Giveret Kwaytiew off Carmel Market in Tel Aviv is chef Mati Nakash's Thai kitchen, serving duck-filled dumplings and kwaytiew bowls most visitors walk past.
Why locals goA chef restaurant by Mati Nakash in a Carmel Market side street, cooking refined Thai dishes with ingredients mostly sourced from Thailand.
TipOrder a kwaytiew bowl, the Thai noodle soup the kitchen is best known for; some dishes carry bacon, so it is not kosher.
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.
Why locals goKobi's shouted call of the dish name is how shoppers find the stall; listen for the words burika, burika over the market din rather than looking for it.
TipFollow the shouting, not a map; Kobi calls out the dish name loud enough to be heard over the whole market aisle.
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.
Why locals goA four-generation Yemenite family hummus counter tucked into the lanes of Kerem HaTeimanim, just off the Carmel Market bustle.
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.
Why locals goA Bukharan workers' canteen in Shapira, home to a large Uzbek community, run by the Hanimov family since 2007 with no reservations taken.
TipThere are no reservations, so arrive early for a table; order the dushbara dumpling soup and a charcoal-grilled kebab.
