40 editor picks in Tel Aviv.
40 mid-range places in Tel Aviv, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good restaurants in Tel Aviv, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All Tel Aviv food.
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.
TipOrder a kwaytiew bowl, the Thai noodle soup the kitchen is best known for; some dishes carry bacon, so it is not kosher.
HaPizza on Bograshov Street has run its stone oven Neapolitan pizza since 2007, alongside a Tel Aviv Italian menu of fresh pasta and gnocchi dishes.
OrderA thin crust Neapolitan pizza straight from the stone oven, or the thicker focaccia dough version.
TipThere are no reservations, so arrive early on a weekend evening; it closes on Friday and reopens Saturday at 17:00.
Cafelix on Shlomo HaMelech Street is the Tel Aviv branch of a local roastery founded in 2011 by Yael and Philipp Schefer, roasting its specialty beans weekly.
TipAsk which single origin was roasted that week; the roastery works in direct contact with its coffee farmers.
Port Said across from the Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv runs Eyal Shani's kitchen until midnight most nights and 01:00 on Thursday, with no reservations taken.
OrderA Goldstar beer with whatever the kitchen just pulled off the grill.
TipThere is no reservation line; the wait and the sidewalk crowd are part of the routine.
Shemaya in Tel Aviv-Yafo simmers overnight Middle Eastern stews and slow-cooked hummus in a tiny Florentin storefront that most tourists walk past.
TipCome before 13:00 for the hummus; once the pot empties for the day, the kitchen moves on to the evening stews.
Alexander Bread & Bakery on Lilienblum Street bakes French laminated pastry in central Tel Aviv, from flaky croissants to a blueberry cruffin worth the queue.
TipArrive before 10:00 on weekdays; the almond croissants and cruffins sell out by early afternoon.
Mae on Montefiore Street imports and roasts Costa Rican coffee exclusively, a small-batch Tel Aviv roastery where chefs start their mornings before service.
TipRoasts are matched to how you brew at home; say if you use an espresso machine, moka pot or press.
Christoff Wine Salon on Hashuk Street in Florentin updates its wine list monthly, and doubles as a reading room of wine books between pours.
TipEvery night gets 20 percent off the full menu between 18:00 and 19:30, pop-up nights excluded.
Panda Pita in Tel Aviv's Carmel Market backyard stuffs soft pita with fusion fillings like eggplant fillet, sea fish ceviche and slow-cooked meat.
OrderFusion-filled pita: eggplant fillet, sea fish ceviche or slow-cooked meat
TipOrder the eggplant fillet pita and expect a queue; the alley stand seats only a handful at a time.
Ouzeria overlooks Tel Aviv's Levinsky Market with chef Avivit Priel Avichai's Greek leaning sharing plates and a bar built on ouzo and other anise spirits.
OrderA round of Greek style small plates with a carafe of ouzo to share at the bar.
TipThe bar seats 12 and pours several kinds of anise; it is the best spot for solo diners.
Herzl 16 runs a cafe by day and a bar by night around a large, green courtyard in central Tel Aviv, with live concerts and DJ sets on most weeks.
TipArrive early for a courtyard table; happy hour pours select drinks at ₪28 from 17:00.
Bicicletta on Nahalat Binyamin runs a seafood-leaning gastrobar around a big urban courtyard, cooking with produce from the Carmel Market nearby.
TipThe backyard is the pick on hot nights; happy hour runs 20 percent off 17:00 to 19:00 weekdays.
Juno on De Haas Street at Milano Square has run as an Italian-leaning enoteca and wine shop since 2009, pouring about 120 labels with pasta on the side.
TipHappy hour runs Sunday to Thursday 17:00 to 19:00 on wine, beer and food.
El Vecino on Ibn Gabirol Street in Tel Aviv pairs boutique Israeli wineries with a stone cellar and courtyard seating under its landmark wishing tree.
TipSit under the wishing tree on the terrace, or head down to the stone cellar for a quieter table.
Schnitt Brewing Company on Givon Square in Tel Aviv brews about 12 beers a month on site, poured straight from the tanks beside a Southern US-leaning kitchen.
TipAsk what is fresh off the tanks that week; the rotation includes sours and lavender wheat beer.
The Old Man and the Sea on Kedem Street has served Jaffa's hilltop sea view since 1999, with a set menu of salads, tabun pita and grilled fish or meat.
OrderThe set menu: a spread of daily salads, warm tabun pita, a main of fish or seafood, then coffee and awameh.
TipAsk for a table on the terrace at sunset; the room seats large groups easily.
Cicchetti on Yehuda HaLevi in Tel Aviv is a Venetian-style neighbourhood bar, where chef Michael Gartopsky's small plates pair with Avi Kashi's cocktails.
OrderA run of two or three small plates alongside a carafe of house wine.
TipWeekend brunch runs 11:00 to 15:00; Sunday to Thursday the 17:00 to 19:00 aperitivo takes 30 percent off.
Mifgash Rambam near Nahalat Binyamin runs a Tel Aviv shawarma counter by day and turns into a charcoal grill tavern at night, skewers and all.
OrderThe shawarma sliced from the daily veal and lamb spit, or a charcoal grilled skewer after dark.
TipDaytime is grab and go; come after 18:00 for table service and the grill bar menu.
Puaa fills a Jaffa flea market storefront with mismatched vintage furniture, all for sale, serving a Tel Aviv area Mediterranean menu since 1998.
OrderThe shakshuka or a plate of grilled fish with the market vegetables of the day.
TipEvery chair and table is priced and can be bought; ask staff if a piece catches your eye.
Vitrina Lili on Lilienblum Street is the second branch of a Tel Aviv burger shop founded in 2011, serving 220 gram burgers, sweet potato fries and tacos.
OrderThe Butler burger with blue cheese and onion jam, plus a side of the lemon zest fries.
TipClosed Friday and Saturday; the Thursday night sitting runs latest, until midnight.
HaAchim on Ibn Gabirol Street runs a lively Israeli grill in Tel Aviv, brothers plating charcoal skewers, hummus and malabi to a packed room most nights.
OrderThe hummus starter, then a mixed grill skewer plate off the charcoal fire.
TipNo Shabbat closure; the room stays loud and full most nights of the week.
Urban Bakery moved around the corner to Nitsana Street in the Noga district, a French-trained pastry chef running croissants and macarons for Tel Aviv.
TipThe bakery relocated from Nehama Street; use the Nitsana Street address, not the old one online.
Lehamim's stand on Carmel Market sells the chain's Danish-trained sourdough loaves and rye breads, with unsold bread discounted after 17:30 each day.
TipCome back after 17:30 for the discount on whatever bread is left in the stand.
Emesh on Lilienblum Street, in the space that once held Nanuchka, runs a backyard, a dining room and a dance floor without changing venues in Tel Aviv.
TipThe upstairs gallery hosts private events; the backyard is the early-evening room.
Wine BaKerem on the Nahalat Binyamin pedestrian stretch pours a broad list a few steps from the Carmel Market, with outdoor tables that fill fast.
TipArrive before 19:00 on weekends for an outdoor table without a wait.
BeerBazaar Habima on Rothschild Boulevard pours more than 100 Israeli craft drafts, including beers from the chain's own Kiryat Gat brewery.
TipHappy hour runs 18:30 to 20:00 most nights on three beers or wines for a fixed price.
Dr. Shakshuka in Jaffa, Tel Aviv runs a kosher Tripolitan kitchen founded in the early 1990s, plating shakshuka with couscous, shawarma and schnitzel.
OrderA shakshuka variation with a side of couscous and vegetables.
TipKosher hours apply: closed from Friday afternoon until after Shabbat ends on Saturday.
Meshek Barzilay on Tel Aviv's Ahad Ha'am Street has run an organic vegetarian kitchen since 2013, going fully vegan in 2018 across its all day menu.
OrderThe vegan shakshuka or a plate off the daily organic vegetable specials.
TipWeekend mornings get busy; weekday lunch is the quieter time to get a table.
Cafe Xoho has served all day breakfast and hand rolled bagels in Tel Aviv since 2010, moving to 73 Ben Yehuda Street in 2022 with a kosher dairy kitchen.
OrderA hand rolled bagel with the all day breakfast plate and a coffee.
TipClosed Saturdays under its kosher certificate; no reservations, so mornings can mean a short wait.
Balinjera in Kerem HaTeimanim is chef-owner Fanta Prada's kosher Ethiopian dining room in Tel Aviv, plating home recipes learned from her mother onto injera.
OrderThe Tibs Balinjera, diced beef sauteed with black pepper, onion and rosemary.
TipKosher hours apply: closed Saturday and shut by mid afternoon on Friday.
Haj Kahil near Jaffa's Clock Tower serves Arab grills, fish and mezze in a restaurant Naim Haj Kahil opened on the site of the old carriage station.
OrderA mezze spread of small starters, then a grilled fish or the ground beef sinya.
TipThe dining room sits by the Clock Tower Square; ask for a table if arriving for a group.
Thai House on Bograshov Street has run its own farm supplied Thai kitchen in Tel Aviv since 1996, plating street food and traditional dishes with fresh herbs.
OrderA curry or pad dish made with vegetables grown on the restaurant's own farm.
TipThe weekday lunch menu bundles a first course and a drink into the main course price.
Bakery Dizengoff on Dizengoff Street is one of five Tel Aviv branches of The Bakery, the R2M group's shop for the breads served at its own restaurants.
TipThe sandwich and salad counter makes this a workable lunch stop, not only a pastry case.
Anastasia by Dizengoff Square runs an entirely vegan kitchen in Tel Aviv, from raw-food plates to a dessert counter built around plant-based ingredients.
TipThe dessert case at the counter is the reason regulars come back after the meal.
Mela runs a vegan-friendly cafe and bakery on Ashtori HaFarhi Street in Tel Aviv's Basel complex, baking pastries and pouring specialty coffee daily.
TipPastries are baked on site every day; the outdoor seats by the garden are quieter than the counter inside.
Nomena Roasters on Allenby Street is a Tel Aviv roastery and cafe that roasts four times a week, selling single-origin beans and pours side by side.
TipOne-kilo bags get 10 percent off, and the roast list rotates origins from Brazil and Peru to Ethiopia and Kenya.
Nahat by Dizengoff Square has roasted its own beans on an in-cafe 2kg roaster in Tel Aviv since Dan Urieli and Assaf Bitton opened it in 2015.
TipThe house blend is medium roast and full bodied; ask for the lighter filter roast if you prefer acidity.
Mike's Place on the Herbert Samuel promenade in Tel Aviv is an American sports bar with regular live shows, pub quizzes and sports screenings by the beach.
TipHappy hour runs 17:00 to 19:00 Sunday to Friday with half off all alcohol.
WineBerry Florentin on Frenkel Street pours a diverse list of Israeli and imported wine, with outdoor seating and regular tastings in Tel Aviv.
TipAsk about the current tasting flight, the pours rotate through the week.
Gazzetta near Habima Square in Tel Aviv pours kosher and non-kosher bottles with Italian tapas, a low-key wine bar off Rothschild Boulevard.
TipFriday brunch is what regulars come for; weeknights suit a glass on the way home from the office.
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