The Yemenite Quarter, founded in 1906, and the Carmel Market beside it: low houses, Yemenite home cooking and market counters, mostly shut for Shabbat.
HaBasta beside Tel Aviv's Carmel Market runs chef Elon Amir's daily changing menu, scribbled on paper on the wall, with a strong international wine list.
OrderThe crab burekas and a plate of shrimp or calamari cooked a la plancha.
TipOutdoor tables sit right in the market lane; book ahead for a Thursday or Friday dinner.
M25 works the meat alley of Tel Aviv's Carmel Market as both butcher and restaurant, with chef Jonathan Borowitz running a nose to tail grill of Israeli beef.
OrderThe smoked and fried shawarma, plus whatever cut the butcher counter recommends that day.
TipFriday runs two services, lunch until 16:00 and dinner from 18:30; the kitchen is closed Saturday and Sunday.
Mashya inside the Mendeli Street Hotel is chef Bar Tsanger's dining room, a French-trained cook who names the Carmel Market and old Jaffa as his references.
TipMembers of the hotel group's VIPrima club get 10 percent off; breakfast and lunch run on separate hours from dinner.
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.
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.
Worth the queueRye with olives and a discounted end-of-day loaf after 17:30
TipCome back after 17:30 for the discount on whatever bread is left in the stand.
WayCup Coffee on Yohanan HaSandlar Street is a Tel Aviv coffee shop built around its own local roastery, where neighbourhood regulars and passers-by meet.
BrewsEspresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
TipRegulars sit, stand or take their coffee to go; beans from the in-house roastery are sold over the counter.
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.
PourA glass poured to match whatever is fresh at the market that day
WineA broad by-the-glass list a few steps from the Carmel Market
FoodSmall plates
TipArrive before 19:00 on weekends for an outdoor table without a wait.
Bicicletta on Nahalat Binyamin runs a seafood-leaning gastrobar around a big urban courtyard, cooking with produce from the Carmel Market nearby.
DrinkCocktails and boutique draft beer
FoodSeafood-led tapas and sharing plates
TipThe backyard is the pick on hot nights; happy hour runs 20 percent off 17:00 to 19:00 weekdays.
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.
TryKebab 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.
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.
TryRosewater 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.
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.
Carmel Market on HaCarmel Street in Tel Aviv is the city's largest market, stretching from Magen David Square through spice, fish and produce stalls.
TipGo before 09:00 for the best fish and produce; by afternoon the stalls thin out and prices climb slightly.
Citrus and Salt runs a two-hour guided Carmel Shuk tour through the market's history and its old and famous stands, tasting hummus and freshly pressed juice.
Bein Harim's Tel Aviv food tour walks Carmel Market's stalls for shawarma, cheese, falafel and hummus, then on to the Yemenite quarter of Kerem HaTeimanim.
Delicious Israel's Shuk and Cook class starts at Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, then moves to a nearby kitchen studio to cook a full Israeli meal from the market haul.
TipGuests get the recipes by email afterward, so it doubles as a take home Israeli cookbook.
Cook in Israel's class with Orly Ziv starts at Tel Aviv's Carmel Market, then continues at her home kitchen to cook a full Israeli and Mediterranean meal.
TipThe class runs Tuesday to Friday, meeting at the market at 09:00 and finishing back in Tel Aviv by mid afternoon.
Jon's Carmel Market Cooking Class in Tel Aviv shops the market for a morning, then cooks a seven course Israeli meal at his nearby studio with wine included.
TipThe class includes beer, wine and cocktails alongside the seven course meal, so pace the market tastings.
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.
TryYemenite-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.
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.
TryFusion-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.
HaBasta off Carmel Market runs lunch on Friday and Saturday from a menu that changes daily with the market, scribbled on paper on the wall by the chef.
OrderWhatever seafood the paper menu on the wall lists that day, plus the crab burekas.
TipFriday and Saturday lunch runs 12:00 to 16:00 before a break for dinner; the menu changes with whatever the market has that day.
MASH Central on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv is an LGBTQ-welcoming bar known for its drag shows, with a morning cafe shift and a late bar running to 04:00.
TipDrag shows are the draw; check the bar's listings for the night before you go, since the programme changes.
Nilus on Allenby Street is a lesbian-friendly Tel Aviv bar named after the Nile, where the DJs, bartenders and managers are predominantly women.
TipThe crowd leans toward Tel Aviv's art scene; the bar is closed on Friday and busiest late on weekday nights.
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 ...
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Learn why Neve Tzedek was built in 1887, five years before the railway See how to read a Bauhaus façade on Rothschild Boulevard Taste malawach, sabich, burekas and hal...
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Discover the art, history, culture, and food of Tel Aviv and Jaffa on a guided tour. See Neve Tzedek's fascinating buildings, taste local foods at the Carmel Market, a...