The White City's centre: Bauhaus blocks along Rothschild Boulevard, chef restaurants on Lilienblum and Montefiore, and cafes under the boulevard ficus trees.
Cafe Noir has run its European bistro on Tel Aviv's Ahad Ha'am Street since 1997, plating raw fish, handmade pasta and a well known schnitzel.
OrderThe schnitzel or a plate of handmade pasta from the changing specials board.
TipLunch is the busy sitting; evenings settle into a slower, more romantic pace.
The restaurant at Hotel Montefiore in Tel Aviv runs a French Vietnamese brasserie menu from breakfast through to a late dinner on Montefiore Street.
OrderThe hamachi tartare or a bowl of the sea bream in lemongrass cream from the evening menu.
TipBreakfast is one of the busiest sittings in the city; book ahead or arrive right at opening.
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.
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.
Milgo Milbar on Rothschild Boulevard is chef Moti Titman's seafood room in Tel Aviv, fusing Mediterranean and Middle Eastern plates around the daily catch.
OrderA raw fish starter followed by the daily whole catch, grilled simply.
TipThe Bauhaus building on Rothschild draws a full room by evening; book ahead for dinner.
Pereh on Nahalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv is a chef-driven bistro from Aviad Peled and Uri Steinberg, baking its own bread and changing the seasonal menu daily.
OrderThe stuffed chicken wing, or whatever seasonal vegetable dish the kitchen is running that day.
TipThe kitchen bakes its own bread and ages fish and meat in house; the menu changes daily, so ask what is best.
A.K.A on Nahalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv is a three-room chef's restaurant, cocktail bar and wine bar with an open kitchen and octopus with rosti.
OrderThe octopus with rosti, or a seasonal small plate ordered facing the open kitchen.
TipGo up to the Sid and Nancy wine bar for more than 160 bottles, or book the aperitivo hour for 20 percent off the menu.
Pastel sits inside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art on Sha'ul HaMelech, where chef Teddy Kagan runs a seasonal kitchen with a terrace over the sculpture garden.
TipClosed Sundays. The Friday schedule splits into a lunch and a separate evening seating.
Shila moved to Montefiore Street, Tel Aviv in 2025, where chef Sharon Cohen still centres the room on a crudo bar and two aquariums of live seafood.
TipNo Shabbat closure. Thursday nights run latest, with the kitchen open to 01:00.
North Abraxas on Lilienblum is Eyal Shani's small restaurant and bar, a seasonal menu cooked in an open kitchen that diners watch from the bar seats.
TipThe small bar overlooks the open kitchen; ask for a seat there if you want to watch the cooks work.
Toto occupies the Museum Tower next to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, where chef Yaron Shalev runs an Italian and French menu built on oxtail tortellini.
TipA fixed-price lunch of starter and main runs at midday; the oxtail tortellini and chestnut gnocchi are the long-standing signatures.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Vermuteria on Nahalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv is a Spanish tapas bar from Avi Kashi and chef Michael Gartopsky, serving pan con tomate and grilled octopus.
OrderPan con tomate, fried padron peppers, or the grilled octopus with olive oil and garlic.
TipBook on Ontopo for the corner table at Nahalat Binyamin and Gruzenberg; it fills most evenings.
Cafe Ahad Ha'am on Ahad Ha'am Street in Tel Aviv rebranded in November 2024, keeping its courtyard and pouring award-winning Blooms roastery beans.
DrinkAward-winning Blooms roastery beans through a three-group La Marzocco machine
TipThe shaded courtyard behind the counter is the same neighbourhood local, just under a new name and roaster.
ISLA fronts a pod hostel on Montefiore Street in Tel Aviv, a minimalist cafe and bar pouring coffee, specialty matcha and daily happy hours.
DrinkSpecialty matcha alongside espresso and baked goods
TipThe lounge doubles as the hostel's social space, so evenings run louder than the coffee-hour mornings.
Alexander Bread & Bakery on Lilienblum Street bakes French laminated pastry in central Tel Aviv, from flaky croissants to a blueberry cruffin worth the queue.
Worth the queueBlueberry cruffin and almond croissant
TipArrive before 10:00 on weekdays; the almond croissants and cruffins sell out by early afternoon.
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.
BeansBrazil, Ethiopia, Colombia, Kenya, Peru, Rwanda
BrewsEspresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
TipOne-kilo bags get 10 percent off, and the roast list rotates origins from Brazil and Peru to Ethiopia and Kenya.
Mae on Montefiore Street imports and roasts Costa Rican coffee exclusively, a small-batch Tel Aviv roastery where chefs start their mornings before service.
BeansCosta Rica
BrewsEspresso, Moka pot, French press, Turkish coffee
TipRoasts are matched to how you brew at home; say if you use an espresso machine, moka pot or press.
Cote on Ahad Ha'am behind Rothschild Boulevard is the R2M hospitality group's wine bar, run by three Israeli sommeliers and a 2026 Star Wine List winner.
PourA glass from the European-leaning list picked by the three sommeliers behind the bar
WineEuropean-leaning list from three Israeli sommeliers, R2M hospitality group
FoodSmall plates
TipIt opens at 18:00 every evening except Friday, when it closes for the day and reopens Saturday evening.
Gazzetta near Habima Square in Tel Aviv pours kosher and non-kosher bottles with Italian tapas, a low-key wine bar off Rothschild Boulevard.
PourA natural wine alongside the fish salad, when it is on that day
WineKosher and non-kosher Italian-leaning list, natural wines
FoodItalian tapas, shareable small plates
TipFriday brunch is what regulars come for; weeknights suit a glass on the way home from the office.
Bellboy inside Hotel Berdichevsky in Tel Aviv pours creative cocktails in playful vessels, with Butler, a 12-stool bar with one bartender, hidden behind it.
DrinkCocktails in playful vessels, from a red fist to a miniature bathtub of bubbles
FoodBar snacks
TipButler, the 12-seat bar hidden behind Bellboy, needs a separate reservation and pours classic cocktails with oysters.
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.
DrinkDraft beer at neighbourhood prices
FoodSimple, affordable bar food
TipMismatched furniture and a young crowd; go after 02:00 for the true late-night regulars.
22 Rothschild on the corner of Rothschild and Nahalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv prices everything, drinks and burgers alike, in multiples of 22 shekels.
DrinkCocktails priced in multiples of 22 shekels
FoodBurgers and bar food, also priced in multiples of 22
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.
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.
DrinkHouse wine and cheap draft beer
FoodBar snacks
TipThe 20 percent discount window runs 18:00 to 20:00 most nights, before the street fills up outside.
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.
DrinkCocktails on a plant-filled back courtyard
FoodAsian-inspired small plates
TipArrive early for a courtyard table; happy hour pours select drinks at ₪28 from 17:00.
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.
DrinkCocktails across three linked rooms
FoodShareable plates
TipThe upstairs gallery hosts private events; the backyard is the early-evening room.
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.
TryFalafel 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.
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.
TryFalafel 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.
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.
TrySabich: 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.
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.
TryKnafeh, sambousak and bourekas
TipSambousak with different fillings, knafeh and malawach all come off the same trays, so point at whatever is freshest.
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.
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.
Sommelier fills Tel Aviv's Heichal HaTarbut each winter with Israel's largest wine exhibition, hundreds of labels from local and international producers to taste and buy.
TipAfternoons are reserved for restaurant and wine trade professionals; the public sessions run from 18:00.
SchnittFest returns to Schnitt Brewery's Kikar Givon taproom in Tel Aviv during Sukkot, five days of Oktoberfest style lager, a NEIPA brewed with etrogs and a festival food menu.
TipThe festival's flagship dish is a beef sausage with truffle baked into a croissant, served only during SchnittFest week.
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.
TryThin-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.
Cafe 65 on Rothschild Boulevard serves breakfast as one dish from the menu plus an all-you-can-eat buffet, from shakshuka to brioche French toast.
OrderThe all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet with one hot dish from the menu.
TipThe breakfast price covers one hot dish from the menu plus the buffet, so order the dish first and graze while it cooks.
Meshek Barzilay off Rothschild Boulevard runs an organic vegan kitchen in Tel Aviv, with weekend brunch starting two hours earlier than weekday lunch.
OrderThe organic vegan breakfast plate with tahini and fresh-baked bread.
TipWeekend brunch opens at 10:00, earlier than the weekday lunch start; go early to beat the wait.
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.
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.
Radio EPGB in a basement just off Rothschild Boulevard is an underground indie and electronic club, open three nights a week until 06:00 with DJs.
TipThe mood and even the genre can shift within the same night; come without a fixed plan.
Levontin 7, a basement venue under a neighbourhood bar on Levontin Street in Tel Aviv, hosts live shows by local artists every night of the week.
TipCheck the monthly calendar online; genres swing from experimental to unsigned showcases night to night.
The Norman Hotel's third-floor roof terrace off Rothschild Boulevard holds Dinings, a Japanese izakaya-style restaurant with European twists.
TipThe rooftop infinity pool is for hotel guests only; the Dinings terrace is open to outside diners.
Speakeasy on Rothschild Boulevard is a hidden rooftop lounge bar in central Tel Aviv, pairing cocktails and small plates with a view out over the city.
TipIt opens at 20:00; show up with a purpose and act like you belong, since the door can be selective.
Poli House Rooftop Bar above the Brown Hotels property on Nahalat Binyamin Street runs sunset cocktails into live-DJ nights over central Tel Aviv.
TipEarly evening is the quiet sunset window; the DJ sets and bottle service pick up later.
Butler, the 12-seat bar hidden behind Bellboy in Tel Aviv, pours classic cocktails with oysters for one bartender's worth of guests at a time.
TipBook Butler separately from Bellboy; it seats 12 and fills fast.
HaMinzar on Allenby Street pours until 04:00 most nights and through Thursday and Friday nights, the default Tel Aviv stop once the clubs around it shut.
TipMismatched furniture and a young crowd; busiest right after the surrounding clubs close.
Dudu Bar on the Nahalat Binyamin pedestrian street keeps a dive-bar mood running past 02:00 among the polished bars around it in Tel Aviv proper.
TipThe 20 percent discount window runs early evening, well before the late crowd arrives for the night.
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