Falafel Avi- Not Your Typical Falafel Stand

Three of Israel’s best known streets foods are hummus, falafel and shakshuka. Scattered throughout Tel Aviv there are many places that offer you each of these. Falafel Avi, unlike other places around Tel Aviv, offers all three in one dish.

Falafel Avi is located in the food trendy street corner of Ibn Gabirol and Jabotinsky. As you approach this small falafel stand, it will be obvious how this falafel stand is different from the other falafel stands in the city. As you enter the stand you will be overwhelmed with the smells of homemade shakshuka which they make fresh for each order. They offer one of the best shakshuka-hummus dishes in all of Tel Aviv. Each customer receives personal attention from the staff, always smiling and charming while ordering.

I recommend ordering their most popular dish – the hummus-shakshuka (25NIS). This combination dish in other places is known as Chamushka, At Avi’s, it is made to perfection.  This dish starts with fresh and delicious fresh hummus. Along with the delicious chickpeas is one of best shakshuka dishes you will find in the city. Avi’s shakshuka is made with fresh tomatoes which are cooked over time to perfection with the freshest spices that make this dish the best in the city. Once you take your first swipe with the pita bread, you will feel like you’re in hummus and shakshuka heaven.

For those not in the mood for shakshuka, they offer a different option (but I still recommend ordering their shakshuka dish). For the same price, they offer their fresh and crunchy falafel balls over hummus (25 NIS).

Price: 25 NIS

KOSHER

Address: Ibn Gabirol 123

Lehem Ve Shoot- Who Doesn’t Love Breakfast Food all day

In Tel Aviv there are endless amount of cafes to choose from for breakfast or brunch. If you and your friends are looking to go out for a spontaneous breakfast Lehem Ve Shoot is the perfect option. In the past few months this café has become one of the “it “brunch spots around Tel Aviv.

Lehem Ve Shoot is located on the busy corner of Ben Guiron and Ben Yehuda. This cafe opened over a year ago but only recently has been the entire rave by the thriving and picky weekend brunch goers in Tel Aviv. The café is very spacious with many different tables inside and outside but I recommend sitting down on the large conference table inside. This table provides the home feeling while sharing with complete strangers. The staff is super friendly and works at a great pace when extremely packed on the weekends.

Like majority cafés in Tel Aviv menus they offer very similar dishes but with one big difference each dish is very affordable. Their menu is filled with many different breakfast dishes, salads, sandwiches and hot dishes. For breakfast dishes I recommend ordering their Israeli breakfast. This dish provides the perfect amount of food at a reasonable price (44Nis). When ordering their Israeli breakfast you choose how you want your eggs, juice, coffee, many different kinds of breads, cheese, vegetable salad, salads and honey bread. Another breakfast I recommend is their two different kinds of shashuka which are served in challah bread bowl (38NIS).

Their menu also consist many different delicious dishes that are great for lunch which they offer from 11:30AM. Those looking for a healthy lunch I recommend ordering the Panzella Salad. This salad consists of different greenery, fresh artichoke, tomatoes, red onions and capera. They offer 10 different sandwiches which are very tasty but I recommend you try their hot meatball sandwich. This dish is served hot with a spicy red sauce served in a fresh challah roll. Last but not least they offer on their menu different meat options for lunch. Some of the best dishes include their fresh liver and chicken pasta. It’s hard not to recommend every dish as their entire menu is very affordable and appetizing.

Price: 35NIS-75NIS

Address:  128 Ben Yehuda Street

Hours: Sunday-Thursday 7:15AM-10PM, Friday 7:15AM-5:30PM and Saturday 7:15AM-10PM

Sabich Complete – Not the Typical Sabich Restaurant

In the past few years in Tel Aviv, many “home style” restaurants have closed their doors and have been replaced with more trendy, upscale eateries. Sabich Complete is one of the best and most affordable home cooking restaurants in Tel Aviv.

Sabich Complete is located on Ibn Gabriol street a bit north of Rabin Square. Even though the restaurant is tiny in space, they provide a wide range of food for every taste. The essence of their offering is the common Israeli dishes, with most dishes served either on a plate or in a pita. Despite their name, the best food they offer is not necessarily the sabich, but their “home style” food.

I recommend ordering the meatballs and rice dish (NIS 30 ). This is the perfect dish if someone is missing their mother’s home cooking. This dish has two oversized meatballs, a juicy mixture of beef and turkey with tomato sauce, delicately resting on a bed of white rice. To complement the meatballs they provide fresh hummus, vegetable salad, tahini and their famous hot sauce. They also offer one of the best homemade schnitzel in the city. If you are lucky to go there on a Monday or Thursday, they offer their delicious cholent. The owner’s wife makes her own delicious kubbe which should not be missed.

Price: 30NIS

Kosher

Address: Ibn Gabirol 99

Hours: Sunday-Thursday 10AM- 6:30PM, Friday 10AM-5PM

Bourekas Amikam

In the past few years on the trendy street of Ibn Gabirol, some of the best restaurants found in Tel Aviv have opened up. While these new restaurants have captured the excitement of Tel Aviv “foodies”, I tend to stay with what I am familiar with. One of the better local street foods is bourekas. I recommend Bourekas  Amikam.

Bourekas  Amikam, located on Ibn Gabirol street right on the corner of Kaplan, is one of the oldest bourekas  stands in the area. It’s  original recipe is the best that I’ve found. They opened their doors over 15 years ago and has been blessing the locals with amazing fresh bourekas ever since.

I recommend ordering their tasty spinach with cheese bourekas (NIS 20). All their homemade bourekas are made with spinach and cheese. Each bourekas tends to be crispy, very filling and not too greasy like other bourekas that I’ve sampled in the city. Each bourekas is served with a hardboiled egg, pickle, tahini and the dipping tomato sauce (a must!). I recommend asking for Zatar spices and spreading them all over the bourekas .

They also offer different bourekas, such as regular cheese, cheese and olives, and potatoes and mushroom. If you’re looking for desserts they offer Turkish style malbi, cheesecake, and chocolate mousse. I recommend ordering their fresh Turkish coffee.

Kosher

Price: 20NIS

Address: Ibn Gabirol 21

Hours: Sunday-Thursday all day, Friday 7AM until two hours before Shabbat, Saturday night til 2AM

Cinco De Mayo Special- Top 5 Mexican Restaurants in Tel Aviv

With the increasing popularity of Mexican restaurants worldwide in the past five years, Tel Aviv finally has different tasty and affordable Mexican food to choose from. With the upcoming Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo, on Tuesday May 5^th, many restaurants will be hosting different parties and offering great deals. I am highlighting the top 5 Mexican options in Tel Aviv.

El Taco
El Taco menu consists largely of tacos (corn flour tortillas or white flour, soft or crunchy) and Quesadilla (closed tortillas with cheese, aka “The Mexican toast”), filled with chicken, meat or vegetables.  The prices are very affordable – each Taco cost from 13NIS to 19NIS. They offer business lunch deals as well.

For me, their better dishes are the taco mushroom vegetarian, which contains champagne and shiitake mushrooms with green onions (costing 13 NIS), and the quesadilla, which is served with chicken and beef. Both are served with refried black beans and mozzarella cheese. The chicken option costs 15NIS while the beef option is 19 shekel. In addition, a small plate of nachos is available for 14 NIS. If you are looking for a full meal, you will need to order multiply dishes.

To help wash down your Mexican meal, El Taco offers frozen lime margaritas for 15 NIS and San Miguel beer for 14 NIS.

Address: Yermiyahu Street 17

Hours: Sunday-Saturday 12PM-12AM

Taqueria

Taqueria is located on trendy Rothschild street. This restaurant meets all expectations, with authentic Mexican food exploding with flavor and style. Among the starters is one of the best soups in Tel Aviv, a creamy chicken soup, and mountains of nachos covered in melted cheese, salsa and all the rest. The main courses are exactly what you’d expect in any self-respecting Mexican restaurant – tacos, burritos, chile con carne and quesadillas.

The atmosphere is friendly and laid back, and the restaurant has special events on Mexican holidays. Considering the quality of the food, the place is extremely affordable and the relaxed atmosphere makes for a comfortable ambience. The staff is very friendly and efficient. This location is a great spot to start your night.

Address: Levontin 28

Hours: Sunday-Tuesday 12PM-Midnight and Wednesday-Saturday 12PM-1AM

Pancho

Pancho, located on Tchernichovsky street right next to the Carmel Shuk, is unlike other recent Mexican food arrivals in Tel Aviv, Pancho offers the Tex-Mex taste and feel to their customers.  The restaurant can hold up to around 20-25 people and their staff is friendly and always looking for customer feedback. They offer different burritos, tacos and quesadillas at very affordable price that beats their competitors.

Pancho’s menu includes most of the normal Mexican options available in most Mexican restaurants, such as tacos, quesadillas and, my favorite, burritos. Pancho’s tacos are delicious and well-priced. The vegetarian taco is 9NIS for one taco or 3 tacos for 24NIS. Chicken or beef tacos are 10NIS for one taco or 3 tacos for 25NIS. Pancho offers a corn tortilla, a first in Tel Aviv, which I highly recommend. Pancho’s quesadillas come in two options. For their original recipe, one quesadilla is for 9NIS or three small quesadillas for 24NIS. Their special quesadilla comes with 3 small quesadillas for 27NIS or one for 11NIS. All the quesadillas are served on a corn tortilla which presents an authentic Mexican taste. Pancho’s burrito, which is my favorite dish, come in two options. The veggie burrito is 18NIS and the chicken or beef burrito is 20NIS. All the dishes tend to be small but are very tasty and affordable.

Looking to wash down a drink with your tasty food? Pancho offers different beers and cocktails.  I recommend trying the Bloody Mary or the Margaritas.Pancho offers a unique weekend Tex-Mex brunch unlike any found in the city. I recommend ordering the huevos ranchero (the Mexican shakshuka).

Address: Tchernichovsky 1

Hours: Monday-Tuesday 12PM-6PM, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday 12PM-3:30PM, 6PM-11PM, Friday 11AM-3:00

Los Burning Tacos

Los Burning Tacos, located on Allenby street right across the Carmel Shuk, is inspired by El Diabo in Brooklyn,  NY. Los Burning Tacos’ menu includes most of the normal Mexican options available in most Mexican restaurants – such as enchiladas and quesadilla. However, their tacos and burritos are much the rave. Mexican Ceviche (36 shekels), taco or burrito with chicken, fish, beef or shrimp (34-47 shekels) and more are among the many dishes and specials that they offer. If you are looking for starters, they offer nachos with salsa (17 shekels), Mexican corn (17 shekels) and other affordable options.

Besides their delicious food, they also have a full bar which includes draft beer, Arak, whisky and other alcoholic beverages. I recommend ordering the Strong Bloody Mary or their tasty and authentic Burning Margarita, each priced at 31 NIS.

Order: Chicken Taco, which is served with boiled chicken and lots of lime and cilantro. Another excellent dish that I highly recommend is the fish tacos which are induced with jalapeno and lime sauce. Either of these dishes cost you between 15-30 NIS.

Address: Allenby 47

Hours: Sunday–Friday 12Pm-2AM, Saturday 7PM-Til the last customer

Mex and Co 

Mex and Co located in the heart of town on Ben Yehuda Street. Their menu is filled with many different Tex-Mex options. Appetizers on the menu include nachos and corn on the cob. I recommend ordering the nachos which consist of tortilla chips with salsa of tomato, jalapeno, sour cream, cheese and guacamole (24 shekels). Another appetizer I recommend is the Rantz’os, which is a mix of tomatoes and peppers with fried egg and sour cream, served in a crispy tortilla (NIS 24). Their main dishes include choosing how you want to eat your dish in (burrito, tacos or rice dish). Next you decide what meat or veggie option you want in your meal. They offer different kinds of spicy meats such as spicy chicken with onions, Entrecote by skewers, vegetarian shwarma with Mexican spices and many more. With each dish you are offered different sauces which include afrijoles, guacamole, chipotle, lime jalapeno salsa, salsa Verde and vegetables decorate the dish. The basic price per dish is only 29 NIS, while for additional meal extras will cost 4NIS

They offer different dinks such as a cold and slushy glass of Margarita (15NIS), homemade tea (10NIS) and other local and Mexican beers.

Address: Ben Yehuda Street 122

Hours:  Sunday-Saturday 12PM-Midnight