Saluf and Sons- A Nostalgic Yemenite Experience in the White City

One of the special and unique experiences that Tel Aviv and Israel provides are the varied cultures. In Israel you can find Jews from Morocco, Russia, Ethiopia, Belgium, the United States, pretty much from every corner of the Jewish world. One of the oldest Jewish communities is the Yemenite community. If you want to enjoy delicious and affordable Yemenite food, music and culture, Saluf and Sons creates an exciting Yemenite culinary experience.

Located on Nahalat Binyamin street, Saluf and Sons is located at the halfway point between the Carmel shuk and the trendy Florentine neighborhood. While there is many other home cooking “style” restaurants in the area, Saluf and Sons kitchen offers unique and delicious entrees that are the perfect mix of fresh and spice.

The Yemenite meat soup is the most expensive dish on the menu, costing 35 NIS. This delicious dish comes with rice and a secret sauce made on location. Their most famous dish is jachnun, which is served with tomato sauce and a spicy hard boiled egg costing a 21 NIS. Another very popular dish is the malawah, offered in two different styles. The Yemenite, which is served with fresh tahini, tomato sauce and a hard boiled egg, and the Eastern style which is accompanied with delicious hummus, tomato sauce and spicy pickles. Each Malawah dish costs only 21 NIS.

Other dishes include the Yemenite kubah, spicy soups, couscous and rice based dishes. The majority of dishes are available either with meat or vegetarian. For those who can’t make it for lunch, they offer a happy hour special where all the dishes are half price.

For those looking to have a drink with their meal, they offer three different sizes of  Goldstar draft beers; a small beer costs 11 NIS, a half-liter is and 25 NIS and a liter is 52 NIS. Don’t be shocked while indulging in these delicious Yemenite dishes to receive free arak shots.

While most of Tel Aviv’s culinary scene is increasing in prices, Saluf and Sons reminds you that sometimes it’s best to go back to your roots.

NOT KOSHER

Address: Nahalat Binyamin St 80

Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11AM-11PM, Friday 11AM-PM

Market- A Tasty and Healthy Option In The Heart Of Tel Aviv

Recently, healthy eating has taken over Tel Aviv.  The vast majority of cafes in and around Tel Aviv have started to offer more and more vegetarian and vegan options on their menu. One of the newest vegan restaurants in the center of Tel Aviv is called Market.

Market opened their doors around a year ago and is located on King George Street. This friendly vegan restaurant offers delicious hot soups and a variety of stews. Each dish is made fresh and is geared to the vegetarian and vegan communities of Tel Aviv. It will bring you back memories of your mothers cooking when you were child.

Their menu is seasonal and with every new visit you will find a few new dishes on their menu according to the time of year. The staff is very friendly and helpful – particularly for those customers who aren’t used to the vegan selections.

We recommend ordering the Indian dish with rice (27 NIS ) – lentils and vegan curried sweet potato served on a plate of rice. This dish is absolutely delicious and will satisfy. Whether it’s the sauce, which tends to be spicy from the curry, or perhaps the rich coconut milk, with soft lentils and rice, we know the final product is amazing.

At Market you can’t go wrong with any dish – it’s both affordable and very tasty. For those visiting Market in the winter months, Market offers very tasty stews. In particular, I recommend the Moroccan Stew. This stew is served with tomato sauce and green beans. Their homemade couscous with vegetable soup is outstanding as well. Overall, Market has tasty, delicious, and healthy options at great prices.

Price:20-40NIS

Address: 31 King George Street

Hours: Sunday-Thursday:10AM-Midnight, Friday:10AM-4:30AM and Saturday 5:30PM-Midnight

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

Cafe Kaymak- Unique Vegetarian Cafe in the South of Tel Aviv

During the past few years, healthy eating has taken over Tel Aviv.  The vast majority of cafes in and around Tel Aviv have started to offer more and more vegetarian and vegan options on their menu. While many cafes only offer limited vegetarian options,  Café Kayamak offers one of the best and varied vegetarian meals in Tel Aviv.

Cafe Kaymak, who opened their doors in 2009, is a vegetarian coffee shop that specializes in ethnic cooking. Recently, this small coffee shop has became a popular, trendy spot for the younger crowd in Tel Aviv. All their fresh ingredients are bought directly from the nearby shuk.

Cafe Kaymak is famous for its breakfast dishes and its Friday mornings specials. Saturday nights the coffee shop hosts a live music show. The name of the cafe come from the word ‘Kaymak’ which is Turkish slang for the French term ‘creme de la creme’.

The Café can sit up to 30 customers at one time. The staff is very friendly but don’t expect a quick meal. Like their regular customers, the staff tends to be laid back and your order might take longer than expected.

Though their menu changes every day, there are a few dishes that are offered daily. Some of these dishes include cooked Jerusalem artichoke casserole, different stews such as lentil stew with dried fruit, black bean stew with soy protein and roasted pumpkin. Among their most popular dishes are their Indian style dishes,  which are based on cashew cream, cream and/or peanuts. They offer healthy delicious desserts with their most famous dessert being the Carrot cake.

Recommended dishes: – Vegan bean soup served with rice and their famous hummus Abu Dhabi.

My favorite dish: Their couscous is cooked to perfection with different fresh vegetables . You will think that you are back in Morocco eating local couscous.

Price:30NS – 40NIS

Address: Levinsky 49, Shuk Levinsky

Hours: Sunday–Thursday 8:30AM-1:00AM, Friday 8:30AM-4:00PM and Saturday 7:30PM-11:30PM

Falafel Gabay

When searching for the best authentic Israeli foods, my advise is to go to Falafel Gabay. They have delicious choices, among them amazing soups, falafel, hummus and other amazing dishes. Falafel Gabay has two locations in Tel Aviv, one on the busy street of Borgoshov and the other the trendy area of north Dizengoff.

Falafel Gaby has been the premier spot in Tel Aviv since opening their doors in 1946. Their staff is super friendly, making each customer feel like they are at home. They shout as a group joyfully (in Hebrew or English) “we will hug you” meaning they are here for anything the customer needs. If there is a line, the helpful and friendly staff offer falafel and fried potato balls while waiting to order.

Their menu offers authentic Israel food at a reasonable price. The most popular dishes are Moroccan soups, fresh schnitzel, fresh hummus and their amazing falafel. After finding a seat, go to the free salad bar and indulge yourself with fried bread with zatar , pickles and pickled vegetables. Within minutes your tasty order will be ready to enjoy..

My advice:Order the falafel .The falafel is fresh –  brown on the outside and yellow within.  They are very generous with the pita packed with delicious falafel balls. The cost of the falafel is 16NIS.

What to Order: Try the Dabushiya which is hummus with shashuka. This dish is like no other – the warm and spicy shashuka meshes so well with the hummus

Price: 30-50NIS

Address: 269 Dizengoff Street and Bograshov Street 25,

Hours: Sun-Thu 10:30-22:30, Fri 11:00-17:00

Kosher

Hamitbachon

Great home cooking with a great atmosphere for a perfect Friday night or Shabbat afternoon meal

In and around Tel Aviv there are few home cooking style options that really live up to their name. Hamitbachon, which in english means the kitchen, is a cozy restaurant that has some of the best home cooking style food in the city. Their offerings include Austrian Schnitzel,  Mousakka, North African couscous, Middle Eastern Mujaddara, European quiches, lasagna and salads.

Hamitbachon is located in a very quiet street between the bustling Carmel market and Allenby street. In the past few years, Hamitbachon has become one of the favorite places for Tel Aviv locals. Almost every dish is made fresh which to many, represents true Israeli soul food. One of their best dishes are ground beef and chicken meat balls over white rice.

During the cool winter months, it’s a great idea to make the trek for their many amazing home made soups. Hamitbachon typically offer three different soups a day which change daily. I recommend that you order the hot spinach and yogurt soup – it is my favorite.

If your looking for something more on the lighter side, they also have a long list of appetizers. They include beet salad, chopped liver, hummus and many more. If you are a large group I recommend you order the appetizer sampler which includes four different appetizers from the menu on a large plate for only 40 NIS. If you are not so hungry, it’s worth to come to taste one of their homemade desserts or have a glass of beer and enjoy the surroundings.

Recommendation:  Order Couscous – served with a stew of cooked carrots, zucchini, red onions, potatoes and beef.

Shabbat recommendation: order the cholent. Hamitbachon’s cholent is a traditional Shabbat morning cholent which is cooked all night long. Their cholent consists of eggs ,beans, potataoes and beef. Trust me – this plate of cholent will keep you full all week.

Price: 30-40 NIS

Address: 18 Rabi Akiva st.

Hours: Sunday-Friday 8AM-2AM, Saturday 9AM-2AM

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