Our favorites restaurants in Tel Aviv

Hashakshukia (The Shakshuka Place)

This is a homey shakshuka place that is also kosher. It’s located on Ben Yehuda and Gordon. You can find the best shakshukas there. They are simple, easy on the oil, and there’s a large variety. For an appetizer I love getting the garbanzo beans dish. Careful while asking for extra spicy, it will put your mouth in flames (there’s level 1 spicy and level 2). I love my shakshuka spicy.
Hours: SU-TH 10am-4pm and 6pm-10pm F:10am-4pm SA: closed.

Wok Republic

Asian style noodles. They have 2 locations in Tel Aviv. I frequently visit the Ben Yehuda location. It’s a street style resturant that serves asian noodles. The design is cool and you can even see the cooks in action through the outside window.

Their dishes are delicious, large, and very appetizing. Sometimes we like to sit there, and other times we just take our food to go and do a picnic at the park. I love the shrimp noodles and chicken satay noodles. Every single dish I’ve ever tried was super good. They also make deliveries. Hours: Sunday-Saturday 12pm-12am

Hummus VeShut (Hummus and Co) 

A hummus place on Florentin that serves extraordinary hummus. They also serve msabaha, shakshuka, roasted cauliflower, fries, salads and cooked dishes. They have a good lunch menu that applies every day all day. You can go there for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 10am-12am, Fri: 10am-6pm, Saturday: 10am-12am

Tenat

An Ethiopian restaurant in South Tel Aviv. This restaurant serves vegan Ethiopian food. We haven’t been in Ethiopia yet, but our friend has and she said that this one of the best Ethiopian restaurants in Israel.

In this restaurant, you can eat Injera, a flat Ethiopian bread made of Teff flour (Gluten free). Its taste is sort of sour and its texture is spongy. On top of the Injera, you will get several dishes and salad. A dish for 2 people costs 45 shekels and it’s rather filling.

You can also order an Ethiopian broad bean. So yummy. Another good dish is Injera with grilled mushrooms and tomatoes. They also have great drinks and deserts. If you haven’t tried Ethiopian food yet, Tenat is the restaurant to begin with.

Ouzaria

Greek food place. Located in the Levinsky market. The vibes are great and the food is amazing. There are some cheap appetizers that you can order a variety and share them. The shitel dish was great and one of my favorites is the shrimp & dried tomatoes, and in fact, it’s one of the greatest shrimp dishes I’ve had. Hours: Sunday-Friday 12pm-12am, closed on Saturday

Java Bar

Cafe-restaurant located on Ben Yehuda and Jabotinsky. If you’re looking for a place that serves some cheap alcohol and great food then this is your place. They have a breakfast/lunch menu and dinner. We were there a few times, but only for dinner. Regardless, everything we ever ordered was super good. It’s a great place to go on a date or just to hang out with friends.

Hours: Sunday-Friday: 8am-2am Saturday: 9am-2am

Ijo and Bavette

Bar and restaurant, located on Dizengoff and Gordon. They have a great happy hour during the week from 5pm-8:30pm – all the alcohol on the menu is buy 1 get 1 free. The food is great. I love the lentil msabaha, the sabih salad, and they also have some great sandwiches. For dessert, I love the nutella crepe which is so so good.

The vibes are good and chill, and they serve great cocktails. Great place for going out.
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 5pm-2am, Friday 12pm-2am, Saturday 5pm-2pm

Alora

A great Italian restaurant. They have 2 locations, one on Ben Gurion and the other is on Rothchild. We’ve been to both and liked them. I’m not the biggest fan of Italian food because sometimes I find it too heavy, but Alora makes high quality food that is fresh and not too heavy. Last time I was there I ordered a gnocchi dish that was one of the best I’ve ever had.

The flavors were subtle, and it’s handmade in-house, and you can taste it. It was soft and absolutely great. We dined with my husband’s family and everybody were happy with their dishes. We ordered so much food. On the table we had some pizza, lasagna, pasta and seafood, and even pasta with mushrooms.  The prices were just right and the main course was large enough to not order an appetizer.

Eva Sappi

A kosher Moroccan restaurant located in Neve Tzedek. The entire place is decorated with Moroccan style, the vibe is really nice and the food is great. The couscous is handmade, and it so so good. I ordered the veal couscous course and I couldn’t even leave a single bite on the plate from how good it was. It just melts-in-your-mouth-amazing and it’s so subtly flavourful. The hot fish dish was great as well, and the starters were amazing too. Definitely worth a visit. Hours: Sunday-Friday 6pm-3am, Saturday: 9:30pm-3am (sometimes it opens for lunch, just make a call if you’re craving this.

Delida

A restaurant located at the Levinsky Market. I’m pretty sure that we tasted from all dishes and they were all good. None of them was bad so that’s always a sign for a good restaurant. The zucchini creme is amazing, the bull tail sambusak is great, and their opening courses are absolutely addicting. They have pepper brule that is a combination of sweet and spicy, always a winner.

I highly recommend checking out this place and especially on weekdays from 5pm-7pm because they have a special happy hour where the entire menu is 50% off (.). You can’t go wrong with that killer deal. Hours: Sunday, Monday, and Thursday: 5pm-2am, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 12pm-2am

Kalamata

Greek food with a view that’s hard to beat – the Mediterranean Sea at the Jaffa Port. The restaurant is located at the Kedumim Circle at Jaffa, where you’ll find yourself sitting watching over a beautiful view, and there’s great breeze.

My favorites are the fish kebab, little fried fish, and the fish filet with risotto and mushrooms. I recommend going during the day and ask for a table by the window (where you’ll see the sea.) Hours: Sunday-Wednesday 5pm-last customer leaves, Thursday-Saturday 12pm- last customer.

Romano

If you are an Eyal Shani fan (I sure am), then this place is a must-go.

The restaurant is located on Derech Jaffa street, there is a lively hipster vibe with great music and amazing service. Eating there is a pure culinary experience. The fries dish is the best I’ve ever had. I must mention that Abraxas North and Port Saiid are amazing as well. They don’t have a phone number, and some people don’t really like the hipster vibes but I think it gives the place character and the food is awesome. Worth trying.

Santa Catarina

A chef restaurant that’s located at the big synagogue place on Allenby. I loved sitting on the bar and watching the chef and cooks in action. The food was delicious, especially while comparing it to other chef restaurants. We were so full by the time we finished, and the check was really reasonable. The eggplant soup was surprisingly delicious. The pizzas were fantastic and I especially enjoyed the crab bruschetta.
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 12:30pm-4pm and 6pm-midnight, Friday 13:30pm-5pm, Saturday 7pm-midnight

Tasting Room

A wine bar with Spanish style cuisine that’s located in Sarona. You can get a ticket and recharge it for wine tastings. The space is really intimate and nice. It’s a great pick for the wine lovers both because the food is great and the wine. The bree course with the honey was really good.

The potato course sounded simple, but it was surprisingly delicious. Cheese platter is great as well, and actually, we just enjoyed everything that we ordered. Hours: Sunday-Thursday & Saturday 5pm – last customer, Friday: 12pm – last customer