Restaurants in Israël – the joy of quality ingredients, spices and creativity (part 1)
0The Israëli restaurants we’ve been visiting, could be reason enough to visit Israël. Of course, the Holy Land with all it’s kickass historical sites is a huge attraction, as is the nice countryside and weather, but we’re here to talk about food.
Before I went to Israël, my expectations of the food were really high. I have been reading articles from other blogs and all of them spoke highly of the food. I couldn’t wait to try it for myself, and now that the test results are in, I can give you my verdict.
Day 1: The Meat Restaurant (Haifa)
This was not really my favorite. The steak I ate here (actually, I had an entrecote), was medium rare, just as I asked. So far so good. Side dishes and bread: also in order. The entrecote: not so good. Not tender at all and stringy. Too bad… oh well. Could be just unlucky, the dishes of my tablepartners looked pretty good. Their ribs are also very good I heard.
Day 2: Uri Buri (Akko)
Even for people that are used to the great restaurants in the cities and places to be, Uri Buri will not disappoint. I myself have traveled to many countries and have eaten in many good restaurants. But trust me, this place is right up there with the very best I have ever visited. All the dishes were delicious.
We had, among many other small dishes, great textured calamare, salmon sashimi with wasabi sorbet, kiwi soup with Pernod Ricard, mint and more flavors, home made organic herb eau de vie and home made organic limoncello, caramelized john dory, shrimps with artichoke, seafood bisque, tuna, and so on and so on… Again: everything was as it should have been. And better. Hats of for Uri, who is a special character himself. An imposing man who reminded me of Neptune. I looked around for his trident, didn’t see it, but am still convinced he is the God of the Sea. A diver and a cook, who creates the most wonderful seafood dishes. How could he not be Neptune?
Uri also chose the wines for us. Great choices and great combinations. Highly recommend!
Day 3: Helena (Caesarea)
A fine seafood restaurant at a spectacular site. Right at the harbor of old (and new) Caesarea, a historic venue with Phoenician, Roman, Jewish, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader and Ottoman roots. From Herod the Great’s castle, Roman buildings like aquaducts, a hippodrome, a theater, a bathhouse and a palace to a Christian church, there is much to see. Right at the heart of it all, lays the Helena restaurant. If you eat here, you will be sitting right at the seashore, either inside or outside. So the view will be great.
Nothing wrong with the food either, if you go here, you will have a great evening.
Day 4: Kimel restaurant (Tel Aviv)
Situated in a nice part of town, this restaurant is a small but cosy restaurant. Lots of tasty and fun dishes to choose from and lots to see, as the interior decorator created an atmosphere of a farm restaurant with tons of food-props on the wall. Kind of reminded me of Greenwich Village in New York.
Pro tip: get their Israëli wines. You won’t regret it.
