israel · Year round · best Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov

Tel Aviv

The most underrated food city in the Mediterranean. The Norman, Hotel Montefiore, the Asian counters of Taizu and Topolopompo, the markets at Carmel and Levinsky. Tel Aviv, where the chefs are the most talented and the bills are the smallest.

Hotels

4 addresses on the list this season.

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Boutique · 5★

The Norman

The 50-room townhouse on Nachmani — the city's flagship boutique hotel and the dining portfolio that holds the brief.

· 23-25 Nachmani Street
· 50 rooms and suites across two restored buildings
· Alena, Dinings TLV, rooftop pool
· Member of Leading Hotels of the World

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Boutique · 4★

Hotel Montefiore

The 12-room townhouse on Montefiore Street — the city's first contemporary boutique, opened in 2008 and still the residential choice.

· 36 Montefiore Street
· 12 rooms across a restored 1920s townhouse
· Ground-floor dining room, Indochinese-French menu
· Bar and library on the first floor

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Boutique · 5★

The Drisco

The restored 1866 colonial mansion in the American Colony of Jaffa — the city's most discreet five-star, 42 rooms.

· 5 Auerbach, American Colony, Jaffa
· 42 rooms across a restored 1866 hotel
· George & John tasting room on the ground floor
· Spa, library, pool

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Seafront · 5★

The Carlton Tel Aviv

The 282-room seafront hotel on the marina — the city's strongest pool deck and the rooftop bar with the longest sea view.

· 10 Eliezer Peri Street, marina
· 282 rooms and suites, sea-facing
· Blue Sky rooftop kosher restaurant
· Outdoor pool, beach access across the street

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Festive · clubs, line-ups, long lunches

3 addresses on the list this season.

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Wine bar · Allenby

Port Said

Eyal Shani's walk-in wine bar next to the Great Synagogue — the most dependable late evening in the city.

· 5 Har Sinai, behind the Great Synagogue
· Wine list, small plates, market-driven menu
· No reservations, queue from 19h
· Open late, kitchen until midnight

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Pan-Asian · Northern Tel Aviv

Zepra

Sahar Vaaknin's pan-Asian dinner — the largest, loudest, and most consistently full Asian room in the city.

· 10 Rabin Square area, Northern TLV
· Pan-Asian menu, signature tasting
· Loud room, energetic service
· Dinner only, book two weeks ahead

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Italian-Israeli · Jerusalem Boulevard

Salon Romano

The Romano building's first-floor dining room — Italian-Israeli cooking, live music, dinner that runs late.

· 9 Jerusalem Boulevard, Jaffa
· Italian-Israeli menu, signature handmade pasta
· Live music nightly, bar adjacent
· Dinner only, book one week ahead

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Authentic · the quiet rooms

15 addresses on the list this season.

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Hummus · Jaffa

Abu Hassan

The Ali Karawan family hummus operation in Jaffa — the city's reference plate, open since 1959.

· 1 HaDolfin, Jaffa
· Hummus, msabaha, ful — the three plates only
· Lunch only, closed by 14h or when sold out
· Cash, no reservations, queue from 11h

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Mediterranean · The Norman Hotel

Alena at The Norman

The Norman's flagship dining room — the most polished hotel kitchen in the city, breakfast and dinner both the booking.

· 23 Nachmani Street, The Norman Hotel
· Mediterranean menu, market-driven
· Garden terrace for breakfast
· Dinner book two weeks ahead

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Kosher · Mediterranean

Liliyot

The city's reference kosher dining room — Mediterranean kitchen, profits to youth-at-risk training, since 2002.

· 26 Carlebach Street, Montefiore
· Kosher Mediterranean menu
· Social-enterprise training kitchen
· Dinner only, closed Friday evening

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Tasting menu · Raoul Wallenberg

OCD Tel Aviv

Raz Rahav's seventeen-seat counter — the hardest booking in the city, three months ahead, no substitutions.

· 17 Raoul Wallenberg, Ramat HaHayal
· 17-seat counter, no à la carte
· Tasting menu, two seatings per night
· Booking opens three months ahead

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Turkish-Israeli · Jaffa

Onza

Arik Tsodker's Jaffa room — Turkish-Israeli cooking from a charcoal grill, on the edge of the flea market.

· 3 Rabbi Pinhas, Jaffa flea market
· Turkish-Israeli menu, charcoal grill
· Sharing format, mezze-driven
· Dinner only, book one week ahead

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Eyal Shani tasting · Florentin

The Salon

Eyal Shani's two-night-a-week tasting room — Tuesday and Wednesday only, the kitchen's most personal format.

· 8 Maavar Yabok, Florentin
· Tasting menu, no à la carte
· Open Tuesday and Wednesday only
· Book one month ahead

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Asian fire kitchen · Florentin

Topolopompo

Avi Conforti's fire-driven Asian room — the most consistent open-kitchen dinner in the city since 2014.

· 2 HaHashmonaim, Florentin
· Open fire kitchen, Pan-Asian menu
· Counter seats facing the wok line
· Dinner only, book three weeks ahead

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Tripolitan · Jaffa flea market

Dr. Shakshuka

Bino Gabso's Tripolitan dining room in the Jaffa flea market — copper-pan cooking, three decades on the same corner.

· 3 Beit Eshel, Jaffa flea market
· Tripolitan-Libyan menu, signature shakshuka
· Copper pans, communal tables
· Closed Friday evening and Saturday

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Chef's table · The Drisco Hotel

George & John at The Drisco

Tomer Tal's tasting menu at The Drisco — the most ambitious hotel kitchen in Jaffa, a single room and a single brief.

· 5 Auerbach, The Drisco Hotel, Jaffa
· Tasting menu, modern Israeli register
· Open Tuesday through Saturday
· Book one month ahead

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Seafood · Ben Yehuda

Shila

Sharon Cohen's seafood and wine bar — the city's most consistent fish kitchen, open since 2008.

· 182 Ben Yehuda Street
· Seafood and Mediterranean menu
· Raw bar, daily catch board
· Bar seating for walk-ins

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Asian terra · Rothschild

Taizu

Yuval Ben Neriah's pan-Asian tasting menu — the most travelled chef's table in the city and the discovery dinner of the trip.

· 23 Menachem Begin Road
· Pan-Asian tasting menu, five regions
· Sommelier-led wine pairing
· Dinner only, book two weeks ahead

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Japanese · Rothschild and Hilton

TYO Yakimono

The Japanese yakimono counter on Rothschild, with the sister location at the Hilton seafront.

· 12 Rothschild Boulevard, original location
· Yakimono grill, sushi counter
· Sister site at the Hilton Tel Aviv
· Dinner only, book one week ahead

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Chef's kitchen · Noga

Yaffo Tel Aviv

Haim Cohen's modern Israeli kitchen — the chef's most personal room, dinner that holds the country's cooking in one menu.

· 98 Yigal Alon, Noga
· Modern Israeli menu, market-driven
· Open kitchen, counter and tables
· Dinner the strongest service

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Indochinese-French · Hotel Montefiore

Hotel Montefiore Restaurant

The Indochinese-French dining room at Hotel Montefiore — the city's most consistent breakfast and the lunch booking that has not moved in fifteen years.