Restaurants

Under low-voltage lights and canvas photos of Tel Aviv’s coastline, Dizengoff’s can offer a casual meal or a Middle Eastern feast. Our lunch was a lively affair, despite only a pair of occupied tables. A waiter, ancient and smiling, arrived with a plate of green olives, pickled carrot, spiced cauliflower and the menu. Compliments on the lemony Yemenite soup, kooba, flew across the restaurant in Hebrew; another customer campaigned for the chicken soup. We opted instead for meze favourites, such as houmous and a slightly smoky aubergine pâté: creamy, gutsy and authentically Israeli. Charcoal grilled meats are Dizengoff’s speciality (chips or rice and salad included, not extra). We were tempted by a juicy steak at another table, but it was hard to resist the lamb shwarma. This comes generously packed in pitta bread, topped with crunchy salad. Chips (cut in-house) are crisp and sumptuous. The extensive menu caters for the kosher palate yearning for classics (such as schnitzel, moussaka and tandoori chicken) that would otherwise be inaccessible. For dessert, baklava wasn’t up to the usual standard, but fresh mint tea was sweet and refreshing.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009