Keren Brown

Awkward at first, but one of those things that actually becomes fun with practice, dining solo is one way to gather your thoughts and enjoy every bite of your food.  Whether it is on a business trip or just because you need to get away from the socially overloaded life we live in today, we found the 5 best places to dine solo in Tel Aviv.  We had requirements: the places have to have friendly bar staff (bartender included), the food needs to be restaurant-caliber food and, most of all, nobody will think that you’re weird for pulling up a barstool by yourself. Depending on the vibe you want, here are the choices:

Are you missing that classic Thanksgiving cheer from back home? That special time of year is upon us yet again–when you’re craving wintery drinks, stuffing your faces with...well...stuffing, and enjoying the company of your friends and family around the festive holiday table. Why not have your very own Thanksgiving here in Israel? Assemble the crew and head to these local Tel Aviv restaurants for your Thanksgiving favorites. Did somebody say corn bread?

While street food in Israel isn’t hard to come by, it’s hard to weed out the authentic eats from the tourist traps. Jerusalem’s food scene is one where like its classical musicians, Jewish authenticity takes center stage. Even the hottest spots thrive on Jerusalem’s genuine vibe, as hip night spots lead by chefs bring out the beauty of the market, delighting locals and visitors alike. In all this hustle and bustle, no matter how hip, there’s always a touch of vintage, history and Jerusalem-chic. From traditional sabich and falafel to new school pita pocket fillings like fried red mullet and "chraime" (a spicy North African fish dish), Jerusalem restaurants are serving up the goods. Join Keren Brown in her foodie adventures as she explores the Holy City to hone down on Jerusalem’s most authentic spots from little nooks serving piping-hot bourekas to cozy no-frills restaurants serving homemade dumplings.

Being in Israel almost always means schlepping to visit various friends or family members around the country - and most likely in little pockets of towns you wouldn't usually find yourself in - for better or worse. Which means it's the ideal time to check out those amazing restaurants you've always heard of and have been "meaning to try". Here are those places. You won't be disappointed.  

In Tel Aviv, there is absolutely no shortage of places to hang out and dine out. On the prowl for a place to take your girlfriends for drinks, celebrating, and having an all-around kick-ass time? Here are some of the top spots for a seriously fun night out–and there’s something for every mood–from hyper, to relaxed, to wild shenanigans. 

Summer in Israel means a lot of things; two of them being extremely conflicting. It’s hot AF and kids have no school. Luckily, literally every local institution springs to action with water-filled or AC-blasting events - you just have to know where to go. Hitting the beaches or museums are tried-and-true options for scratching out a screen-heavy afternoon, but we’ve put together the ultimate list to make it a summer of discovery

In the Israeli heat, it can sometimes be hard to leave the house and even harder to stay active and try new things when you do. That's why we have come up with a few options to help you stay active and having fun even in this almost impossible weather. Check out our list of the top three water sports and activities that you can do in Tel Aviv.

Although kosher food restaurants used to be scarce in Tel Aviv, it’s now enjoying something of a renaissance - new kosher hotspots seem to open up daily across the city. When you visit the particularly stroll-worthy Neve Tzedek neighborhood, you’ll find the Kosher party in full swing. Here are just some of the kosher spots to put on your must-try list.

With tomatoes that taste as sweet as candy and Israeli markets all over the city, eating vegetarian in Tel Aviv has never been so easy. Every menu in the city has vegan and vegetarian options, though unlike other hipster havens like Portland and Williamsburg, here in Tel Aviv, the lines are often blurred between the two. We've already explored the best vegan restaurants in superfood central, the juiciest vegan burgers in the city, and even the prime slice of cheese-less pizza; from a neighborhood café on Montefiore to a California dream off Dizengoff Street, we're giving a shout-out to the vegetarians out there with our list of the best Tel Aviv restaurants with delicious vegetarian selections.

Of all the things to do in Tel Aviv, the Carmel market must top the list. Located high on our best markets in Israel list, you haven't been to Tel Aviv, if you missed this Market.  Whether you’re a local or a visitor, there is always something exciting, new and different to find here. From trinkets and t-shirts to dizzying mounds of red tomatoes and strawberries piled up high, the Carmel market has something to please everyone. The secret is simply to wander through the stalls letting your eyes and noses guide you towards little spots to munch at.  We have rounded up 10 of the best spots for you to try. Bon Appetite!  

This Japanese bar and restaurant is located in an unexpected area for dining, right across from Dizengoff Center. But no worries – strolling down busy Dizengoff Street afterward is always a fantastic way to see how Tel Aviv’s non-stop bar scene is kicking. Internationally renowned sushi chef Yama-San from the well-loved TYO restaurant really knows how to craft a dish that is a cut-above-the-rest. Just grab a stool in the inner bar and lounge area and have the bartender guide you to your best choice of saki and some crazy-creative and detailed bites.  Don’t miss the yuzu meringue, made of the fragrant citrusy fruit with a yuzu sauce to pair with every bite.

On February 28th, a record number of 40,000 runners will be participating in the Tel Aviv Marathon. If you are going to run, you might as well do it for a cause. Runners can choose their non-profit of choice to raise money.  One of the non-profit’s participating, Ruach Nashit (Women’s Spirit), is a place for women to escape abusive relationships and get back on their feet. Women’s Spirit works to promote the independence of female survivors of violence in Israel, striving for social change and a feminist perspective and commitment to social gender and justice. Ruach Nashit helps women with financial security, providing tools, knowledge and support in economic independence as well as navigating the scary world that arises when a women finds the courage to leave an unhealthy relationship. Dikla Fuchs © Dario De Gese Several women will be running with a goal to raise between NIS 1000 and NIS 5000. Anybody can choose to sponsor one of the women running in the name of the organization and all the money will be donated to help this cause. We talked to one of the runners from Tel Aviv and found out why she chose this cause. Dikla Fuchs is an urban and strategic planner for the Bat Yam municipality. “As I read about all the non-profits, Ruach Nashit really resonated with me. Strengthening and helping women can have huge, positive effects on them and I want to be part of the process,” she says. To sponsor Ruach Nashit at the marathon, click here For more information, updates and map

Traveling just a couple of hours from the center of Israel will introduce you to a whole new world of activities, foods & cultures From Druze to Bedouin to women in business, there is so much to learn about and take in. Up in the Western Galilee, there are stories to be told and people to be discovered. From an authentic Arab lunch to glamping on the beach, it’s all here for you to find in this family-friendly adventure. Where to Sleep: Glamping, Camping or Boutique Hotels Glamp it up and experience nature at its finest. It’s not exactly glamour but it’s as close as it gets. Make your way to Akhziv beach about 15km North of Akko.  Here you’ll find a beach that will make you feel like you are in Thailand. In the tents, you’ll find air conditioning, beds, and everything you need for your surf and sun getaway.  For dining, the new Greek beach café and chef restaurant Nisia has mezze, souvlaki, and more. Make it a few days of beach and beer or better yet keep the Ouzo coming! glamping.achzivbeach.co.il Glamping at Achziv, courtesy of PR Camping: Are you looking to sleep on the cheap? The Israel Nature and Parks Authority offers little huts with actual beds overlooking the beach and it also includes entrance to the Akhziv National Park. In each hut, you’ll find air conditioning, refrigerator and a kettle. All this can be had for around NIS 350 per tent, with room for 4 people. On weekends, it costs NIS 450. The showers and bathrooms are brand new and super clean. If you really w

Do you dream of cooking like a chef? Do you want to know the hidden secrets of modern Israeli cuisine? Here's your in. A new Israeli platform called Chef Mentor lets you learn from your favorite chefs in the comfort of your home. The affordable online program costs just NIS 100 for 4 classes – in which curious cooks can learn from some of the best chefs in Israel, enabling you to hone your cooking skills without ever leaving your own kitchen.  Efrat Libfroind © Chef Mentor The list of amazing mentors and chefs signed up as educators on Chef Mentor is truly remarkable. Here, you’ll find chef Meir Adoni, the genius behind the incredible Lumina and Blue Sky restaurants, as well as the New York restaurant, Nur. You can also get lessons from Uri Sheft, the genius baker behind Lehamim. For those of you who need kosher options, pastry chef Efrat Libfreund will teach you the secrets behind her elaborate cake creations so you can replicate them at home.  Chef Mentor was founded by 33-year-old Avraham Meisels from Bnei Brak. Meisels saw the growing demand for culinary content and this chef-mentor connection.” A plethora of bloggers and food influencers are flooding the web and creating a clear trend where everyone wants to know how to bake and cook. We took this increasing need, and we accessed it through a smart, simple site led by the best culinary mentors in Israel." Meir Adoni © Itiel Zion It’s never been so easy to learn to cook and grow your recipe repertoire – all while work

American actor, writer, magician and singer Neil Patrick Harris is headlining the Tel Aviv Pride Parade on June 14th (hello, tomorrow!) He arrived to participate in his first Pride parade ever and discover the non-stop city. “We are starting small,” he explained, at a press conference this morning, joking about attending his first-ever Pride parade. “I will be the guy dancing without a shirt on a float. Now I got to go to the gym.”  Every year, the Tel Aviv municipality attracts influential people in the LGBTQ community to discover the city at its proudest event. Guy Yechiely Tel Aviv’s Pride Parade, dubbed the largest pride parade in Asia and the Middle East, is well known for introducing events, parties, and shows that draw attendance from people from all walks of life and all corners of the world. This year, attendance is expected to be of epic proportions. As a result, the parade has moved from its previous starting point at Gan Meir to Ben Zion Street in order to welcome and better accommodate the increase in crowds.  Guy Yechiely Israel’s official pride hotel, NYX Tel Aviv Hotel, is part of the festivities and events, serving as the headquarters for a rainbow of opportunities and connections. This year’s list of events includes a full week of beach parties with live DJs, a free LGBTQ history tour, an LGBTQ film festival, and the “Touch Me” art exhibition. Guy Yechiely But it doesn’t stop here, non-stop Tel Aviv means that there are events at all times and all hour

YouTube Star Amit Rahum (aka Rahums) dishes on Israeli music, recycling, and what makes a song memorable The Israeli prince of parodies has kids as young as 3-yearsold singing his lyrics. At age of 24, Rahums has already created an empire using his slick editing skills and knack for hilariously catchy lyrics. At Gamerz, Rahums will be doing a meet-and-greet along with all of Israel’s hottest YouTubers and influencers and, of course. He’ll be playing games, too. Rahums has created quite a niche for himself; he produced literal music videos riffing off of Israeli artists’ videos that have gone viral. He replaces the lyrics of popular songs or even re-creates entire sets with his own, often accompanied by his sidekick Ben Keysar. The dynamic duo are known for creating magic together. We sat with the mastermind behind the viral videos that re-create songs by Israeli phenomena like Static & Ben El, Eden Ben Zaken, and other hyper-famous local artists. How did you get started? I grew up in Herzliya, a city north of Tel Aviv. As a kid, I played around with Photoshop. In the army, I was in a film unit. I like being creative and I am obsessed with funny content on YouTube, so I do these videos to express my feelings. I started it all for fun – but fortunately, now it’s my job!  What was your most popular video? There are many popular videos, but one of the videos was Static & Ben El’s “Tudo Bom”, which got 7 million views. That one really took off. In a way, you are making fun of t

Hide your kids… or don’t! For four days in April, Gamerz will be hitting Tel Aviv’s port for Israel’s largest gaming convention of the year This will be a party of all sorts, featuring the biggest gaming, technology, and gadgets, all in a convention. With hundreds of stations and opportunities, kids of all ages can play games and work their way through a gaming wonderland. Orel Sabran Attendees will be able to try out the hottest new games that will only be released at the event, the exclusive virtual reality rooms, test out drones, and enjoy Israel’s biggest area dedicated to eSports. These are multiplayer competitions with access to some of the top gamers in Israel. One of the key attractions is that, for the first time in Israel, three gaming giants will be introducing their newest games and software side by side: Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox. Revellers will be able to mingle with Israel’s top YouTubers and influencers (check out our interview with Rahums to the left). This 4-day convention comes courtesy of the duo behind the Bluestone Group, Guy Beser and Shay Mor Yossef, both of whom are known for their top-quality events. This year, the multitude of companies taking part in it is bigger than ever before, with giants such as Sony, HP, Dell, Razer, and more in the mix. Orel Sabran April 21-April 24, Hangar 11, Tel Aviv Port. Tickets are available at gamerz.co.il. The price of a ticket is NIS 99, and it is NIS 139 for VIP access to the YouTube stars as well. There

Ma Pau, the Indian restaurant at the heart of Tel Aviv, just released their new breakfast chai trucks, called Chai Ve Pie. The masterminds behind Ma Pau wants to replace your morning coffee and pastry with a chai and a morning dessert – something that can’t be found anywhere else in the city. Chai Ve Pie © Guy Tzury The truck can be found in Kikar Givon, and will open on Sundays through Thursdays from 8:00AM to 11:00AM. Now, the White City can finally get some of that laid-back chai truck vibe that is easily found across India.  Start your day with a plethora of chai drinks, from chai masala to a ginger chai to a lemony vegan version. All this will be served alongside desserts that are a mix between Indian and English creativity. You’ll find delights like the banoffee pie, a banana dessert made from bananas, cream, and toffee, as well as a cardamom-spiced apple pie, and also Indian-spiced sandwiches in sweet and fluffy buns. Chai Ve Pie © Guy Tzury Tel Aviv, it’s time to start your morning on a spicy path!

An interview with Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer at Forbes Magazine The Forbes Under 30 Global Women's Summit (March 31 – April 4) will bring the most powerful female leaders from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia together in Tel Aviv for a week packed with parties, networking events and even a fashion show lead by women designers through Jerusalem's Machne Yehuda Market. This is the fourth consecutive year that Forbes has hosted a 30 under 30 summit in Tel Aviv, but this one is different. It has the main goal of changing the business world for women all over and helping create investment opportunities as well as promoting women entrepreneurship and mentorship. The guest speakers include Susan Ma, founder and CEO of Tropic Skincare; Charlie Javice, founder and CEO of Frank; Nadia Masri, founder and CEO of Perksy; and more. We sat down with Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer at Forbes Magazine. 2018 Event Why do you think the women’s summit is important? We plan to bring 500 women to Tel Aviv, each of whom has so much history and vitality behind her. We need more women-leading companies – and more investments for women. The vast majority of funding is going to male founders, and this has to change. Women outperform men when they do get funding. We believe that the conversation has to be between the women and the men. We are letting up to 20 percent of male founders be involved, but not before they write an essay on how they are going to help the cause of

What do you get when you take some of the hottest foodie celebrities in the US and bring them to Israel on an eating trip for a little over a week? Celebrity Chef Birthright, which took place last week, is the brainchild of businessman and entrepreneur Herb Karlitz, who decided to combine two of his passions – Israel and food – to provide people with the foodie trip of the decade. Karlitz started sending invitations to his culinary community, and the list got longer and longer. All these people wanted to experience Israel. And all these people were open to an experience where the focus was all food and no politics. Though some of the celebrities had Jewish roots and might have visited in the past, many didn’t. It was a huge group of celebrities tweeting with #celebritychefbirthright and sharing their experiences with the world; from Ran Shmueli’s Claro restaurant to street food like Jerusalem’s Aricha Sabich, and celebrated markets like Shuk HaCarmel, Shuk Hatikvah and Mahane Yehuda Market. They went to some must-visit restaurants like Machneyuda and met Israel’s most influential culinary greats like Uri Buri from Akko, the bearded man known as "Israel's fish connoisseur". The celebrity list was never ending, including Amanda Freitag from Chopped, Ruth Reichl of Gourmet Magazine, Gail Simmons of Top Chef, Chef Jonathan Waxman, Jenn Louis (one of Portland’s most well-known chefs), Chef Marc Murphy, TV Host, Eden Grinshpan Nivron and many more.  © Yuval Revach All this was or

Eat your way through the market When Sarona first opened a few years ago, Tel Aviv's accessibility to specialty foods was heightened - big time. With its 8700 square feet, encompassing almost 100 food vendors and restaurants, this Israeli version of Borough Market meets La Boqueria has become a place to taste from a plethora of foods crafted by local chefs and a one-stop shop for specialty options. Now with the Taste of Sarona, you can taste your way through this food lover’s haven while taking in live beats from local DJs, watching live shows and more. Sarona Market © Nimrod Saunders Taste of Sarona will take place for two months (every Wednesday and Thursday) from 18:00. Food lovers will be able to enjoy tastes from all the shops and booths at a special tasting price of just NIS 10 to NIS 20 per item. During the event, butchers and shops will do culinary shows, classes, and demonstrations so you can really interact with the artisans. Even the top chefs at Sarona will serve special dishes at special prices. You’ll be able to test out dishes from Chef Yisrael Aharoni’s Free Style Ramen bar and Chef Yonathan Roshfeld’s Captain Curry as well as other signature plates from local celebrity chefs. Sarona Market © Nimrod Saunders Some of the menu items available at Taste of Sarona are Mexican tacos, Bayern Market’s famous sausages, Tiger Lily’s Tom Yum soup, Marinado’s mini burgers, Segev Concept’s malabi, (a milky creamy dessert) and more. Imbibers will love Meet Wine’s sangri

Chef Guy Pollak on his love for Japan and what actually keeps Israeli customers satisfied It’s not only hard to keep up with the R2M Restaurant group opening up new spots all the time, it’s impossible to compare with their service and quality and the fact that they have stood the test of time since 1994. That’s a lifetime in the restaurant world, and with landmark spots like Brasserie, CoffeeBar, Bakery, Hotel Montefiore, Creme and Delicatessen, it's even more commendable. © Shachaf Haber A few days after the doors of their legendary Rothschild 12 closed, 2018’s most talked about culinary complex, Herzl 16, welcomed the Tel Avivian crowd with open arms. Rothschild 12 knew that their time was limited when they opened in their original location, so they weren’t surprised when the building was faced with demolition and renovation demands. The R2M group set out in pursuit of a space to replicate the successful place. Their goal was to encourage a kind of natural evolution; a teenager finally accepting adulthood. Herzl 16 (the historical ‘Maaliya’ building, where the first-ever elevator was built in Tel Aviv) turned out to be the ideal place. We caught up with chef Guy Pollak, who manages all the restaurants of this golden restaurant group to talk shop about their newest spot inside Herzl 16, Disco Tokyo. How did you come up with the concept for Disco Tokyo? When Ruti Broudo and Mati Broudo, the co-founders of the R2M restaurant group and I first visited Japan, we discovered Iz

If the onslaught of sufganiot happening right now is all becoming too much, we'd like you to know there is an alternative. As in, you can have your cake and eat it too. There is finally a company that has come out with sufganiyot that have just 150 calories and 11 grams of effective carbs. They are made of almonds and flour and all-natural products, no sugar added. Yes, this is a real thing. The Israeli food tech company, Spirugar came up with their own mix of sweeteners to create a healthier pastry with a low glycemic index (GI).     It started with Dr. Zeligman, a scientist whose son has diabetes. She felt that she needed to find a way for her son to live – and enjoy the things that he used to. She has been innovating ever since. They have crafted healthier versions of sufganiyot in a range of flavors, including chocolate, dulce de leche, creme patissiere, and jam. If that isn’t enough, you can even opt for beautiful, tailor-made versions that look as pretty as the ones you’ll find at the top bakeries across the city. The company also has cupcakes, pies, and vegan pastries, too. For those following a keto diet, there are cookies, cupcakes, and mousse cakes available - and they can all be delivered straight to your doorstep.