Where to eat in Tel Aviv | Best restaurants in Tel Aviv

Are you visiting Tel Aviv and you don’t know where to eat in Tel Aviv? What are the best restaurants in Tel Aviv? In this article, you will find out our favorite places to eat in this wonderful city.

Tel Aviv, the city that never sleeps – full of clubs, coffee shops, shopping stores, and the most important endless food options. From simple falafel stands to luxurious gourmet restaurants. Tel Aviv is a food Mecca for foodies, and people who love to eat. So, if you are into food and you plan to visit Tel Aviv – be prepared for a culinary ride of your life.

Where to eat in Tel Aviv? Let’s explore some of the best food establishments that Tel Aviv has to offer!

Where to eat in Tel Aviv and Yafo | Best restaurants in Tel Aviv

Carmel Market

This bustling marketplace is a must-visit for foodies. You can find fresh produce, spices, and an array of street food stalls serving up from hummus and falafel to shakshuka and sabich.

Abu Hassan

Known for having some of the best hummus in the city, Abu Hassan is a popular spot for locals and tourists alike. The simple yet delicious menu features a range of hummus and other Middle Eastern dips, served with fresh pita bread.

Arguably by many as the best hummus in Israel. The recipe is secretly kept for over 60 years and its one of the oldest hummus restaurants in the country. Due to its popularity, and a long line of hungry clients, Abu Hassan has 3 locations in Jaffa where u can enjoy the same quality and taste of their famous hummus.

During rush hours, the restaurants are packed with people, and it’s very common to stand in long lines or seat with strangers at the same table, which adds to the unique experience of the place.

The flagship dish of Abu Hassan is the Msabbaha, Warm tahini sauce with freshly cooked chickpeas and spices. Beside the Masabbaha, they also sell hummus fava beans sauce, labneh (sour goat yogurt), falafel, and salads. At Abu Hassan, you can also buy hummus by the kg to take home or to the beach next for a picnic lunch.

The old man and the sea

Probably Tjasa’s favorite restaurant in Tel Aviv! 🙂

Also one of the most popular restaurants in Tel Aviv, due to its rich selection of salads, and a variety of fish, seafood, and meats. The restaurant has 2 branches in Jaffa, both with a beautiful sea view. The old man and the Sea offers a unique experience of all u can eat salads. After you sit, your table will get endless fresh-made salads, falafel, hummus, potatoes, and warm taboon laffa bread. The waiters will keep on serving you until you say stop.

The most common rookie mistake at The old man and the Sea is to go too much on the entrees and then be full by the time the main dish comes. Our advice, be careful with the munchies. The restaurant is also specialized in grilled fish and Arabic-style meat skewers.

Thai House Restaurant – Where to eat in Tel Aviv

For more than 2 decades, this place stands proud as the leading Thai restaurant in Tel Aviv and probably in the whole of Israel. It’s all the time full and the food is always delicious and exciting. On the menu, you can find all the classic Thai dishes from all of Thailand’s regions.

The food is made from fresh ingredients, you can be sure that you will get an authentic Thai experience. We especially recommend their famous ‘Som Tam’ salad of sliced green papaya with cherry tomato, yard-long beans, fish sauce, crushed peanuts, and garlic. Tasty and refreshing.

It is advised to make a reservation before you go, the restaurant is usually fully booked.

Sabich Frishman

In the heart of Tel Aviv, right on the cross of the main Dizingof and Frishman street, hides a tiny tiny sabich food joint. This place is so small you can barely see it from the street, but luckily you can spot a long long queue of restless hungry people just waiting to get their hands on this mouth-watering sandwich.

On the menu you have two options to choose from, one is classic sabich with fresh hot deep-fried eggplant, salads of your pick, potato and egg, hummus, tahini, and amba sauces. The other option is almost the same just instead of sauces you get Bulgarian cheese. We recommend trying both of them, its absolutely delicious. Due to their massive successes, Sabih Frishman opened more places around Teal-aviv and the country.

Shlomo & Doron Hummus – Where to eat in Tel Aviv

Since 1937 (yes that long) this place serves their legendary hummus to the hungry masses. Just next to the famous ‘Carmel market’, surrounded by so many great food stalls and restaurants, this place draws people from all over the world to feast on the tasty hummus dishes.

On the menu, you can find almost all types of hummus, but hummus ful (hummus with warm lava beans) is their specialty. Hummus plates come in 3 different sizes S/M/B so you can pick depending on how hungry you are. We also recommend trying their Lahoh (Yemen pancake-like bread) to wipe your hummus plate with. This place doesn’t take credit cards so bring some cash with you.

Miznon

In the Miznon they take the pita bread sandwiches to new heights. Eyal Shani (famous Israeli chef) took the concept from simple common street food and made it into gourmet food. In the Miznon restaurant almost all the main dishes come in pita bread, you have a big variety of fillings to choose from.

The menu often changes but some popular dishes are always there like ‘intimi’ (an overnight slow-cooked stew of high-quality beef meat, root vegetables) or ‘lavan’ (chunks of cauliflower on the grill with tahini sauce, grilled tomatoes, and green onions). There are also great side dishes like whole baked sweet potato with Atlantic sea salt or a whole oven baked cauliflower covered in olive oil.

The prices are quite expensive, but you won’t leave hungry. There is always a free buffet of sliced pita bread, tahini sauce, grated fresh tomatoes, crème fraîche, homemade pickles, and spicy green chili sauce. The atmosphere in the place is very unique and it can get very noisy sometimes, especially in the evenings when it gets to a party-like vibe. It’s common that the staff will offer you free alcohol shots and raise a cheer with everyone.

HaKosem

This modern street food place represents almost everything about the Israeli cuisine. There you can find all the dishes that Israelis love, but above all stands their famous falafel. The place is very popular among the locals and usually, during rush hours there’s a long queue of people waiting.

The design of the place is unique with an open kitchen view, where you can see how the staff cooks the food. While waiting in line, someone will approach you and offer you falafel balls to ease the hunger and the wait. Beside the falafel, you can find Sabich, Shawarma, hummus, schnitzel, Moroccan fish, shakshuka and big delicious salads. Everything is super fresh and made with love.

Vitrina

In the past years the trend of fancy burgers took over Tel Aviv. There are so many great burger joints in this city but Vitrina is definitely at the top five. You can choose different kinds of juicy burgers from the menu. We recommend their famous ‘Butler Cheese Burger’- high-quality beef, Aioli sauce, pickles, homemade onion jam, gouda cheese, and blue cheese.

You also have a great vegetarian option, the ‘Golden State Veggie’ – thousand island dressing, iceberg lettuce, tomato, fried onions and big portobello mushroom filled with Cheddar and gouda cheese. Don’t miss their crunchy mixed fries of potatoes and sweet potatoes. Be aware that during rush hours there will be a very long queue and the waiting time can be more than 30 min.

Toto

Fine dining at its best, if your heart desires a luxurious gourmet food, this is the place for you. High standards from the hosts and staff to the smallest details of design, and food. You will get the highest quality of ingredients known to the gourmet culinary world.

Toto serves fusion food of Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. On the menu you can find delicious pasta dishes, homemade aged meats and fresh local fishes. We recommend to try thier most popular dish. The chestnut gnocchi – a mouth-melting potato ricotta cheese gnocchi cooked in salty butter with chestnuts, covered with thick grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, an absolute must!

The restaurant is very popular by Israeli celebrities. It’s common to find yourself seated next to a table of some famous people. Dress up fancy for this place, it is also advised to book a table in advance.

Ernesto 90

Since 1997 this true Italian classic restaurant deserves to be at the top of Italian restaurants in Tel Aviv.

When entering the Ernesto, You will transported back in time to one of Rome’s most romantic restaurants. The atmosphere is casual and joyful. It draws a lot of Italian speaking tourists, which adds even more to the Italian vibe. On the menu are many traditional dishes. We recommend to try their ‘Carciofo alla Romana’ – Artichoke saute with mint leaves (served only in season). Another great starter dish is ‘Fiori di Zucca fritti’ – Fried zucchini flowers filled with mozzarella cheese and anchovies.

For the main course, we recommend ‘Spaghetti Aglio olio ai Frutti di mare’ – Mix seafood spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, parsley, and spices or for their creamy delicious lasagnas. Don’t forget to add wine for this feast celebration.

Chinese Bao Buns – Where to eat in Tel Aviv

Once you get to Tel Aviv central station, you will feel like you came to a whole different country. In the area living a lot of work immigrants, from Africa and Asia who brought also their food and culture. U will find there many shops and food joint selling authentic dishes and ingredients.

In the middle of all hides a small and very poor looking Chinese restaurant. But in what it lacks with the appearance it covers up with absolute delicious savory umami food. On the menu many traditional Chinese dishes but the most popular is the stir-fried veggie noodles with chicken or tofu. Don’t forget to try one of their massive steam buns!

Try out as much as you can – Where to eat in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is a vibrant city with a thriving food scene, offering a wide range of options from traditional Middle Eastern cuisine to contemporary fusion dishes. Don’t be afraid to explore the city’s diverse neighborhoods and try out new restaurants and street food stalls as you go!

The Tel Aviv food scene is one of the most exciting in the world! If you come to visit this city you should save some time just to explore the food and restaurants this wonderful city has to offer. You will enjoy, that’s for sure.