Los Campeones – La Champa Del Mar

Update July 2013: The place is closed.

Yes we know we’re reviewing another Tapas place. We can’t help but to surrender the love for the little Spanish dishes. Unlike many imitations, La Champa Del Mar, located at the restaurants and business area of Ha’arbaa Street, is the real Tapas (and Cava) deal. The Barcelona football club flag, hanged on the rear of the bar, keeps it no secret that the place is focusing on the fabulous Catalan kitchen, the menu written on chalkboard on top of the bar, as well as the rustic wood setting, provides a nice homely feeling.

At that night, as I (Shahar) promised Eran, one of my friends, we headed out to review the place together. Since we came a little early, the place was empty but we didn’t mind so much. The ordering in La Champa Del Mar is done from the bar itself as a true Catalan Tapas place. The sausages hanging just besides the Barca scarf seemed inviting as well.

The Menu

In order to enjoy the food just a little more, we ordered a bottle of Semi Seco Cava (note that Cava is the only alcohol available). For the Culinary part, Eran ordered Hamburguesa with Emmental cheese, which was very good according to him. A dish of Calamari a la plancha, was a little ambiguous. Although the Calamari itself were very good, the sauce of our choice – glazed orange peel – didn’t fit the Calamari at all and overshadowed the taste of the Calamari.

Semi Seco Cava

However a similar dish of Shrimps a la plancha with a different sauce – “Spicy Español” (Chipotle Barbecue) – was a whole different story. The shrimps were grilled perfectly and the sauce was amazing. Another successful Tapas dish was the Morcilla – Spanish blood sausage. The sausage, served on top of baguette slices, was spicy and full of taste.

Calamari a la Plancha

Since we were still a little hungry, we also took a plate of Roquefort Cheese and Cured Spanish, Both excellent and emphasized the fact that La Champa del Mar is using the finest ingredients (Surprisingly now I see we weren’t charged for it). A dessert of “Champa-Jores”, a variation on the Argentinean Alfajores, Ended the evening with a good sweet note. Hopefully other people will figure out the fine character of La Champa so it won’t fade out.

Shrimps a la Plancha & Hamburguesa

The check please (2 people)

Shrimps a la plancha, Spicy Español – 34 NIS
Calamari a la plancha, Glazed Naranja – 34 NIS
Hanmburguesa (w/ Emmental) – 23 NIS
Morcilla – 25 NIS
Champajores – 14 NIS
Selection of Cured Hams & Roquefort cheese (not charged)
Semi Seco Cava – 69 NIS

All in all: 199 NIS

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale: 

3.5 Forks

Summary:

Food:  Spanish – Catalan
Price:  Medium-Expensive
Location: Ha’arbaa

Contact details: La Champa Del Mar
Address:  16 Ha’arbaa Street,Tel Aviv | 03-5610630

The winter has arrived… to the Cordovero

July 2012 Update: The place has closed its doors.

Just to prove that we didn’t lie to you when we said we love tapas, we decided to go the day after to Spanish-wanna be place – The Cordovero. Don’t worry, we will write about other options in Tel Aviv except tapas, and you don’t need to read again the background information about the Israeli tapas places.

Cordovero is a neighborhood bar that focuses on cava and good food. It started as a small place in Florentin neighborhood that wrote its daily dishes on board, and today it’s a small-medium bar that serves a good (sometimes a little commercial) food. Try going there on a Friday afternoon (The best time of the week to spend time in Tel Aviv in our opinion).

The reason we decided to go there, a day after our visit in Winberg (another tapas bar) is that we heard that they are trying their upcoming winter menu. They served a dish for 19 NIS & 3 dishes for 49 NIS. By the time we got there the place was full and some of the dishes already ran out. We order 3 dishes of what was left – Shrimp Ceviche, Mushroom Risotto & Pumpkin Gnocchi. The ceviche was so small that is hard for us to judge, we think it was only OK. The risotto was an improvement in the meter of the size of the dish and was tasty. Luckily, the last dish, the gnocchi, was also the best. It was a gnocchi made of pumpkin, with Brie cheese & smoked eggplant. We enjoyed it very much. We must say that we understand the rather small size of dishes since it was a tasting deal for 49 NIS which is not expensive.

After the 3 dishes, we felt that we are still hungry so we order the Meat Paella. It was a nice dish and was much bigger. The meat itself was not that tasty but the rice together with the other ingredients was good. We have chosen to escort the dinner with glasses of Cava semi-Saco.

To sum up, the Cordovero is a small neighborhood bar for Friday afternoon or while visiting Floertin.

Summary:

Food: Spanish/Mediterranean tapas bar
Price: Medium
Service: OK
Getting there: by car (parking can be hard on nights/weekends), taxi is also an option.

The check (2 people):

3 Tasting courses – 49 NIS
Meat Paella – 53 NIS
3 Cava glasses – 66 NIS

All in all: 168 NIS

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

3.5 Forks

Contact details: Cordovero

Address: Cordovero & Stern, Tel Aviv
Opening: Sunday to Saturday: 18:00 – late. Happy hours 18:00-20:00
077-4060771
http://www.rest.co.il/sites/Default.asp?txtRestID=9912

Wineberg – Typical Israeli Tapas

We love Tapas! We have just got back from a dreamy week of beer and tapas in Spain. When Shahar’s father invited us to join him to a dinner in Wineberg we knew you couldn’t go wrong with the combination of Shaul’s recommendation, good atmosphere of Ben Yahuda’s st., the nice weather and the Tapas.

We would like to stop for a moment in order to give you some background information about the Israeli tapas places. The problem (some will say facing realty) with the Tapas bars in Israel is that they tend to compromise on the Tapa values for the crowed and the money. It is not a traditional Tapa. The Israeli tapa is usually larger than its original sister from Spain, and it’s usually priced as a Spanish “1/2 racion” (half a course).

Now we can get back to business… Wineberg itself is a small bar with a sitting place outside. Good atmosphere (though quieter than the traditional Tapas bar), lovely service. The courses were fine; we especially recommend the crab burgers and the tuna fish. Try the cold cut sausages plate, if they have more than one available in your visit.

Summary:
Food: Cava bar / Israeli tapas bar
Price: Medium
Service: Nice
Getting there: by car (parking across the street), by bus of by food, depends on your location.

The check please (3 people):
Browned cauliflower – 20 NIS
Local eggplant, changed every day – 20 NIS
Scorched red Tunna – 46 NIS
Roast beef sandwich – 39 NIS
Crab burgers – 42 NIS
Cold cut Sausages plates – 46 NIS
3 Cava glasses – 75 NIS
Apple strudel pie – 35 NIS
Bungee Berries with Malabby and fig – 34 NIS

All in all: 357 NIS; nice place for a casual night.

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

3 Forks

Contact details: Wineberg
Address: 106 Ben Yahuda st. Opening: Sunday to Saturday: 19:00 – late.