The Perfect Romantic Celebration – The Wine Bar

We waited a long time since starting to write this blog until we have returned to one of our favorite places in Tel Aviv. Though quite a small place, containing nothing more than 4-5 tables and a bar, the Wine Bar has more romantic spirit and passion than most of the restaurants we have visited so far.

The Bar

Logging to their Facebook page, you’ll receive frequent updates (in Hebrew though) regarding their newest ingredient which came straight from the market or from the fisherman. Book a place at the bar as we have and you won’t be disappointed, as the highlight of the place is the fact that the chef is right in front of you, grilling the shrimps, chopping the Tuna and burning the Brule. That way you can also make sure the Wine Bar is using only fresh ingredients.

Greek Calamari Salad

We have booked a place at the bar a night after our wedding, as the celebration must continue. We shared three dishes. The first one was Greek Calamari Salad with Kalamate olives, tomatoes, green peppers and red onions. Though all fresh, something in the sauce didn’t come together and it was somewhat disappointing. The second dish was Pasta shreds with sautéed Italian Artichokes, delicate pesto sauce and Parmesan. This was a great example of the creative side of Wine Bar, and was a delicious dish (highly recommended if you are an Artichoke fan).

Artichokes and Pasta Shreds

The last dish we ordered is one of Inbar’s all time favorites –Seafood Gnocchi. A true quality homemade Gnocchi, was served with a selection of Shrimps and Calamari, cherry tomatoes, green peppers and coriander. The spiciness of the sauce and the fresh ingredients of the dish combined to one of the best seafood pastas we ever had.

Seafood Gnocchi

To end the evening with a sweet taste in our mouth we also took a Banana Crumble. The hot crisp topping and the warm banana fitted very well and were very tasty. Along with two glasses of Gewurztraminer wine we went out the street elated.

Banana Crumble

As long as the Wine Bar continues to have the passion it shows and continues to execute as it does now, we will definitely come back, at least once in a while.

The check please (2 people)

Artichokes and Pasta Shreds – 54 NIS
Greek Calamari Salad – 52 NIS
Seafood Gnocchi – 64 NIS
Banana Crumble – 32 NIS
2X Gewurztraminer by the glass – 68 NIS

All in all: 270 NIS

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale: 

4.5 Forks

Summary:

Food:  Mediterranean
Price:  Expensive
Location: Montefiore-Nachlat Binyamin

Contact details: Wine Bar
Address:  36 Nachlat Binyamin,Tel Aviv | 03-5102923|
Opening Hours:  Sunday-Thrusday, Saturday 19:00-01:00 Friday 13:00-01:00 |
http://www.rest.co.il/sites/Default.asp?txtRestID=9866 (No English)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wine-Bar/99691452740

Just Be Happy – Methuselah

Lately we had two opportunities to visit Florentin and in both of these opportunities we chose to visit Methuselah – a small wine bar in the middle of the chic neighborhood.

"Just Be Happy" - Methuselah's Menu

Methuselah is actually a wine store by day that becomes a calm-atmosphere good-music wine bar at night. It has a large selection of wines and some beers. The food dishes seem to be small but qualitative.

We took the Gewurztraminer, Inbar’s favorite. Shahar took Chillan Malbec wine which was fruity and light. At the one time we took a small plate of cheese that had about 5 different types of cheese and was a nice escort to the wines. The other time we ordered Beef Carpaccio that was very good but had just a little too much of olive oil and a bit too little beef.

Metushelah seems like a good option for a date or just for a quite night out.

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

3 Forks

Summary:

Food:  Wine bar with side dishes
Price:  Medium-Expensive
Location: Florentin

Contact details: Methuselah
Address:  16 Ariel Hakosta St., Tel Aviv | Phone: 057-9443544|
Opening Hours:  Sunday- Thursday – 10:30-01:00 | Friday 09:00-01:00 | Saturdays 18:30-01:00
http://www.rest.co.il/sites/Default.asp?txtRestID=9865 (No English menu)

Wine is not everything – Bacchus

November 2011 Update: The place closed its doors

Veal Carpaccio

When we sat down to write this post, we wondered what “Bacchus” is. Turns out it’s the ancient Greek god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine. The name implies on the main business of a new Tel Aviv bar named “Bacchus”. The bar specializes in wine and has some tapas curses a side. We have already talked a lot about our thoughts about the Israeli tapas places, and this was not different – it wasn’t tapas.

We were three and we were looking for a good drink with side dishes. The first to be placed on our table were peanuts in their nutshell. That was a nice gesture. From a large selection of wins we ordered a German Gewurztraminer which was good choice as an easy going wine.

The “Japanese legend” course was not such a legend – there were very small slices of Tuna fish with a side salad. The tuna was very bland and the salad had too much sauce in it. For the defense of waitress, we must say she did suggest replacing the course, but we decided to skip the suggestion. The veal Carpaccio was swimming in olive oil and it was too much even for olive oil lovers like us. Then we were served two butcher courses – one was cheese and the other was cold cuts – which were served with buns. These were much better now, especially the cheese – 5 different types of cheeses, white and yellow, which were served on a wooden trunk. The final course was three different brochettes served on baguette – which was fine but a little dry.

At the end of the day (night) we came to the conclusion that Bacchus has a fine selection of wine, but if they want to succeed and to continue serving this wine they must improve their food.

Enjoy,

Shahar & Inbar

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

2 Forks

The check please (3 people)

“Japanese legend” (Agada Yapanit) – 25 NIS
Veal Carpaccio – 30 NIS
Cheese butcher – 41 NIS
Cold cuts butcher – 41NIS
Brochettes – 29 NIS
German Gewurztraminer – 131 NIS

All in all: 287 NIS

Summary:

Food: Wine & sides
Price: Medium
Location: Arlozerov-Dizngoff

Contact details: Bacchus

Address:  23 Arlozerov Street (corner with Dizingoff), Tel Aviv | Phone: 035223452
Opening Hours:  Sunday-Tuesday 17:00-01:00, Friday 11:00-01:00

http://www.facebook.com/pages/mwsyqh/372925787814?sk=wall#!/pages/tl-byb/bkhws/166092466744635

Tel Aviv Food Awards

This is the time to introduce you to our bible. If Tel Aviv is our religion and in food we trust then Time Out Tel Aviv is our bible. This week the magazine has published the winners in its annual food awards.  In this post we will not tell you about one place we love but rather introduce you to the winners. We hope, in the future, to document these places in our blog as well. If you’re looking for a place, this can be a good starting point. Please notice that not all the links here supply information in English.

The best restaurant: Herbert Samuel .

The best new restaurant: 1 Ha’am Tapas.

The chef of the year: Eyal Shani.

The best exclusive restaurant: Catit.

The bar with the best food: Messa.

The best Italian restaurant: Mel & Mishel .

The best meat restaurant: Yoezer Bar Yain (Yoezer wine bar).

The best Asian restaurant: Bait Tahilandi (Tahi House).

The best fish and sea food restaurant: Manta Ray.

The best tapas restaurant: Tapeo.

The best bistro: Brasserie.

The best kosher restaurant: Liliot.

The best ethnic restaurant: Edna.

The best healthy / vegetarian / vegan restaurant: 24 rupee.

The best “value for money” restaurant: Segev Express.

The best restaurant chain: Giraffe.

The best sandwich: Ruben.

The best children friendly restaurant: Moses.

The best pizzeria: Tony Vespa.

The best burger: Agadir.

The best ice cream / yogurt: Anita.

The best hummus: Ali Karavan (Abu Hassan).

The best café: Hatachtit.

The best upbeat restaurant: Nanuchka .

The best restaurant for a date: Nana Bar.

The best wine bar: Habasta.

The best beer bar in the city: Porter & Sons.

The best bakery / patisserie in the city: Dalel’s bakery.

The best delicatessen: Hinnawi butcher & meat delicacy.

The best breakfast: Benedict.

The best late night: Dixie.

The best restaurant bar: Social Club.

The best restaurant on the beach: Manta Ray.