august-2010

TEL AVIV
Central Asia: Samarkand
This big, echoing restaurant stands on the not
particularly romantic main street just south of central
Tel Aviv, but taps into the culinary styles of yet
another part of the world with a strong Jewish
heritage: the Silk Road cities of Bukhara and
Samarkand in modern-day Uzbekistan. Evoking
the old country with kitschy murals, unsmiling
service and, fortunately, great food, it specialises
in Uzbek dishes such as dushpera, a soup made
from ground lamb, cherries and chickpeas, mantu,
steamed dumplings stuffed with meat, and oshpelo,
pilau rice with carrots and raisins.
34 Ben Tzvi, +972 3 6811122
Seafood: Mul Yam
Tel Aviv’s old port has now been redeveloped as
one of the city’s liveliest cafe quarters. Partway
along the beachfront boardwalk, step into the cool,
calm haven that is Mul Yam (the name means “in
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front of the sea” in Hebrew), the only Israeli restaurant
to have its very own entry in the gastronome’s bible
Les Grands Tables du Monde. Fish and seafood are the
main focus here, from Atlantic oysters to pan-fried
Israeli shrimps, fillet of grouper with asparagus or
grilled Canadian lobster. This is supremely elegant
fine dining, courtesy of talented homegrown chef
Yoram Nitzan, which has definitively put Tel Aviv
on the foodie map.
Hangar 24, Tel Aviv Port, +972 3 5469920
Top: Dr Shakshuka’s eclectic
interior. Above: Romanian
delicacies at Mamaia