The best kosher restaurants in Israel - Restaurants - Israel travel and tourism

Kosher restaurants are not an unfamiliar sight in Tel Aviv-several beachfront hotels have already been influenced by this genre of food including Olive leaf at the Sheraton hotel, the King Solomon restaurant at the Hilton hotel and Pacific at the Crowne Plaza.

You will also find the beautiful, well-established Le Relais Jaffa and the younger Deca among the city's list of kosher restaurants.

Even with the above, it seems that two recently opened kosher restaurants are signaling a new trend. Maybe it's not a coincidence that after more than a decade in operation, Herzliya's American-style restaurant Colombus has decided to change its style and become kosher.

Sunday saw the opening of June, a French-Italian restaurant on Ben Yehuda Street, whose owner, originally from France, recognized the appeal his style of food would have for French tourists who keep kosher. June has a kosher dairy kitchen and features dishes such as beetroot carpaccio with blue cheese (28 NIS), Asian-style tuna (36 NIS) and salmon fettuccine (42 NIS).

Two weeks ago, the Italian restaurant Ciao Bella, completed a successful trial run. The kosher restaurant based in Herzliya Pituach, under supervision of the Rabbinate belongs to the owners of another kosher phenomenon in Herzliya, The Meat and Wine Co.. The restaurant manager Gerald Geyer explains that "In Israel there is a lack of good, kosher restaurants. Two years ago, we opened The Meat and Wine Co. which has become a real success. From then on, we decided to only open kosher restaurants. Now during the summer season, we receive many French and English tourists as well as Israeli guests".

La Cochia is another restaurant which has come to the end of its trial period. But the Italian restaurant, situated by Textile House, opposite the promenade is not just any kosher restaurant-it's Mahedrin Kosher, whose chef has created a light menu, offering a choice of pastas: ravioli, tortellini, fettuccine, and spaghetti-all hand made. The restaurant's kosher ethos not only caters for tourists who keep strictly kosher but, Saul Zoritch, the restaurant's owner, also hopes to raise the culinary level of kosher food available to the public. For a starter, indulge in a plate of antipasti for two (45 NIS), and then move onto fettuccine, spaghetti or parpadelle pasta with a variety of sauces (38-46 NIS), eggplant lasagna or spinach ricotta lasagna (43-45 NIS), goat cheese and zucchini or sweet potato and leak ravioli (43-49 NIS) for main course.

Further details:
King Solomon, Hilton Hotel: 03 520 2222.
Colombus: 09 958 9880.
June: Ben Yehuda 64, Tel Aviv. 03 529 8665.0
La Cochia: Kaufmann 6, Tekl Aviv. 03 510 8444.

City Mouse (mouse.co.il)

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