Things To Do
The Old Man and the Sea
Amazing fish restaurant on the water at the Jaffa Port. Authentic arabic salads and very cool vibe. A MUST!
Orna and Ella
Traditional home-style Israeli kitchen. Located on trendy Shenkin Street with an amazing backyard. Everything is delicious and many vegetarian & vegan options.
Neve Tzedek
A neighborhood located in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city of the ancient port of Jaffa. Originally a Mizrahi Jewish and Yemenite Jewish neighborhood, for years, the neighborhood prospered as Tel Aviv, the first modern Hebrew city, grew up around it. Years of neglect and disrepair followed, but since the early 1980s, Neve Tzedek has become one of Tel Aviv's latest fashionable and expensive districts, with a village-like atmosphere. Walk down Shabazi Street and check out the link for recommendations of great shopping, restaurants, and ice cream!
Cafe Puaa
Charming, cozy, and quirky, Café Puaa is a Jaffa neighborhood staple. Located in the heart of Jaffa’s flea market, this iconic café feels like a retro living room. Its colorful carpets, antique ornaments and comfy couches give the restaurant a homey, authentic feel. Plus, Puaa embodies the spirit of its flea market surroundings, whereby every piece of furniture is for sale! But, what makes Puaa truly special are its wholesome, unique Mediterranean dishes. You'll likely find us here the morning after the wedding : )
Shaffa Bar
Located in Jaffa’s Flea market, Shaffa offers a low-key vibe with live music, classic eats and handcrafted cocktails. Nothing fancy here, but the atmosphere is priceless. You'll probably find us here hanging out with friends the night before the wedding!
Thai House Restaurant
If you are looking for good Thai food in Tel Aviv, this is one you shouldn’t miss. The restaurant itself makes you feel like you are not in crazy Tel Aviv, but in some beach in Asia. The food is perfect to satisfy any craving – an extensive menu (with many vegetarian and vegan options) with good sized portions and great exotic drinks. It’s better if you go with some friends and order everything to share!
Meshek Barzilay
A delicious ORGANIC VEGETARIAN restaurant located just near Neve Tzedek, with an emphasis on freshness and seasonality. The menu changes according to the seasons, and each dish is meticulously built to deliver fine taste and maximum nutritional value. The restaurant offers breakfasts, lunch, and dinner, as well as coffee and cake. Noam & Jordyn come here for their amazing Israeli breakfast (with homemade Gluten Free bread) at least once per visit!
Abu Hassan
Best hummus in Tel Aviv (and some would argue the best in Israel)! If this is your first trip to Israel, it is an absolute MUST.
Teder.fm
If Tel Aviv is a hipster capital of the world, TEDER.FM is its Mecca! The pop-up bar has taken permanent residence in Derech Jaffa 9, a closed-off courtyard in South Central Tel Aviv underneath their flagship Salon Romano restaurant. A new addition is Tel Aviv celebrity chef Eyal Shani’s first pizza restaurant, serving huge delicately-thin-crust pizza with great chunks of melting mozarella. Wash down with jugs of beer, perfect for sharing. The bar is open every night from 8pm (closed on Sunday), get there early to get a table (before 9pm). They regularly host cool guest DJs (TEDER.FM broadcasts live every night), special performances, movie nights, and second-hand-markets.
Carmel Market
"Shuk HaCarmel" - The market is bordered by Allenby Street and Magen David Square and the market is principally located along Carmel Street, but has expanded over time to streets such as Nahalat Binyamin Street. The market is open every day of the week, except Shabbat (Saturday), and sells mostly food but also a variety of items such as home accessories, and flowers. Tuesdays and Fridays are the signature days at the market as several independent artists and vendors sell unique crafts, art, and jewellery along Nahalat Binyamin Street.
Port Sa'id
The restaurant sits beside the famous Great Synagogue on Allenby, a minute walk from the corner of Rothschild, and spreads over an outdoor area with a view to the Synagogue and the side streets. Diners sitting in the trendy restaurants of Eyal Shani (Israeli celebrity chef) can expect a vibrant atmosphere filled with enjoyment and color. The lively music compliments the sense of chaos and gives the high-class restaurant a pub atmosphere, with top-class food of course. Mediterranean flavors, spices, with an abundant use of local ingredients and tastes. As an added bonus, the prices are surprisingly affordable, leaving diners with a real sense of value. Needless to say, the restaurant is an ideal option for people wanting to enjoy excellent food in a lively setting. If you want to make sure to get a place, you'll have to turn up early as there are no reservations here.
Anna Loulou Bar
Describing itself as a cross between underground bar and cultural centre, this is a gay- and smoker-friendly hipster bar. The music is predominantly electro-Arab, African or Middle Eastern, although there's the occasional wild-card event (country, hip-hop, drag shows). Wednesday is the night to party and this is literally a 1-minute walk from our wedding venue, so maybe we'll continue here for an after party!
Miznon
When you hear the word “pita,” you may automatically think of falafel, shawarma, and sabich. At Miznon, celebrity Chef Eyal Shani is redefining the pita as a serving vessel for a plethora of mouthwatering meat and vegetarian options. Just about anything you can fit in a pita is on offer here, including a rich and meaty minute steak, shakshuka, chicken liver, and kebabs. Vegans and vegetarians alike can find tasty fare here too, with a slow-cooked ratatouille that melts in your mouth and the juicy head of a whole cauliflower that oozes flavor. Paired with the loud and lively atmosphere and the free pita and tahini nibbles, Miznon is the Mecca of Israeli street food.
Tel-Aviv Port
A commercial and entertainment district in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel along the Mediterranean Sea. Check out the link for recommendations of what to do. A bit touristy, but worth a visit!
Jaffa Old City
Jaffa is one of the most ancient port cities in the world. Perched on top of a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Explore the old city with its winding alleyways sprinkled with art galleries, mosques, and churches. Click the link to read more about the history of Jaffa.
Flea Market - Shuk HaPishPishim
Jordyn's favorite place in the WORLD and a textile mecca! Just next to Jaffa’s picturesque Old City and ancient Clock Tower, is a treasure trove of antiques, handmade and secondhand items over at the Jaffa Flea Market, or, in Hebrew Shuk Hapishpishim. Literally “the Flea Market”, this port-side neighborhood of alleyways, covered walkways and outdoor verandas has been operating for more than 100 years across the same sprawling streets, and is one of the highlights of the area with vendors selling products of any variety imaginable lining the sidewalks. Open six days a week, from Sunday through Friday, from morning through early evening hours, Jaffa Flea Market is where to go for finding those unique, one-of-a-kind items from long ago. The area surrounding the flea market has recently become somewhat gentrified and very trendy, a very cool mix of old and new.
Sarona
A newly-renovated complex with a food market, restaurants, and shops located just off one of Tel Aviv’s busiest roads. Sarona is a mix of unique Tel Aviv architectural history, and a unique urban experience that combines culture, entertainment, and leisure. And believe it or not, amid the superbly restored buildings that now house cute cafes, restaurants, and art galleries, as well as a number of boutique clothing stores, you can also take the kids for some recreational fun with one of the best green areas in Tel Aviv. Seriously, there are some very cute areas to chill out in, whether you’re with the kids or on a date. Paths are tree-lined, ponds are full of lilies, and the contrast with the nearby skyscrapers is stunning! Admittedly, this complex opened long after Jordyn & Noam's time in Tel Aviv, but we've been there once and it's a cool tourist attraction worth checking out!
Levinsky Market
The Levinsky Market is a gourmand’s paradise with its range of flavors, spices, nuts, dried fruits and fusion cuisines. For every scent and spice in the shuk there’s a story of roots, struggle and nationality that deepens its impact. What unifies all these variables is a love for food. From growing it to preparing it, and cooking it to savoring it, the Levinsky Market is filled with legends of migrating recipes and kitchens. The are is also filled with great restaurants and bars.
Diego San
Diego San is located in the trendy Levinsky market so it’s not surprising that it attracts a similarly trendy crowd. Inside, the funky music and graffitied walls create a lively vibe, and the outdoor bench-tables serve for a more chilled out dinner or drinks. They have things on the menu you won’t find anywhere else, with ideas from the Korean-Mexican trend with roots in the world's OTHER greatest city, San Diego!
Sheinkin Street
Shenkin is one of the best streets in Tel Aviv for strolling and shopping. Great boutiques and restaurants (check out Orna V'Ella...sit in the backyard if it's nice out)! Just steps from the Carmel Market on one end and intersecting with Rothschild Boulevard on the other!
Dizengoff Street
Dizengoff Street in central Tel Aviv is one of the city’s most iconic streets. Originally described as the “Champs-Élysées of Tel Aviv”, Dizengoff Street declined after the 1970’s and the opening of Tel Aviv’s most significant shopping mall, the Dizengoff Center in the southern portion of the street. In recent years, however, Dizengoff Street has seen something of a revival, with cafes and restaurants, boutique clothes stores, and numerous design shops opening up. Dizengoff Street runs from Tel Aviv Port in the north, about 3km southwards, to its end at Ibn Gbirol Street, near Chen Boulevard and the Habima Cultural Center. The streets runs through the ‘Old North’ of the city, right into the ‘Lev Hair’ – the center of town.
North Abraxass
The food is brought to you on pieces of cardboard or in paper bags and guests eat off the paper table cloths. Supposedly, Shani doesn’t “believe in plates”. We suspect he just doesn’t like dirty dishes. Anyway, who said we need plates when we have perfectly good tables? The menu changes daily depending on what is the freshest produce that day, but the menu is normally divided into ‘vegetables’, ‘fish’, and ‘meat’, so there is a little bit of everything. If you see the hamburger (49 NIS), the green beans (44 NIS), the “lamb melting into a soft bun” (72 NIS), or the bananas drenched in homemade dulce de leche and cookie crumbles (36 NIS), order them, we guarantee no regrets. In fact, this hamburger is our favourite in the city. If you are only two people, booking seats at the bar so you can watch the busy chefs prepare all your tasty dishes.
Jaffa Port
In recent years, Old Jaffa Port has been developed as a cultural attraction, whilst retaining its operations as a working port from where tens of fishermen head off into the Mediterranean each night. Many of the old hangars have been converted into versatile spaces which are often hosting exhibitions of art and photography, whilst cultural institutions such as the Mayumana dance sensations are based just behind the port. Strolling through the port is fascinating, you never know what kind of exhibitions you might encounter. As well as the typical tourist bit, with a bit of local knowledge, the Old Jaffa Port and surrounding North Ajami offer something strikingly different to the modern towers which make Tel Aviv the vibrant city that it is.
Cafelix - Jaffa (Roastery)
Great Coffee! 4 branches across Tel Aviv/Jaffa.
Ha'Achim
Ha’achim is a bustling restaurant on busy Ibn Gvirol Street. Lively and friendly, it is like dining in the welcoming home of a Tel Aviv local. The emphasis is on fresh ingredients set in a location that radiates a trendy Tel Aviv vibe in an unpretentious atmosphere. The menu is composed of a myriad of house-made salads, kebabs and homegrown Israeli food.
Hotel Montefiore - הוטל מונטיפיורי
GREAT fot breakfast! Requires reservation. Hotel Montefiore’s restaurant is a mandatory culinary experience for travelers to Tel Aviv and locales alike. French cuisine under a Vietnamese spell a delectable culinary identity based upon seasonal, local ingredients and imported goods carefully curated by the hotel’s kitchen. The hotel’s renowned brunch affords innovative takes on culinary classics such as Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, Pancakes with seasonal fruit and maple syrup, Toasted Halla Bread, Jambon, Gouda, Roasted Tomato and Poached Eggs, Spinach, Cream, Sourdough Bread.
Eats Cafeteria
EATS cafeteria focuses on healthy living and the good life. Tucked away in a peaceful green space, EATS is the perfect location to sit down for a full meal, enjoy a coffee break, or to take home deliciously prepared foods for everyone to enjoy. Pastries and scones are baked fresh each morning, served with creamy butter and homemade jams. Enjoy fresh breads and sandwiches straight from the oven, as well as hearty dishes and an assortment of colorful and nutritious salads, a favorite lunchtime option, to stay or to go.
Delicatessen
Modeled on a French deli, Delicatessen has a great selection of hot and cold food to take home in the beautifully decorated delicatessen downstairs, a sophisticated restaurant upstairs (open for breakfast and lunch), and tables to sit and drink a coffee and eat a croissant outside. Highlights (and there are so many) include a well-stocked fromagerie and charcuterie, delicious baked good and cakes from their sister shop The Bakery (the owner also owns The Brasserie), a quaint flower section, the best chopped liver in the city, and great pizza bases to make pizzas at home.
The Prince
Awesome rooftop... One of Jordyn's favorite places to have a drink and people watch on a Friday afternoon. Cool bar located in and old building on Nachalat-Binyamin. You enter the bar through the building and right in front of you there an excellent rooftop with indoor and outdoor seating. Nice variety of drinks and cocktails and there is food as well!
Hilton Beach
Grassy hill outside Hilton hotel, overlooking the sea. THE BEST spot in Tel Aviv to watch the sunset. Highly recommend grabbing some food and picnicking in the late afternoon and into early evening!
Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Art Museum. Check out the website to see what's going on there the week of the wedding!
HaTahinia
New spot inside Shuk Levinksy (Levinksy Market): The dishes are mostly tapas style, the atmosphere is colorful and joyful, the Ouzo and wine selection is plentiful, and the tahini comes in a diverse variety of mixtures, textures, and flavors. Everything is made from fresh ingredients right in front of customers. Including dishes like Tunisian-style potatoes with pickled fish, lemon, tomato, capers, olives, tahini and spices, and eggplant balls with red quinoa on harissa tahini over pickled and spiced vegetables, the menu is expansive, intricate, and mostly vegan.
Dalida
Another great spot in Shuk Levinsky (Levinsky Market), Dalida is a meeting of East and West, a blend of Arab-Italian-French cultures and flavors, that can be felt throughout the restaurant- from the special design of the space, through the menu of Chef Dan Zuaretz, the cocktails and the soundtrack in the background. The menu conducts an ongoing dialogue with nature, and each season, in addition to the restaurant's regular menu, Chef Dan Zuaretz creates a seasonal menu that is perfectly suited to the season’s finest and highest quality ingredients, thus adding an element of surprise to the dining experience.
Tony and Esther Cafe
Another great spot in Shuk Levinksy (Levinsky Market): Renowned for their mouth-watering egg breakfasts and lentils salads, Tony and Esther will help you instantly relax after the hustle and bustle of the market. Whether you’re drinking coffee, beer, or fancy a full meal, this cute cafe will soon become your favorite spot to chill out and take a break from the energetic Tel Aviv lifestyle. Arriving later in the day? Fear not. Tony and Esther’s devoted staff will ensure that your afternoon snack or dinner is prepared with as much passion as their brunches. So whether you’re sitting outside on a sunny day, or inside on a rainy one, Tony and Esther will make you wonder why you don’t spend brunch out more often.
Arts & Crafts Fair @ Nachalat Binyamin
The Nachalat Binyamin Market runs every TUESDAY AND FRIDAY. It is open for most of the day although the earlier you get there, the better. It runs from the top end of Nachalat Binyamin Street (the junction with Allenby Street, King George Street, and Sheinkin Street). The market is adjacent to the Carmel Market, Tel Aviv’s largest fresh produce market and combining a visit to the two is a great idea. Also, "The Prince" (also listed in this round-up) is right in the middle of Nachalat Binyamin street and is a great place to take a break from shopping to have a drink (or coffee) on the rooftop! You can also continue walking south and visit the Neve Tzedek neighborhood!