At the end of last year, the winners of the first American Express (AMEX) Israeli Culinary Excellence Awards were announced, which included a few surprises and revelations.
The first-place finishers in the restaurant classification are featured below, in the order in which the categories were ranked by AMEX. Only one of the winners is certified kosher. Across the board, reservations are highly recommended, if not required.
Rutenberg - Best Restaurant
Ambiance: The setting and location of this restaurant are as unlikely as any prediction might have been that the little-known and remote Rutenberg would be crowned Israel’s best restaurant; an obscure wooden hut in the hinterlands of the Jordan Valley is hardly where one expects to find the country’s number one dining establishment. But this is exactly where kibbutznik couple Hila and Yizhar Sahar toil to realize their vision of serving excellent food made from nature’s nearby rural bounty. Despite the extremely humble surroundings and very basic furniture, white tablecloths and impeccable service add fine dining touches.
Drinks: There are no cocktails, but wine expert Hila has curated an excellent wine list – available online – comprising no fewer than 200 vintages. She will be happy to provide tastes and advise on wine choices.
Menu: There is no written menu, as it changes not only daily but at each meal. Moreover, two different tasting menus are served daily: five courses at lunch (served 13.00-15.00), and 13 at dinner (from 19.00). All ingredients are grown and/or sourced locally – or even foraged.
Recommended: Many dishes can be quite small, and even the main courses are not large. But there is range, as well as variety: we enjoyed an equal number of vegetarian, fish and meat dishes. It is hard to recommend anything in particular, since it is unlikely that dishes will be repeated. The home baked bread – accompanied by soft butter lightly dusted with with powdered Jerusalem artichoke and cocoa – might well be a worthy exception. And the gluten-free substitute – cornbread in the form of sliced polenta – is unforgettable.
Rutenberg. Old Gesher. Tel. (04) 675-2237.
Best Chef - Rahav, Raz (OCD)
Chef Raz Rahav (aka Razi Barvazi) is no stranger to lists such as this one: for years, his flagship Jaffa restaurant OCD – with its distinctive multi-course tasting menu – has been ranked #1 in the country by numerous domestic media outlets. In addition, such prestigious international publications as Gault & Millau and Forbes have also recognized Rahav.
Most recently, OCD came in at an impressive #3 in the debut list of The 50 Best Restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the newest of the various regional international “50 Best” lists sponsored by [Italian mineral water bottler] San Pellegrino.
Now, In addition to OCD, Rahav is creating a world-class culinary mini-empire by expanding into new areas: Afui (Hebrew for “baked”) will produce custom-made breads, cakes and desserts for the hospitality sector, while Tenne (Hebrew for “food basket”) is akin to a very specialized pantry providing prepared ingredients for gourmet recipes.
Also in the works is the imminent debut of an exclusive wine bar, Tirza, which will employ two sommeliers and offer some 200 vintages, 50 of which will always be available on demand by the glass. Tirza will serve a very limited selection of tapas, and also sell products from Afui to accompany take-away coffee.
Afui has begun operations from a new, state-of the-art facility under the supervision of Rahav and OCD pastry chef Or Amir. Tenne, which has since been renamed Tweezers, is housed in OCD itself.
Recommended: Croissants, Brioches and Cereal Sourdough Bread (Afui); Chicken Stock, Vegetable Stock, Brown Butter (Tenne).
Most Promising Chef Peled, Aviad/Steinberg, Ori (Pereh)
[Awarded this year in tandem to a chef duo]
Ambiance: This Inviting new “modern bistro,” on a corner of fabled Nahalat Binyamin Street, is already threatening to burst at its seams. Its small bar, with limited seating, is nonetheless fully stocked; and although tables are necessarily rather close together, both indoors and on the sidewalk outside, the feeling is one of intimacy rather than crowdedness. In short, an ideal place for a first date, even if not for parties of more than four. The pleasant international playlist helps as well.
Drinks: There are no specialty cocktails, but there is a more than adequate international wine list, with a few vintages available by the glass.
Menu: The Hebrew-only menu comprises two sections, First Courses and Main Courses. Many items on the menu rotate daily.
Recommended: Amberjack Tartare in Potato Tacos, Spicy Calamari, Stuffed Chicken Wings. (While it is likely that the replacement of dishes on the food menu will not be as frequent as in Rutenberg, there is of course no guarantee that these will always be available.) In the dessert category, meanwhile, it is hard to imagine that the popular Japanese Pancake – a fluffy, cheese-filled sweet flapjack topped with powdered sugar – would ever not be served.
Pereh. Nahalat Binyamin St 27, Tel Aviv. 050 (333) 9900.
Best New Restaurant - Alter
Ambiance: The premises are a rustic cabin situated somewhat incongruously a few steps from the busy main street of an upscale northern Tel Aviv suburb. In addition, there is a sprawling vegetable garden in the rear, from which the restaurant derives the title of its cuisine: urban farm. The wooden house is not completely winterproofed, but there is every reason to believe that it would be a pleasant place to eat in warmer weather.
Drinks: There are no cocktails, but there are three special tonic blends, with the optional addition of gin (or vodka).
Menu: The Hebrew-only printed menu comprises three sections: Starters, Cold Dishes and Hot Dishes. As we have seen in what is now a trend, many items on the menu rotate daily – especially since vegetables from the rear garden are constantly being harvested as they ripen.
Recommended: Bearing in mind the caveat of daily changes, Panisse [hummus dumplings], Palamida Larb, and (warm) Mangold Leaves stuffed with Georgian Cheese. The separate dessert menu comprising four items is liable to reflect greater stability, and here we enjoyed Basbousa (with yogurt whipped cream). crunchy crust
Alter. 79 Sokolov Street, Ramat Hasharon. Tel. (077) 724-2100.
Best Street Food - HaKosem
Ambiance: Located strategically on the corner of Shlomo Hamelekh and King George Streets in the heart of Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff district, this large storefront always has a line of eager diners waiting out front to place an order and grab a seat at one of the outdoor tables on the sidewalk. The chef behind the street magic (HaKosem means “the magician”) is Ariel Rosenthal, who started with a kiosk 20 years ago, and presided over its expansion over the decades.
Drinks: A few specialty cocktails, in particular the house pomegranate lemonade infused with arak.
Menu: The bilingual printed menu reflects the few major sections that are featured prominently on the large blackboard. As the cuisine category suggests, the stars are the familiar staples of Israeli street food.
Recommended: Not surprisingly, the crunchy falafel balls (with interiors of dark green, as one might find in the Arab sector), the homemade hummus, and the gently fried pale eggplant slices. There is also a tasty dish of slow-cooked rice with chickpeas.
HaKosem. 1 Shlomo Hamelekh Street, Tel Aviv. Tel. (03) 525-2033.
Best Kosher Restaurant Darya
Ambiance: This elegant restaurant is located in the opulent lower lobby of the Tel Aviv Hilton, in the space previously occupied by Chef Victor Gloger’s Chloelys. During daylight hours, it also offers a splendid view of the Mediterranean. The master chef who earned Darya its latest accolades is Hillel Tavakoli, whose sister [non-kosher] restaurant Animar was also recognized in the aforementioned San Pellegrino MENA 50 Best list.
Drinks: In lieu of specialty cocktails, there are gin and tonic combinations made with choices of premium gins and flavored with the Persian bouquet garni sabzi. It is also possible to substitute vodka for gin. The extensive kosher wine list itemizes whites, rosés, sparkling and reds in bottles and carafes, with a few vintages – and no full-bodied reds – available by the glass. A supplemental wine list bears the title Private Cellar.
Menu: Darya’s “modern Silk Road cuisine” consists of delicacies from the swath of Central Asian countries extending from Turkey to China and India – thus reflecting to a great extent the Persian heritage of Chef Tavakoli (whose ancestry also stems from North Africa, another influence that surfaces occasionally). Some of the menu – and in particular, the lavish appetizer spread – bears similarities with the Persian-Mediterranean fusion that characterizes the chef’s other award-winning restaurant, Animar.
Recommended: There are standouts from each of the four menu categories: Black Eggplant Spread and Fava Bean Confit (Appetizers); Cig Kofte and Kashmir Cut (Small Plates); Grilled Duck and Grilled Tenderloin (Large Plates); and Fallude washed down with Afghan Tea (Desserts).
In addition to the aforementioned winners, an award was bestowed on The Best Culinary Institution. That particular ethnic restaurant is not featured in this article, since the owners requested that it not be mentioned (apparently, they are so busy they do not want the publicity).
Related awards were bestowed for:
Lifetime Achievement – to French-Israeli Chef Shalom Kadosh (of Jerusalem’s “Cow on the Roof” restaurant)
Special Appreciation – to Tzohar Kashrut Supervision Organization
Additional award classifications included [Technological] Innovation; Media and Documentation; and Agriculture, Production and Raw Materials.
The first AMEX Israeli Cuisine Festival and Awards [competition] was conceived and organized by David Kichka, an impresario who designs numerous projects around gastronomy, and Nirit Weiss, a co-founder of the Karvat-Weiss PR agency. The project was executed in collaboration with ToMix event planners, while other corporate sponsors besides American Express were Dan Hotels, Recanati Winery and Anaf HaZayit.
The festival was marked by 52 events held in the fall of 2021, and a spring edition is planned for this year, as well a second annual festival in the fall. The judges who sat on the awards committee were well-known chefs, restaurant critics and other personalities drawn from Israel’s culinary community.