Israel’s culinary map just got tastier with these latest restaurants in Tel Aviv. Discover vibrant new hotspots, from beachfront seafood and cozy Japanese bars to modern Mediterranean grills and chef-driven dining experiences.
Restaurants in Tel Aviv: Dé FACTO. Image courtesy: Gideon Levi
For many tourists, gourmands and locals, Tel Aviv-Jaffa is arguably Israel’s culinary capital, with a wide variety of dining opportunities – from gourmet chef and specialty restaurants right through to delicious street food and food markets. This culinary scene is forever changing, with new restaurants opening all the time. Here is a select few of the newest culinary options on the Tel Aviv scene, offering tourists a gourmet journey through Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.
Chakoli: A New Seafood Restaurant Elevating the Beach Experience in Tel Aviv
Restaurants in Tel Aviv: Guests at Chakoli can choose a casual meal with small tapas dishes featuring a variety of flavors or a high-end, elegant dining experience. Image courtesy: Haim Yosef
Chakoli, a new seafood tapas restaurant in Tel Aviv located directly opposite the Mediterranean with indoor and outdoor seating, offers a unique dining experience inspired by Spanish cuisine. The restaurant is housed in a newly established seafront community center for water sports, inaugurated a year ago. The center features public spaces dedicated to water sports and various other activities, with the restaurant serving as an integral part of the complex, facing the sea.
The partners behind the venture are well-known Tel Aviv restaurateurs Chef Guy Gamzu, Mosh Budnik and Itzik Hangel, all bringing extensive experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Chef Yarden Shay has curated a menu featuring fresh fish and seafood with Spanish influences. The menu includes fresh oysters, raw fish dishes such as sashimi and carpaccio, grilled octopus with lima beans, as well as classic Spanish dishes such as Jamón Melón and Tortilla de Patatas. Guests can choose a casual meal with small tapas dishes featuring a variety of flavors or a high-end, elegant dining experience.
The restaurant features a spacious central bar, where visitors can enjoy music and food while watching the chefs at work in the open kitchen, and an open deck bringing the sea directly into the heart of the experience.
Address: 3 Herbert Samuel St., Tel Aviv
Eyal Shani’s Malka Relocates, with an Enhanced Culinary Experience and a Meaningful Social Project
After seven successful years at Beit Asia, celebrity Israeli Chef Eyal Shani’s restaurant Malka has relocated to Azrieli Town. Originally opened in 2018, Malka is a kosher restaurant that offers a unique culinary experience, blending rich flavors, diverse textures, and a touching human story.
Malka’s menu is based on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients straight from the market. Every dish, from appetizers to desserts, is crafted with meticulous attention to Israeli flavors, balancing tradition and innovation.
What sets Malka apart is not only its exceptional food but also its social mission, which continues at the new location. The restaurant provides employment opportunities for at-risk youth, allowing them to learn, grow, and build a better future through their work in the kitchen and service team. These young staff members, working alongside professional chefs, are an integral part of Malka’s dining experience.
With additional locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Palm Beach, Malka exemplifies a restaurant that seamlessly integrates high-quality Israeli cuisine with meaningful social impact. Chef Eyal Shani’s vision, which has guided the restaurant from the start, continues to shape every new project, and this relocation further strengthens Malka’s unique place in the culinary world—for those who seek not only great food but also a deeper story behind every dish.
Address: 146 Menachem Begin Road, Tel Aviv
Saka-Ba: An Authentic Japanese Nightlife Experience in the Heart of Florentin
In the heart of Tel Aviv’s Levinsky Market, a new Japanese bar called Saka-Ba has recently opened, bringing the nightlife vibes of Osaka straight to Tel Aviv. The restaurant is the brainchild of well-known Israeli restaurateur Asaf Menachem (owner of Men-Ten-Ten restaurant), and Osaka-born Chef Masaya, an Osaka native whom Menachem met during his time in Japan.
Inspired by traditional izakayas—informal Japanese sake bars—the menu offers a selection of small dishes paired with a variety of Japanese alcohol, including 17 types of sake, shochu, whiskey, and specialty cocktails. Every detail in the design draws inspiration from Japanese culture, including a transparent smoking booth in the center of the space, just like in Japan.
The menu includes dishes such as Gyudon (sliced beef with rice, egg yolk, and pickled ginger); Tori Udon (chicken and dashi soup with slow-cooked chicken and bamboo shoots) and classic Japanese delicacies such as Niku Sashimi, Mini Tomatoes in Japanese brine, and Asahi Maki (a fish roll wrapped in spicy cucumber).
Address: Zevulun 8, Tel Aviv
Barbur: A Modern Mediterranean Grill Experience
Restaurants in Tel Aviv: Barbur’s whole fish grilled over an open flame. Image courtesy: Si Fish
The ILU chef collective, under the leadership of Adam Sold and Yuval Leshem, has evolved from conceptual private events, culinary consulting and secret brunches in a hidden urban space in South Tel Aviv, to establishing a permanent space with Barbur. Barbur recently opened in Nahalat Binyamin, one of Tel Aviv’s liveliest neighborhoods, offering a modern Mediterranean grill experience, in a relaxed yet elegant atmosphere. The space evokes a sense of nostalgia, in its design and with a menu that ranges from classic dishes to modern interpretations. Seating options include an intimate bar, elegant tables, and an outdoor seating option.
The menu, crafted by ILU and led by Chef Itai Eyal, showcases a variety of charcoal-grilled specialties, from small plates like black eggplant cream with charred pearl onions, to grilled mussels in a chorizo and white wine sauce, kebab roulade with green onion salsa and ranch sauce and whole fish grilled over an open flame or premium cuts of meat served with seasonal sides.
Address: Nahalat Binyamin 36, Tel Aviv
Koko Neko – An Authentic Japanese Ramen and Pancakes Restaurant in Tel Aviv’s Florentin Neighborhood
Koko Neko, a Japanese ramen and soufflé pancake restaurant, recently opened in Tel Aviv’s Florentin neighborhood. Designed in a traditional Japanese style with a carefully curated menu, Koko Neko is the brainchild of well-known Israeli restaurateur Dudi Afriat and Misato Behar, a Japanese chef who moved to Israel 12 years ago after marrying an Israeli.
The menu features three classic ramen varieties—tofu, chicken, and pork—alongside handmade gyoza, soba noodle salad, and flavorful Japanese appetizers like Chuka seaweed salad and pickled shiitake mushrooms. All dishes are based on traditional Japanese recipes and authentic ingredients.
Address: Florentin 5, Tel Aviv
ZO – A New Asian Chef Restaurant in Tel Aviv’s Soho District
A new 120 seat Asian chef restaurant recently opened on Rothschild Boulevard’s vibrant Soho district. Combining a luxurious dining experience with an international ambiance. Led by restaurateur Yaki Kabir and Dr. Amir Zarach, ZO offers culinary creations inspired by Thai, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisines, under the direction of one of Israel’s most successful Asian chefs, Don Tran.
Carefully curated over the past months, ZO’s menu blends Asian culinary traditions with innovative techniques, with each dish telling a unique story and offering a feast of flavors, textures, and colors.
Signature dishes include Foie Gras Filet Roll; Samurai Roll; Sashimaki; Sakura Roll and Crispy Zucchini Roll. A variety of sashimi and nigiri options are also available and main courses include Black Cod; ZO Premium veal fillet; and Tofu Steak. The restaurant also prides itself on a carefully designed wine menu and cocktail menu, offering innovative combinations and surprising flavors.
Address: Rothschild Blvd 11, Tel Aviv
Dé FACTO – A New Chef Restaurant Opens at Poli Urban Hotel
Dé FACTO, the recently-opened chef restaurant at the Poli Urban Hotel in Tel Aviv, offers a unique fusion of fine dining, live music, an elegant 1920s Paris-inspired ambiance, and a creative cocktail menu. Led by Chef Hai Tzarum, the menu presents a modern interpretation of Yemeni cuisine, using locally sourced ingredients and innovative culinary techniques. Signature dishes include Kubaneh, sea fish tartare; lamb Maqluba, seafood bisque and lamb doner.
The bar offers a selection of unique handcrafted cocktails created by mixologist Ziv Edelstein, combining classic inspirations with modern techniques, such as Olive Oil Zaatar Negroni or Celery Gimlet.
Dé FACTO offers a dynamic all-day experience, from a lavish brunch, through evening cocktails to an exclusive fine dining atmosphere at night.
Address: Poli Urban Hotel, 7 Nes Tziona St., Tel Aviv
Gila & Nancy
Born from a dream of Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani and the queer party collective PAG, Gila (the restaurant) and Nancy (the bar) are located in the Play Hotel, near the Gan Hahashmal neighborhood. A fusion of elegance, beauty, and glam, intertwined with underground culture, fashion, music, nightlife, and queer expression, the restaurant and bar celebrate uniqueness.
“I was what I wanted to be—now it’s your turn to be…”
This quote by Gila Goldstein, Israel’s first transgender woman, was painted on the restaurant’s window on opening day by Eyal Shani, serving as a daily reminder of the vision behind Gila & Nancy.
Both spaces are named after Gila Goldstein and Nancy Schneider, two of Israel’s first transgender pioneers, who inspired freedom and self-expression for the LGBTQ+ community in Israel and beyond.
Gila is a restaurant that feels like a performance—serving Eyal Shani’s interpretation of classic hotel dishes, all within a decadent cabaret atmosphere, featuring surprise performances by Tel Aviv’s fiercest drag queens.
Nancy, located in the restaurant’s basement, is an elegant yet inviting bar, calling on guests to be themselves. The venue features Tel Aviv’s most intriguing and cutting-edge DJs, spinning sounds that are warm and enveloping—but also raw and disruptive.
Address: 8 Levontin St., Tel Aviv (PLAY Hotel)
JMT – A New Korean Eatery in Tel Aviv
JMT, a new, lively, street-food eatery has recently opened near Nachalat Binyamin, offering an authentic Korean dining experience. JMT stands for Jon Mattaeng, roughly translating to “insanely delicious”. Signature traditional Korean dishes include Tteokbokki, Bibimbap and Gimbap.
The brainchild behind JMT – the Okinawa Sushi Group known for its successful Japanese restaurants in Tel Aviv – researched Korean food in depth to craft a menu that combines traditional ingredients with a contemporary twist. The dishes include Gimari ; Creamy Tteokbokki ; Pajeon; Korean Wings; Dwaeji Pai; Handmade Kimchi and a selection of desserts.
Address: Ahuzat Bayit 3, Tel Aviv
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