Five places not to miss in Sarona Market
Tel Aviv’s preeminent retail food market offers upscale vendors, fast-food kiosks and fine dining establishments all under one roof. With some many choices, there's something for everyone.
Of course, one advantage of the variegated market is that two or more people can conveniently order totally different cuisines, and then still sit down to eat together. Subsequently, they may then take a break to browse the market again, and choose a separate dessert from an almost endless array of options.
Abu Shukri
This Sarona newcomer is a familiar name to Jerusalemites, many of whom will tell you it has the best hummus in town. When Israelis began to hesitate to go to the Old City, Abu Shukri opened a branch in Abu Ghosh; but this is the chain’s first foray into Tel Aviv.Naturally, any visit to Abu Shukri ought to begin with its signature dish—hummus. And there are no fewer than 12 varieties altogether, most of them vegetarian but also one with meat. For the first-timer, the eponymous version, which comes with whole chickpeas, is a good place to start.
Also worthy of note is the falafel: available with hummus or separately, these Arab-style nuggets are slightly flat and green inside, fried to the perfect degree of crunch.
There are mezze galore—15-30 different salads—and 3-4 soups daily, including two types of kubbe soup. There is also shakshuka as a main course, served with fries and salad.
Although they are served all day, Abu Shukri’s grilled meats are called “business,” as are the various mahshi, vegetables stuffed with meat. The skewered meats may be ordered on a plate with two sides, or in a pita.
There are two classically Middle Eastern desserts, malabi and baklawa. All this food may be washed down with soft drinks or bottled domestic beer.
Captain Curry
Captain Curry: Roshfeld’s Indian is one of three Sarona eateries that proudly trurmpet the names of the celebrity chefs that helm them. Jonathan Roshfeld, better known for his gourmet Herbert Samuel restaurants, as well as for his role as a judge on the television show Master Chef, has opened a small Indian restaurant in Sarona to indulge one of his more exotic culinary passions.
The one-page food menu comprises three sections: four small plates, five main courses, and three dishes labeled “from a palace kitchen.” There is also a rotating soup of the day, and large, crisp papadam—like a cross between a pita and a cracker.
The portions at Captain Curry are quite large; and since the main courses are served with jasmine rice, they are filling as well. Moreover, there are dishes that one would expect to find more in a fine dining restaurant than at a casual dining stand—such as the outstanding blackened tandoori trout in tomato and coconut curry.
Other noteworthy dishes are the chicken kofta in satay sauce with candied hibiscus; beef raja with organic egg yolk; Bombay shrimp in coconut milk; and chicken tikka with dal. The house pickles are also a nice condiment.
Finally, the beverages are intriguing as well: ice cold chai, mango lassi and a private label beer brewed especially for Captain Curry.
Fishop
Many fish and seafood restaurants take pride in proclaiming how fresh their catches are, but not many offer live lobsters fresh from the aquarium, or can take their raw materials right off the ice from an adjacent fishmonger. Yet that is the enviable situation that sets Fishop apart from so many of its competitors.
The restaurant has a fairly extensive alcohol selection for an informal establishment, with a limited wine list and imported draft beer, in addition to the usual soft drinks.
Fishop offers both cold and hot dishes, from the regular menu and daily specials. The former category encompasses a range of raw fish, including ceviche, carpaccio, and bruschetta topped with seared red tuna, or thick-cut gravlax with crême fraîche and salad. There are even oysters, when one is in the mood to splurge.
There are also interesting ethnic dishes: a zesty Thai tom yam soup generously studded with mussels, shrimp and calamari the day we visited, and several variations of chraime.
Hiro
Hiro Freestyle Ramen Bar by Aharoni is another celebrity chef eatery, this one the first restaurant operated by television personality Yisrael Aharoni in more than a decade.“This is the first ramen bar in Israel,” Aharoni says. “There are Japanese restaurants that serve ramen, but this is the only place dedicated primarily to serving these meals in a bowl.”
When Aharoni is in the country, there is a good chance you’ll find him personally working the automated noodle cooker in the assembly line operation that he designed.
Ramen is clearly the star of the show here: bowls of highly seasoned soup, noodles and vegetables, plus meat, chicken or tofu. A nice treat in each bowl is a uniquely marinated hard-boiled egg.
The hearty noodle soup may not leave much room for a second course, but there are some other menu items that are certainly worth trying. The gyoza—fried dumplings—are tasty morsels with a crispy lattice that is distinctive to Hiro. There is a range of inexpensive salads, and tiny sandwiches made with steamed buns.
Significantly, there are vegan options in all categories—ramen, buns, gyoza and salads—all of which are served on environmentally friendly disposable plates.
Hiro’s beverages are all Asian-inspired, from the refreshing herbal tea spiked with ginger to a real innovation: pre-mixed sake-based cocktails served in flask-like bottles that can be taken home if not completely quaffed on the spot.
Meat Bar
Sometimes nothing quite hits the spot like a hamburger—and that’s where Meat Bar comes in. This outpost of the popular chain serves only hamburgers—but they are beauties.
The Meat Bar burgers are 200 grams of prime beef ground on the premises from choice cuts that you can see hanging in the booth. Served with lettuce, tomato and onion on a homemade bun, these burgers are as juicy and flavorful as can be.
There is one upgrade to the burger: the cheeseburger adds a thin layer of melted Gouda to the premium patty, and the proportion of cheese to meat strikes the perfect balance.
Either burger is served on wax paper in a cardboard tray together with tasty rippled French fries. Beck’s beer on tap is an ideal beverage complement.
Note: This article focuses on places that are open seven days a week, in order to take maximum advantage of all the times Sarona is accessible to the public. Most of the raw materials are kosher; but since the restaurants operate on Shabbat, they cannot be granted certification. Needless to say, there is no lack of eateries that are indeed certified kosher.
