Nahalat Binyamin Cafe & Bar in Herzliya
Photo: Dudu Azoulay
The other Nahalat Binyamin
A restaurant on Herzliya’s B’nai Binyamin Street has become a popular fixture in the neighborhood.
Nahalat Binyamin is a name best known for being a street of eateries and galleries near Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market; but in suburban Herzliya, Nahalat Binyamin Cafe & Bar
is a friendly neighborhood bistro with a devoted following of regular clientele who have remained loyal over the last eight years.
Nahalat Binyamin serves breakfast daily until 11.30 am and offers a business lunch from noon to 5 pm. With menus in Hebrew and English, and a largely bilingual – and affable – wait staff, it serves both long-time local residents and many overseas students who attend nearby Interdisciplinary Center (IDC).
"We are a true neighborhood bistro in the sense that we are open all day, from 7:30 in the morning until 11 at night (the kitchen closes at 10 pm)," says Chef Sharon Tal, who owns the restaurant together with his brother Dotan, the manager. "We also respect our neighbors, closing for the entire Shabbat to give everyone a rest."
Israeli Pride
Roy Yerushalmi
The Palomar in London, which belongs to owners of Jerusalem's famous Machneyuda restaurant, described by British GQ magazine as having 'the most chutzpah of any food and drink establishment operating in the country right now.'
According to Chef Tal, who apprenticed at the world-class Mul-Yam seafood restaurant in Tel Aviv and has racked up 20 years of experience, the menu is classical continental, yet with deep roots in Israel, as evidenced by the fact that there is always at least one "tavshil" on the menu.
"We use only the freshest seasonal ingredients," Tal emphasizes, "and everything is made from scratch.
"We also offer 10-12 daily specials covering the range of first, pasta and main courses," he adds, estimating that some 100 different dishes have been featured over the course of the restaurant’s history.
Salmon and potato salad, one of Nahalat Binyamin's specials (Photo: Dud Azoulay)
The variety – and quality, not to mention the reasonable prices – keep the customers coming back; the night I visited, the tables at both the sidewalk and rear garden al fresco dining areas were full. (While the chairs out front are the most comfortable, cushions are available upon request for the lawn furniture seats in the back yard, which is gently scented by a fragrant flower bush.)
"It’s all word-of-mouth," insists Tal. "We do no advertising."
It helps that Nahalat Binyamin has something for everyone, including an ample selection of vegetarian (and even vegan) dishes.
The café and bar source with the same care as the kitchen, while promoting Israeli wines and beer. Bazelet, brewed in the Golan, is on tap; Domaine Netofa (in the Galilee) and Gizo (Emek Ha’Ela) are the house wines.
The cocktail menu relies mostly on the tried-and-true classics. One of the less familiar drinks on the list – a fiegling sour – intrigued me, so I ordered the concoction of fig liqueur with lemon and nana. Even with the lemon, it was still very sweet; but with the help of the nana, it was quite refreshing.
For starters, the chef brought us fried vegetable patties in a yogurt curry sauce, and shrimp in labane and za’atar. The leek and zucchini patties were outstanding: not at all greasy, and nicely enhanced by the slightly spicy yogurt sauce.
The seared shrimp are quickly cooled by the labane; and If one is not careful, the delicate shrimp could be overwhelmed by the generous helping of labane; but the freshness of the seafood and assorted vegetables was unmistakable, while the labane was wipe-the-plate-clean delicious. I was grateful for the soft rye bread, which came with butter and garlic aioli as well.
Although my dining companion had dietary restrictions tending toward the vegan end of the spectrum, this proved to be no problem. She had a glass of natural carrot juice, and a quinoa salad with tofu and assorted vegetables. She found both to be excellent.
The "tavshil" of the day was beef-and-turkey meatballs cooked with Jerusalem
artichoke and other root vegetables, in seasoning that was heavy on the turmeric. The dish – piping hot and still in the skillet – was both satisfying and filling; it turns out that the meatballs are a specialty of the house that are served every day, with variations on the accompanying ingredients and herbs and spices.
My companion had the ravioli with sliced zucchini, all in a simple butter-za’atar sauce. The ravioli were stuffed with Parmesan and ricotta, and the entire dish was topped with crumbles of fresh white cheese and garnished with a za’atar bud. All the pasta at Nahalat Binyamin is either prepared by hand from scratch in the kitchen -- the ravioli being a case in point – or specially imported from Italy.
Speaking of Italian imports, the cafe serves exclusively the Diemme brand, from Padua. I was urged to try it; and even though I rarely drink coffee at night, I am thankful that I gave in: I have no hesitation in saying that it was the best cup of coffee I have had in Israel.
The dessert menu is quite extensive, and most offerings are on display in the refrigerated pastry case. There were no fewer than four tempting chocolate options, but we elected to taste two of the chef’s suggestions: The lemon pie, and "Mom's" cheesecake. The meringue was crafted in perfect peaks and looked like it had been blowtorched to just the right shade of gold; the tart as a whole was rich and sweet, while the cheesecake was light and airy -- akin to a sponge cake iced with a generous layer of creamy cheese.
It is not often I can say that one single restaurant actually has something for everyone. But considering that you can pick any of three meals a day, and the menu spans the spectrum from ordinary standbys like schnitzel to gourmet delicacies, Nahalat Binyamin may indeed live up to the boast.
And if you are a coffee aficionado, and can’t find Diemme in your neighborhood, an espresso, latte or cappuccino here might well be worth the trip.
Nahalat Binyamin Cafe & Bar
(Not kosher)
B’nai Binyamin St. 10, Herzliya
Tel. 972-9-9544927
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
