There are days when a bowl of pasta is all it takes. Stuff it with good cheese, wrap it in a creamy sauce, finish it with butter at the right moment and suddenly the day looks a little better.
Good pasta knows how to comfort, satisfy and still behave like the opening course of a proper meal. Making it well is an art. Knowing exactly when the sauce clings to the pasta, when the butter has done enough and when the cheese should take over is not something every kitchen gets right.
And if someone nearby starts complaining about calories or carbs, the answer is simple: there is no forgiveness for pasta that saves calories at the expense of butter.
The bottom line is that you do not need to fly to Italy for a proper plate of pasta. You just need to know where to book. From north to south, these are 20 pasta dishes worth trying across Israel.
Mascarpone ravioli, Mercato
Mercato’s pastas have long earned a reputation of their own, with several dishes already enjoying near-classic status among Israeli diners. This is Italian cooking with confidence, personality and plenty of butter where it belongs.
The standout is potato ravioli filled with mascarpone and served with Parmesan in a butter sauce.
Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta’ot
Corn and mascarpone agnolotti, Lulu Kibbutzeria
Among Israel’s more urban Italian restaurants, Lulu Kibbutzeria offers something a little different: a local, rustic Italian restaurant with plenty of character, set inside a historic building.
The pastas rely on good ingredients built around vegetables, cheese and fish, and the kitchen gives the sense of a place that knows exactly what it is doing. The corn and mascarpone agnolotti is tasty, balanced and very well made.
Kibbutz Amir
Linguine cacio e pepe, Bella
Bella is a wonderful veteran restaurant serving Italian-Mediterranean food in the relaxed atmosphere of the Jezreel Valley.
Its linguine cacio e pepe is a classic Italian sauce built on butter, pecorino cheese and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Moshav Beit She’arim, Jezreel Valley
Swiss chard ravioli, Bistro Venya
Chef Michael Gartofsky, formerly of Michael in Moshav Liman in the Galilee, runs this Haifa restaurant with a solid pasta list that includes gnocchi and spaghettini.
But the strongest pasta on the menu is the handmade ravioli filled with Swiss chard and sheep’s cheese, playing beautifully on sour and salty notes. It is made in-house and shows real professionalism.
1 Sha’ar Palmer, Haifa
Seafood pasta, Crudo
Chef Alaa Musa’s Crudo is a good reminder that excellent Italian food does not need to come with attitude.
The restaurant brings a light, sharp Mediterranean approach and the freshness of the sea. Its seafood linguine is bold, flavorful and full of marine depth thanks to calamari, shrimp and mussels, with Jerusalem artichoke layered on top.
15 Hanamal, Haifa
Tagliatelle with mushrooms and cream, Pasta Fratelli
This Italian restaurant manages to connect the flavors of Italy and the Middle East with ease.
There are eight pasta dishes on the menu, but the most interesting is the crema di funghi: tagliatelle in mushroom and cream sauce, finished with Parmesan and touches of truffle. A classic dish, done well.
17 Giborei Israel, Netanya
Fettuccine limone, Roberta Vinci
Chef Ido Feiner’s Italian restaurant offers an excellent menu and a beautiful courtyard with fruit trees and an herb garden that genuinely calls Italy to mind.
The fettuccine limone comes in a tarragon butter sauce with garlic, wrapped from above in Parmesan. The bite is velvety, rich and delicious.
43 Ahuza, Pardes Hanna-Karkur
Pumpkin and cheese stuffed pasta, Nono
Nono, the veteran Italian restaurant that launched the Nono and Mimi group, also made business headlines when it was sold to Leumi Partners.
Among all the Italian dishes on the menu is the rotolo: pasta rolls filled with caramelized pumpkin, sweet potato, ricotta, Parmesan and feta. It is all served in a velvety rosé sauce and resembles lasagna in the best possible way.
2 Jabotinsky, Hod Hasharon
Mushroom tagliatelle with butter and leek, Cucina Hess 4
This small, veteran institution from chef Tamar Cohen-Tzedek has a big soul and no need to shout in order to prove itself.
The pasta here feels classic, precise and romantic, without shortcuts or too much noise around it. The mushroom tagliatelle with butter and leek is a plate that respects Italy.
4 Hess, Tel Aviv
Tortellini filled with za’atar butter, Alena
Alena, the charming restaurant at The Norman hotel, is run by talented chefs Omer Shadmi and Daniel Tzur.
The menu includes tortellini filled with za’atar butter in a lemon sauce, a wonderful dish with layers of flavor. The atmosphere is elegant, the style is sky-high and the best tip is simple: sit in the beautiful courtyard.
23 Nachmani, Tel Aviv
Green spinach fettuccine, Cafe Italia
This polished Tel Aviv Italian restaurant belongs to brothers Ari and Yoram Yerzin, among Israel’s pioneering restaurateurs and the people behind places such as Ad HaEtzem, Chimichanga, Moses, Zozobra and Magazzino.
The pastas here manage to feel comforting and elegant at the same time. The green spinach fettuccine with Gorgonzola, pine nuts and arugula is sharp and precise. This is a restaurant that knows how to make simplicity feel luxurious.
6 Kremenetski, Tel Aviv
Cream pasta with sliced sirloin, Amore Mio
Amore Mio is a Tel Aviv classic that does not need to reinvent itself in order to remain beloved.
This is pasta without pretension but with plenty of history, and it is one of the city’s veteran pasta spots. The menu includes more than 10 cream-based pasta dishes, from radiatori to strozzapreti.
The Che Federica is a wonderful pasta in cream sauce with sliced sirloin, truffle butter and a touch of red wine. Perfection.
100 Ibn Gabirol, Tel Aviv
Carbonara, Cicchetti
Cicchetti is a small, stylish urban Italian bar with plenty of atmosphere.
It may be known for its small plates and energy, but its pastas hit exactly where they should. The carbonara is a favorite: lamb replaces bacon, while butter and Parmesan wrap everything together. The black pepper is present and assertive. Finger-licking good.
58 Yehuda Halevi, Tel Aviv
Mafaldine in lemon sauce, Fifty and One
This kosher Italian restaurant sits in Tel Aviv’s restless center and serves an all-dairy menu. A meat version recently opened in the courtyard behind it.
Located in the heart of Nahalat Binyamin, the restaurant is full of atmosphere. The standout pasta is mafaldine, a ribbon-like pasta similar to fettuccine but with ruffled edges, served with fish fillet in a lemon butter sauce and topped with breadcrumbs. A real treat.
51 Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv
Pasta porcini, Taverna Romana
This lively restaurant from chef and restaurateur Bentzi Arbel, who has spent the past decade specializing in Italian cooking, offers a fun and relaxed approach.
It works for families, but also for younger diners looking for somewhere relatively affordable and energetic. The pastas here can be traditional and full of character, including the pasta porcini with portobello mushrooms, butter and Parmesan. Sometimes that is all it takes to lift an entire day.
8 Eliezer Kaplan, Tel Aviv
Cheese tortellini, Chez Vivi
Chez Vivi is a small bistro in a bustling spot on Dizengoff Street. Its menu is mostly French in spirit, but who says you cannot eat pasta in France?
Chef Assaf Gabay’s cheese tortellini is excellent. The dough pockets are filled with mascarpone and ricotta, seasoned with za’atar leaves, served in a buttery sauce and finished with sage leaves. A joy to eat.
166 Dizengoff, Tel Aviv
Cheese tortellini in tomato butter sauce, Cafe Napo
Cafe Napo is a polished Italian restaurant with good atmosphere and solid food, part of the group behind other popular Italian spots including Pomo in Ramat Hahayal and the new Capri in BIG Glilot.
The successful dish here is cheese tortellini filled with ricotta, pecorino and spinach, served in a tomato butter and oregano sauce. Wow.
7 Haduvdevan, Kiryat Ono
Ricotta and Parmesan tortellini, Colorato
Colorato is a lively Italian restaurant with a large menu that includes starters, pizza, pasta and meat mains.
Among the many dishes is ricotta and Parmesan tortellini in a white butter sauce with snow peas and Parmesan on top. A true pasta pleasure.
16 Helkikei Ha’Or, Be’er Sheva
Corn cream ravioli, Lucina
Lucina is a small Italian chef restaurant located at a gas station, with the feel of a classic Italian trattoria.
The menu also includes pizza and fish, but the pasta is the reason to come. There are around 10 pasta dishes, and the recommendation is the polenta ravioli: ravioli filled with corn cream, served with cream sauce, portobello mushrooms, green beans and porcini mushroom butter.
Moshav Emunim
Four-cheese lasagna, Passino
Passino began as a pizzeria, but over time pastas joined the menu and now sit alongside the pizzas and salads.
The menu favorite is the four-cheese lasagna, filled with pecorino, mozzarella, Gouda and Parmesan in a rosé sauce. The two-floor restaurant is kosher.
1 Hatzoref, Eilat