Neve Tzedek is where I like to hang out when I am in Tel Aviv. It’s a tiny neighborhood not far from the beach, but it’s packed with cool boutiques, restaurants and cafes. Here are my favorites in Neve Tzedek.

Cafes

• Dallal Bakery (in the alley behind Dalal): great pastries and espresso
  Kol Yisrael Chaverim 7
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  Tel +972-3-510-9292
  www.dallal.info/#pageStart

• Tazza d’Oro: coffee and light food
  Ehad Haam 6
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  +972-3-5166329

• Nina Café (across the Nina Suites, my favorite boutique hotel in Tel Aviv)
  29 Shabazi Street
  Tel Aviv, Israel

• Café Mia (read review)
  55 Shabazi Street
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  Tel: +972 3 516 8793

Bars

• Jajo Bar
  47 Shabazi Street
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  +972-3-516-4557

• Jajo Vino: just across the street from Jajo Bar, but specializes in wine

• Nana Bar (read review)
  1 Ahad Haam Street
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  +972 3 516 1915

Restaurants

• Dallal
  10 Shabazi Street
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  +972 3 510 9292
  http://www.dallal.info/#pageStart
  

• Herbert Samuel (read review)
  Beit Gibor
  Rehov Koifman 6
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  +972-3-516-6516
  www.herbertsamuel.co.il

• NG meat bar
  Ehad Haam 6
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  +972-3-5167888

• Kimel
  Hashachar 6
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  +972-3-5105204
  Mediterranean food

• Mari
  Lilenblaum 1 (corner of Pines 27)
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  +972-3-5100989
  Mediterranean food

• Catit (read review)
  4 Heihal Hatalmud St.
  Tel Aviv, Israel
  www.catit.co.il
  +972-3-510-7001

• Yoezer Wine Bar (read review)
  Ish Habira 2
  Kikar Hashaon
  Jaffa, Israel
  (in nearby Jaffa by the clock tower)
  +972-3-683-9115
  French, wine bar

It’s not difficult to find a good place for dinner in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood of Tel Aviv. But if you want a place that’s not too crowded and noisy, you should go to Catit, located in a villa away just a short walk from the bars, cafes and restaurants of Neve Tzedek.

Catit serves Mediterranean cuisine with a Middle Eastern touch. It’s perfect for a quiet romantic evening.

• Vibe: elegant dining room with black and white tiled floors, tables are far enough that you can carry on a civilized conversation.

• Pros: excellent French and Italian dishes from the Med, good wine list; Neve Tzedek location is a big plus because it’s close to a lot of good bars and cafes, good service.

• Cons: None really.

Catit Restaurant
4 Heihal hatalmud Street
Tel Aviv (Neveh Tzedek)
Israel
www.catit.co.il
+972 3 510 7001

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Other Tel Aviv favorites:

Food in Tel Aviv: Tapas at Herbert Samuel

Orna and Ella serves up delicious salads

Superb fish and pasta at Orca

Fabulous boutique hotel: Nina Cafe Suites Hotel

Dining out in Neve Tzedek: Dalal and Nana Bar

Café Mia: chocolate decadence in Neve Tzedek

If you have been reading my posts lately, you’ll realize I’ve been having too much of a good time in Tel Aviv. This is one city whose residents immerse themselves in a totally hedonistic lifestyle. Great food, parties till the wee hours of the morning, hanging out on the beach . . . It’s not a surprise therefore to find an excellent cafe in the trendy Neve Tzedek area called Cafe Mia, serving decadent pastries and chocolates in addition to good coffee, salads and sandwiches. Open for breakfast, this is a wonderful place to hang out.

Cafe Mia is a cozy cafe on two levels with white walls, next to a chocolate shop called Dolce Mia. On a cold winter evening I had espresso coffee with milk and melted Belgian chocolate, a sort of a mocha coffee only far better than those horrid artificially sweetened “cafe mocha” drinks that one finds in the US. The pastries are divine!

Cafe Mia
55 Shabazi Street
Tel Aviv
Tel: +972 3 516 8793

If you want to dine in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood, there are two popular restaurants that serve good Mediterranean cuisine: Dallal and Nana Bar.

(1) Dallal

Located next to the Suzanne Dallal center, Dallal is very popular and you have to reserve if you want to dine after 9pm.

• Vibe: Mediterranean “outdoor” feel meets European brasserie chic; lots of trendy young couples but the place still has a relaxed informal atmosphere.

• Pros: excellent fresh fish, good pasta, good wine list, intimate, comfortable seating.

• Cons: need to reserve in advance, can get loud if the place is packed

Dallal
10 Shabazi Street
Tel Aviv
+972 3 510 9292

(2) Nana Bar

Part bar, part restaurant with a DJ in the later hours, Nana Bar is a good place for dinner with friends. Relaxed and atmospheric at the same time because of the outdoor patio, it is the perfect place for a spring or summer evening out.

• Vibe: relaxed, fun, informal outdoor seating; feels like summer all the time

• Pros: delicious fresh unpretentious Mediterranean food, reasonable prices

• Cons: bar area gets very crowded later in the night

Nana Bar
1 Ahad Haam Street
Tel Aviv
+972 3 516 1915

There’s only really one place to stay in Tel Aviv if you don’t want the concrete tower-block chain hotel experience: Nina Suites, a boutique hotel in heart of trendy Neve Tzedek, a neighborhood filled with cafes, restaurants, artisanal jewelry shops and clothing stores.

Nina Suites has rooms and studio apartments for longer stays. The decor is chic and modern, but not over the top. It is cozy, warm and inviting. Across the street is the Nina Cafe, which serves delicious breakfasts and lunches. It is THE hangout in this neighborhood in the afternoons, especially on the weekend (which is Israel is Friday and Saturday).

It’s a mystery to me why there aren’t more boutique hotels like Nina Suites in Tel Aviv. In other cities such as Amsterdam and Barcelona, boutique hotels with an emphasis on design and personal attention have been springing up like mushrooms. Indeed, Nina Suites is very much in demand among foreign visitors so you have to reserve well in advance. It is minutes from the beach and a short walk from Jaffa (the old city).

Nina Cafe Suites
29 Shabazi Street
Tel Aviv
+972 52 508 41 41
www.ninacafehotel.com

Neighborhood hangouts

If you are staying in Neve Tzedek, the best places for coffee and light lunches are Nina Cafe across the street from the hotel, Mia Cafe (decadent chocolates and pastries) and Tazza d’Oro. For dinner, don’t miss Nana Bar and Dallal. There’s also a sushi place just down the street from the Nina Suites.