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The 10 Best Bars in Israel (2026)

Updated August 2026 · 10 picks

The best bars in Israel are in Tel Aviv, where Bellboy, Imperial and 223 have put the city on the world cocktail lists, with Haifa's Masada Street and Downtown offering something cheaper and less polished, and Machane Yehuda in Jerusalem turning into a bar quarter after the market closes. Three very different drinking cities. Ten bars, below.

1. Bellboy — Berdichevsky Hotel, city centre, Tel Aviv

Theatrical, playful, award-winning cocktails — the most fun serious bar in the city.

₪₪₪ Upmarket

Bellboy is Tel Aviv's showstopper cocktail bar: a dimly lit, vintage-styled room in the Berdichevsky Hotel where mixology meets theatre. The bartenders are performers as much as craftspeople, serving elaborate, playful, often smoking or bubbling cocktails with a wink, sometimes in unexpected vessels and with a flourish.

Beneath the showmanship, the drinks are genuinely excellent, which is why Bellboy has repeatedly landed on international best-bar lists. The atmosphere is high-energy and fun rather than hushed and reverent — this is a place to be delighted, not just to sip.

It's small and hugely popular, so it fills fast; go early or expect to wait, and let the bartenders steer you toward something surprising rather than ordering off-list. A must for anyone who loves a proper cocktail bar.

Good to know: Go early to get in — it's small and packs out. Tell the bartender what you like and let them surprise you.

Google Maps Website

2. Imperial Craft Cocktail Bar — HaYarkon Street, near the sea, Tel Aviv

A world-ranked cocktail bar with a tiki-tinged menu and impeccable technique.

₪₪₪ Upmarket

Imperial Craft, hidden behind the Imperial Hotel on HaYarkon Street near the seafront, is one of the bars that put Tel Aviv on the global cocktail map — it has featured on the World's 50 Best Bars list. The setting is handsome and clubby, and the drinks are seriously accomplished, with a tiki and tropical streak running through an inventive, well-built menu.

This is cocktail-making at a high level: balanced, creative drinks made with real precision, served by a knowledgeable team in a room that manages to feel both glamorous and relaxed. It draws a mix of visitors and locals who take their drinks seriously.

It's a short walk from the beach hotels, which makes it an easy, high-quality first stop for the evening. Go earlier for a seat at the bar, and trust the menu's more adventurous end.

Good to know: Handily placed near the seafront hotels — start the night here, and lean into the tiki-leaning menu.

Google Maps Website

3. 223 Bar — Dizengoff / city centre, Tel Aviv

A pioneering, no-nonsense cocktail bar that helped start the city's craft scene.

₪₪₪ Upmarket

223 (Two Two Three) is one of the elder statesmen of Tel Aviv's cocktail scene, a bar that helped kick off the city's craft-drinks movement and has stayed excellent ever since. It's a warm, wood-and-brick, speakeasy-ish room focused squarely on well-made classic and original cocktails, without gimmicks.

The vibe is relaxed and grown-up, the bartenders are skilled and unpretentious, and the menu rewards both the classicist and the curious. It's the sort of place you go to actually talk and drink well, rather than to be dazzled.

A dependable, high-quality choice on or near Dizengoff, good for a more conversational evening. It gets busy later on, so arrive earlier if you want a table.

Good to know: A more relaxed, conversation-friendly cocktail bar — good when you want to talk as well as drink.

Google Maps Website

4. Butler — Rothschild / city centre, Tel Aviv

A sleek, upscale cocktail-and-wine bar with polished drinks and a stylish crowd.

₪₪₪ Upmarket

Butler is a sophisticated, design-forward bar near Rothschild that pairs a serious cocktail programme with a strong wine list and small plates. It's a sleeker, more upscale proposition than the speakeasy-style spots — a place to dress up a little and enjoy expertly made drinks in handsome surroundings.

The cocktails are refined and well-executed, the wine selection is thoughtfully chosen, and the food menu is good enough to make it a full evening rather than just a stop. The crowd is stylish and the atmosphere buzzy without being chaotic.

It works well for a smart night out or the beginning of a longer evening along Rothschild. Book or arrive early on weekends, as it draws a fashionable crowd.

Good to know: Good for a dressier night out — the wine list and small plates make it a destination, not just a stop.

Google Maps Website

5. Spicehaus — City centre, Tel Aviv

An intimate, spice-driven cocktail bar for drinkers who like bold, unusual flavours.

₪₪₪ Upmarket

Spicehaus is a small, characterful cocktail bar that builds its drinks around spices, herbs and bold, unexpected flavour combinations. It's a spot for the more adventurous drinker — someone who wants a cocktail that surprises rather than reassures — and the intimate scale makes it feel like a discovery.

The bartenders clearly enjoy experimenting, and the menu leans into aromatic, complex builds you won't find everywhere. The room is cosy and low-key, which suits the focus on what's in the glass.

Go when you want something a little different from the big-name bars, and tell the bartender how adventurous you're feeling. Being small, it's best earlier in the evening.

Good to know: For adventurous palates — ask for something spice-forward and off the beaten track.

Google Maps

6. Libira Brewpub — Downtown Haifa

Haifa's own brewery, pouring its beer where it makes it.

₪₪ Mid-range

Libira brews on site in Downtown Haifa and serves the results across a long bar alongside food designed to go with beer rather than to compete with it.

It sits in the middle of the Downtown revival — the strip of restored Ottoman and Bauhaus buildings that has become the city's most interesting district in the last decade.

The range rotates, so ask what is fresh rather than ordering by name.

Good to know: Ask for a tasting flight; the seasonal brews are the ones worth trying and they change constantly.

Google Maps Website

7. Fattoush — German Colony, Haifa

A bar-restaurant garden below the Baha'i Gardens, and the emblem of mixed Haifa.

₪₪₪ Upmarket

Fattoush sits on Ben Gurion Boulevard in the German Colony, looking straight up the terraces of the Baha'i Gardens, with a garden courtyard full of mismatched furniture and hanging lamps.

It works as a restaurant, a coffee house and a bar depending on the hour, and it is one of the places most often held up as an example of Haifa's Jewish-Arab coexistence in practice.

Open on Shabbat, which makes it a reliable Friday-night option.

Good to know: Sit in the courtyard rather than inside, and go before dark while the gardens are still lit.

Google Maps Website

8. Masada Street strip — Hadar, Haifa

Not one bar but six, on the best two hundred metres of street in the city.

₪ Budget

Masada Street is Haifa's bohemian quarter compressed into a couple of blocks: bars, cafes, a bookshop or two, murals on the walls and a crowd that skews student and artist.

The right way to use it is as a strip rather than picking a single venue — the bars are small, cheap and close enough together that people move between them all evening.

It is scruffy, and that is entirely the point.

Good to know: Thursday night is the big one; Sunday and Monday most of the street is closed or empty.

Google Maps

9. Sputnik — Rothschild / Allenby, Tel Aviv

A loud, fun, unpretentious bar that spills onto the street — pure Tel Aviv energy.

₪₪ Mid-range

Sputnik is where the polish comes off and the party starts: a loud, energetic, no-frills bar that spills out onto the pavement near Rothschild and draws a young, up-for-it crowd. It's less about precision cocktails and more about music, cheap-ish drinks and the raucous, sociable street-bar energy Tel Aviv does so well.

The atmosphere is the draw — packed, buzzy, and often overflowing onto the street, especially on weekends. It's the kind of place you end up staying at far longer than planned, dancing and drinking with a mix of locals and travellers.

Come later in the evening when it's in full swing, and don't expect a quiet conversation. Ideal for a big, fun, unfussy night out.

Good to know: Come late and expect a loud, spilling-onto-the-street party rather than a quiet cocktail.

Google Maps

10. The Downtown bars (HaNamal Street) — Downtown, near the port, Haifa

Haifa's newest nightlife district, in restored Ottoman-era buildings by the port.

₪₪ Mid-range

The Downtown area around HaNamal Street and the Turkish Market has been the focus of Haifa's regeneration, and its restored stone buildings now hold the city's most design-conscious bars and restaurants.

It is closer to a Tel Aviv scene than anywhere else in Haifa, and prices are a little higher than Masada Street, though still below the coast.

Summer weekends see outdoor events and markets in the same streets.

Good to know: The area is quiet on weeknights and busy Thursday to Saturday — go at the weekend or it will feel empty.

Google Maps

Frequently asked questions

Which city has the best bars in Israel?

Tel Aviv, by a distance, and it is genuinely world-class — Imperial and Bellboy have both appeared on international best-bar lists. Haifa is the value alternative with a real local scene, and Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda is unlike anywhere else: a fruit and vegetable market that becomes a bar quarter after 9pm.

How much does a drink cost in Israel?

A craft cocktail runs roughly ₪55–₪80 in Tel Aviv and ₪45–₪65 in Haifa and Jerusalem. Beer is around ₪28–₪40 for a half-litre. Almost everywhere runs a happy hour, typically from opening until 8 or 9pm, and it is a serious discount rather than a token one.

Do bars in Israel open on Shabbat?

In Tel Aviv and Haifa, yes — Friday night is the biggest night of the week in both. In Jerusalem, most of the centre closes from Friday afternoon until Saturday night, and the bars reopen once Shabbat is out. East Jerusalem and the hotel bars are the exceptions.

Are there kosher bars in Israel?

Yes, and it is a growing category — certified bars with full cocktail programmes exist in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, generally under Tzohar or a local rabbanut certificate. The practical differences are the food menu and closing for Shabbat rather than the drinks. See our separate guide to kosher bars in Israel.

What is the drinking age in Israel?

Eighteen, and it is enforced at the door in the busier places, particularly in Tel Aviv. Buying alcohol in shops is restricted between 11pm and 6am, which is why the late-night drinking happens in bars rather than on the beach.

Do you need to book a bar in Israel?

For the small Tel Aviv cocktail bars on a Thursday or Friday, yes — Bellboy and Imperial both take bookings and both fill. Everywhere else is walk-in, though arriving before 10pm is the difference between a seat and a scrum.

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