The 8 Best Restaurants in Tel Aviv (2026)

Updated July 2026 · 8 picks

The best restaurants in Tel Aviv in 2026 are Port Said, OCD and HaBasta. Tel Aviv's dining scene is built on a vegetable-forward, market-driven style of modern Israeli cooking, and the best tables run from tasting-menu fine dining to loud, no-reservations small-plates bars. Below are eight that define how the city eats, with what to order and how to actually get in.

1. Port Said — Near the Great Synagogue

Eyal Shani's roaring, no-reservations small-plates bar — the truest taste of how Tel Aviv actually eats.

₪₪₪ UpmarketBest for Couples · Groups

If you eat at one restaurant in Tel Aviv, make it this one. Port Said sits in the shadow of the Great Synagogue on Har Sinai Street, spilling out onto a pavement packed with low tables, a wall of vinyl records behind the bar, and a handwritten menu that changes with whatever the market delivered that morning. It is the flagship of Eyal Shani, the chef who did more than anyone to define the vegetable-forward, unfussy style that Tel Aviv now exports around the world.

The cooking is deceptively simple and consistently thrilling: charred whole cauliflower, tomatoes dressed in nothing but good olive oil and salt, grilled fish, slow-cooked meats, all meant to be shared across the table with your hands and torn bread. Nothing is precious, everything tastes of itself, and the kitchen sends it out fast and hot into a room that only gets louder as the night goes on.

There are no reservations, and that is the point — Port Said is a scene as much as a restaurant. Turn up, give your name, order a drink and wait on the street with everyone else. Come before 19:00 for a quieter table or after 22:00 for the full, thumping, late-night version.

Good to know: No reservations. Go early or late to skip the longest waits, and don't fight the sharing format — order broadly for the table.

Google Maps Website

2. OCD — Kiryat HaMelacha (south Tel Aviv)

Raz Rahav's chef's-counter tasting menu — the most ambitious, most personal fine dining in the city.

₪₪₪₪ SplurgeBest for Couples

OCD is Tel Aviv's fine-dining statement piece: a small, minimalist room in the industrial Kiryat HaMelacha quarter where a handful of diners sit at a counter around an open kitchen and eat a single set tasting menu from chef Raz Rahav. There is no à la carte and no choosing — you put yourself in the kitchen's hands for the evening.

The menu is a tightly choreographed sequence of small, inventive courses that reinterpret Israeli ingredients and traditions through a modernist lens, changing constantly with the season and the chef's obsessions. It is theatrical without being cold: the cooks plate and serve their own dishes and talk you through them, so the meal feels like being cooked for by friends who happen to be extraordinarily good.

This is a special-occasion restaurant, priced accordingly, and it books out well in advance. Reserve as early as you can, expect to spend the whole evening there, and mention any dietary needs when you book, since the format is fixed.

Good to know: Book well ahead, and flag dietary restrictions when you reserve — the tasting menu is set, so the kitchen adapts in advance rather than on the night.

Google Maps Website

3. HaBasta — Carmel Market

A market bistro tucked into a Carmel Market alley, cooking whatever is freshest that day.

₪₪₪ UpmarketBest for Couples · Solo

HaBasta sits in a narrow lane just off the Carmel Market, and its whole philosophy follows from that address: the kitchen buys from the stalls around it and builds the day's menu from whatever is at its peak. There is a printed menu, but the specials chalked up daily are where the real cooking happens, and the staff will happily steer you toward them.

The style is rustic Mediterranean with an offal-and-seafood streak that rewards the adventurous — think raw fish with citrus, grilled vegetables, house-cured bits and pieces, and a wine list that punches well above the room's casual, wood-and-tile feel. It is the kind of place chefs eat on their day off.

It's small and popular, so book ahead for dinner, especially at the weekend. Lunch is a slightly calmer way in and lets you pair the meal with a wander through the market itself.

Good to know: Ask for the daily specials rather than ordering off the printed menu — that's where the market-driven cooking actually shows up.

Google Maps Website

4. Taizu — Menachem Begin / Yehuda Halevi

Upscale 'Asiterranean' cooking that fuses Southeast Asian technique with Israeli ingredients.

₪₪₪₪ SplurgeBest for Couples · Groups

Taizu is chef Yuval Ben Neriah's polished, ambitious restaurant blending the cuisines of the countries along the Tropic of Cancer — Thailand, Vietnam, India, China — with Mediterranean produce and an Israeli sensibility. Ben Neriah coined the term 'Asiterranean' for it, and for once the marketing word actually describes the plate.

The room is dark, handsome and buzzy, and the menu runs from street-food-inspired small plates to serious mains, with curries, dumplings and grilled dishes that carry real depth of spice. It's a strong pick if you've had your fill of the vegetables-and-grill house style and want different flavours at the same standard of cooking.

It's a proper night-out restaurant — book ahead, especially for weekends, and lean on the staff for pacing, since the plates are designed to be shared and arrive as they're ready.

Good to know: Order across the menu and share — the kitchen sends dishes out as they're ready rather than in strict courses.

Google Maps Website

5. Miznon — King George / city centre

Eyal Shani's gloriously messy stuffed-pita joint — the casual, cheap, brilliant end of his cooking.

₪₪ Mid-rangeBest for Solo · Families

Miznon is where Eyal Shani's philosophy meets fast, affordable street food, and it's become a genuine Tel Aviv institution, with outposts now in Paris, New York and beyond. The concept is simple: everything comes stuffed into a warm, fluffy pita — from ratatouille to seared steak to a whole roasted cauliflower — served over a counter in a room that feels like a joyful, slightly chaotic canteen.

The famous whole roasted cauliflower, served on a metal tray for you to pull apart, is the dish that launched a thousand imitators, and it's still worth ordering. The rest of the menu is generous, vegetable-heavy and cheap by Tel Aviv standards, which makes Miznon the answer when you want to eat well without the fuss or the bill of a sit-down dinner.

It's counter service and it gets busy, but the queue moves fast and there's no reservation to worry about — perfect for lunch, a fast dinner, or a stop between other things.

Good to know: Order the whole roasted cauliflower even if you order nothing else — it's the signature, and it's meant to be pulled apart by hand.

Google Maps Website

6. M25 — Carmel Market

A butcher's own restaurant in the heart of the Carmel Market — a carnivore's counter of grilled meat done properly.

₪₪₪ UpmarketBest for Groups · Solo

M25 is the restaurant attached to a working butcher in the Carmel Market, which tells you everything about its priorities: the meat is excellent, freshly cut, and cooked simply over fire. It's an unpretentious, tiled, market-side spot where you sit close to your neighbours and eat plates of grilled cuts, kebabs, offal and sausage with good bread and sharp salads.

This is the antidote to Tel Aviv's vegetable obsession — a place that does one thing, meat, and does it with real skill and genuine value for the quality. It draws a mix of market workers, locals and in-the-know visitors, and the atmosphere is loud, friendly and fast.

Go at lunch to combine it with the market in full swing, or in the evening for a more relaxed version. Either way, come hungry and let the staff steer you toward the day's best cuts.

Good to know: Ask what the butcher cut that morning — the specials off the block beat the standing menu.

Google Maps Website

7. Shila — Ben Yehuda Street

Chef Sharon Cohen's warm, seafood-leaning neighbourhood restaurant — a reliable, grown-up dinner.

₪₪₪ UpmarketBest for Couples

Shila is the kind of restaurant every city needs and Tel Aviv does especially well: a warm, well-run neighbourhood place from chef Sharon Cohen, strong on fish and seafood, where the cooking is confident and generous rather than showy. It's been a fixture on Ben Yehuda Street for years, and it earns its regulars.

The menu is market-driven Mediterranean with the sea front and centre — expect superb raw and grilled fish, seafood pastas, and a rotating board of specials that the staff recite with real enthusiasm. It's less of a scene than Port Said and less of an event than OCD, which is exactly its appeal: you come here to eat very well and have a proper conversation.

It suits a relaxed dinner for two or a small group, and it's a good choice when you want quality without the theatre. Book ahead for the weekend.

Good to know: Listen to the specials board — the fish that came in that day is almost always the move.

Google Maps Website

8. Santa Katarina — City centre

Another Eyal Shani room, calmer and more grown-up than Port Said, with the same vegetable-first brilliance.

₪₪₪ UpmarketBest for Couples

Santa Katarina is the more composed sibling in the Eyal Shani family of Tel Aviv restaurants. It shares the same DNA — seasonal vegetables treated like the main event, fish and meat cooked simply, a menu that shifts with the market — but delivers it in a calmer, more comfortable room that suits a proper sit-down dinner rather than a pavement scrum.

The cooking is every bit as good as its louder relatives: expect standout vegetable dishes, excellent bread and olive oil, and a short, confident list of mains. If you love the Shani style but want to actually hear your dinner companion, this is the one to book.

It takes reservations, which alone sets it apart from Port Said, and it's a strong pick for a first serious dinner in the city. Book ahead for weekends.

Good to know: This is the Eyal Shani restaurant that takes reservations — use that if you want the cooking without the wait.

Google Maps Website

Frequently asked questions

What food is Tel Aviv known for?

Modern Israeli cooking that leans hard on vegetables, the grill and the seasonal market — think charred cauliflower, tomatoes at their peak, fresh fish, tahini and za'atar, plus the Levantine and North African influences of the city's immigrant history. Tel Aviv also has world-class hummus and a wave of chef-led restaurants that reinterpret all of it.

Do I need to book a table in advance in Tel Aviv?

For the chef-led restaurants and any tasting menu, yes — OCD, Taizu and the like book out days or weeks ahead, especially for Thursday and Friday nights. The city's famous no-reservations spots like Port Said work differently: you turn up, put your name down, and drink at the bar or on the pavement until a table opens. Go early or late to cut the wait.

Are Tel Aviv restaurants open on Shabbat?

Many are, and this is what sets Tel Aviv apart from Jerusalem. A large share of the city's restaurants — especially the secular, chef-driven ones — stay open Friday night and Saturday. Some close from Friday afternoon through Saturday evening, so check the specific place before you plan around it.

How expensive is dining out in Tel Aviv?

Not cheap. Tel Aviv is one of the pricier food cities in the world, and a proper dinner with wine at a chef-led restaurant runs high. You can eat brilliantly for much less at the market stalls, hummusiyot and casual spots like Miznon — the quality-to-price ratio at the casual end is one of the city's real pleasures.

What should I order at a modern Israeli restaurant?

Order vegetables first — they're the heart of the cooking here, and a charred cauliflower or a plate of ripe tomatoes with olive oil is often the best thing on the menu. Then share: the food is built for the table, not for one plate each. Ask the staff what came in from the market that morning.

1. Port Said — Near the Great Synagogue

2. OCD — Kiryat HaMelacha (south Tel Aviv)

3. HaBasta — Carmel Market

4. Taizu — Menachem Begin / Yehuda Halevi

5. Miznon — King George / city centre

6. M25 — Carmel Market

7. Shila — Ben Yehuda Street

8. Santa Katarina — City centre

Frequently asked questions

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