Project Description
Planning on visiting Israel on Passover and wishing for something decent to eat? Here are some excellent kosher restaurants, offering delicious meals despite the lack of flour.
Matzah balls are just the beginning
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By Ori Shaked
When it comes to Jewish holidays, we can sum them up with one sentence: “they tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat”. When it says: “let’s eat”, it means a lot of dishes; meat, extras, side dishes and deserts at family gatherings. However, Passover is a huge challenge, culinary wise, due to what is called “Chametz” – Leavened foods that are forbidden, according to Halakha, during the week of the jewish holiday. The fact that, for those who chose not to eat “Chametz”, no flour can be used and the fact that the “official bread” is Matzah, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy great meals on Passover, you just need to know where to get them. This list is a great place to start:
Gefilte Fish is just the beginning
1. Tishbi – Road 652 between Binyamina and Zichron Yaakov
Dairy-based menu
The restaurant is located in the visitors center of the Tishbi vineyards on the North of Israel. Throughout Passover the place will be also open for business for lunch (usually, it serves just breakfasts all year long) and will offer kosher dishes by chef Aviv Moshe. Don’t forget to get some excellent wine while you are there.
Traditional Passover matzah ball soup
2. Hamotzi – 113 Yaffo st., Jerusalem
Home cooking style
Chef Avi Levi who owns and operates the restaurant is one of the Israeli version’s winner of the famous TV show “MasterChef” . Since then, he is cooking and serving great authentic Moroccan food, home-made style. The restaurant will serve all along Passover its signature dishes in an adapted kosher versions alongside special dishes, all from the Moroccan kitchen.
3. Yakimono Hilton – 205 HaYarkon St., Tel Aviv
Japanese style
If you feel you can’t go through Passover without a Japanese fine dining experience, this place is for you. The restaurant offers a menu based on fish as sashimi, fish skews and fresh salads to go with. All ingredients are at highest quality and will make you forget all about bread… the restaurant is open throughout the Passover holiday.
Who needs bread? Meat with natural vegetab
4. Ca Phe Hanoi – 3 Malkhei Yisra’el St., Tel Aviv
Vietnamese style
Chef Nofar Zohar will continue to present all along Passover its Vietnamese menu with French touches, minus the gluten. The pastries will be based on rice flour and will be a nice substitute to the “forbidden” traditional bread. You can order the Vietnamese papaya salad with green mango, Thai black-eyed peas, meat and more special dishes to make you forget, for just an hour or so, it is Passover out there…
5. Lehem Basar (bread and meat) – 4 David Remez St., Jerusalem
The Jerusalem style
Planning on visiting Jerusalem on Passover and looking for some great meat? Search no more. Lehem Basar is a place dedicated to two things: excellent meat and great bread, hence its name – bread and meat. The rich menu is a combination of excellent cuts with freshly baked breads and side dishes, a combination hard to resist at a fairly reasonable price. On Passover you can enjoy the excellent meat and side dishes minus the bread which is prohibited on Passover.
Hummus and Tahini with pine nuts
6. Hummus Kaspi – 1 Kikar Masarik st., Tel-Aviv
The classic Israeli style
You thought we will sum things up without some great Hummus? Wrong! This chain of excellent Hummus will offer this beloved dish just without the (almost) mandatory pita bread, but alongside special substitutes and gluten-free replacements. You can order the regular dished as salads, Shakshuka and even gluten-free desserts.
7. Sinta – 11 Haorgim St. Ashdod port
For meat lovers
Operating since 2008 and Located in Ashdod port, Sinta is the place for you if you simply love meat. The kosher menu is combined with prime cuts that are set to satisfy the craving for great meat and excellent side dishes and appetizing starters to get you going. Sinta is a family-friendly place that can take care of the young ones as well as their hungry parents during Passover.
