The Only 5 restaurants I will eat at in TLV!!! I’ll start with Picola Pasta
*NOTE* This post will be in 5 installments!
“Oh, you’re a Chef! In Tel-Aviv! Great! Can you please recommend to us your favourite places? We heard a lot about XXXX and XXXX”……blah blah blah
This is my sad fate upon people learning of my occupation.
Now at the risk of sounding like a Snob, a Misanthrope, or a Jerk- I must be honest.
There are only 5 places in TLV where I will throw down my hard-earned money to eat dinner at, and not have the feeling afterwards as if someone has just jacked me for my wallet, keys, Nike trainers, and self-respect, or in more frank terminology, “left 100 dollars on the dresser”.
Here they are:
1. Picola Pasta:
First of all, Yoav, the Chef and owner, is what I like to call an Alpha Personality- Charming, hilarious, witty, and more importantly, supremely passionate about food and incredibly knowledgeable about Italian wines and Grappas (of which he possesses the absolute finest selection in Israel)
His restaurant used to be across the street from where it is now, a tiny place consisting of 4 tables and 3 more outside in summer months, and Yoav alone in the kitchen, and his nephew Aviv waiting tables, now it is a slightly larger 6 tables, plus the wine bar upstairs- And losing nothing of the intimate and secretive environment of the original.
He opened in 2000, the year I made Aliyah, and after discovering it, it became the place where if it was my birthday, a happy occasion, or a romantic date with Alon, my first choice to go to.
Why? Not necessarily because of the food only- which is simple, rustic, pastas- No handmade pastas, no meat, no fancy nonsense- De Cecco pasta, with a variety of sauces (my favourite being anchovies and mushrooms- and which I always specify extra anchovies, and a half lemon on the side.)
My only complaint is I wish he would include some freshly chopped flatleaf parsley which would elevate and clean up the intense flavour of the dish perfectly.
But nevermind!!! I adore this place, and on top of that, his pizzas are sublime!! THIN crust- in fact, it would even pass my old boss’ test!
i.e, If a piece of pizza flopped over at the end, due to a too-thick or soggy crust or too heavy ingredient load- Straight into the bin!!!
Also, his Panna Cotta is seriously the best in TLV, and in fact word-class-
None of that huge, jello-like, wobbly crap seen all over town which if thrown on the floor would bounce like a superball!
No!! this Panna Cotta (“Cooked Cream” in Italian) is delicate- barely set- gently perfumed with pure vanilla seeds and an espresso bean! Not too sweet! not too big! elegant!
And perfect with one of the rare and exquisite Grappas that Yoav travels all over Italy to find and bring back!
More importantly, the secret, hidden, wine and Grappa bar upstairs makes you feel as if you were in London, Rome, SF, or NYC-
Tiny, cool, quiet, tasteful- and with an unbelievable Italian wine list, and Yoav (after he finishes work in the kitchen downstairs) to come up, recommend wines, tell absolutely un-PC jokes and travel stories, meet an incredible mix of people from Swedish diplomats, Italian tourists, to Israeli TV personalities- and feel like you are in another world!!! I buy all of Alon’s birthday presents here, by the way- the last being a 1965 Barolo!!!!
In short- two thumbs up, way up.
For the overall experience and gracious yet unpretentious atmosphere which is so rare in TLV.
Piccola Pasta: 53 Ben Yehuda Street, Tel Aviv. 03 529 0643.
Facebook comments:
this is one of the 5??? i have to see what the other 4 are!
ill like it!
sounds good. Am very curious about the pizza, after loving sicilian pizza. I have never eaten any reasonable pizza in israel,-besides my own…(-: