Tourism in Israel - Restaurant Culture

Restaurant Culture

As part of its hospitality industry, including hotels, restaurants and wineries, one of the most vibrant restaurant cultures in the Mediterranean region has developed in Israel since the 1990s, catering to both tourists and citizens. Professional training for Israeli chefs, hotel owners, sommeliers and vintners is of a high standard, and top hotel chefs have international education and experience.

There are thousands of restaurants, casual eateries, cafés and bars in Israel, offering a wide range of choices in food and culinary styles. In addition to Middle Eastern specialties, there are restaurants offering a wide selection of ethnic food, including Italian, French, Greek, Russian, Ethiopian, Balkan, Thai, Chinese, American and fusion cuisine.

Places to eat out that are typically Israeli include falafel stands or kiosks, which also offer extras like French fries, fried eggplant, salads and pickles with the falafel, and the hummusia, which specializes in hummus, and offers only a limited selection of extras. The Misada Mizrahit (literally, "Eastern restaurant") is an inexpensively priced restaurant that serves a basic selection of meze salads followed by grilled meat with French fries and simple desserts, while Steakiyot are restaurants which serve a meze of salads, followed by skewered grilled meats, particularly shashlik and kebabs.

Cafés are common in urban areas and function as meeting places both for socializing and conducting business. They commonly serve coffee, tea, fruit juice and soft drinks and almost all serve baked goods and sandwiches; many also serve light meals. Most have outdoor seating to take advantage of Israel's temperate weather, and Tel Aviv is particularly well known for its café culture. Tea is also served in cafés, from plain brewed Russian-style with sugar, to tea with lemon or milk, and Middle Eastern-style with mint (nana). There is also a strong coffee drinking culture in Israel and coffee is prepared in many ways, such as instant (nes), iced, latte (hafuḥ), Italian-style espresso, or Turkish coffee.