Pizza 180: Probably the most romantic and affordable deal in Tel Aviv

I've been writing about restaurants, food, and culinary experiences for quite some time, but I've never encountered a period as crazy/unique/unprecedented (delete as appropriate, or maybe don't, because it's all true) as this. This isn't like during the coronavirus pandemic when everyone was bored, bars turned into plant shops to keep their staff employed, and cafes turned into bread and pastry shops to fall under the "essential workplace" category. This is much more than that.

Places that opened before October 7th have closed, perhaps because they didn't fit the national mood. Long-established eateries found themselves without staff, with everyone being called up for reserve duty (and let's not even start talking about places staffed by young people, some of whom were at the Nova Festival with all that entails—I encountered such cases as well), and everyone is trying to juggle and maintain sanity.

So, I wasn't surprised when I came across the café of Boutique 180, a stylish hostel on the Tel Aviv beachfront at the corner of Yona Hanavi Street, which had been successfully operating for the past two and a half years, and discovered it was no longer a café, but a pizzeria.

Maayan Simcha, one of the owners, reveals that in the early days of the war, he was left completely alone. "After October 7th, within less than 24 hours, everyone, including everyone, enlisted. The partners, the managers, and all our staff donned uniforms and disappeared for weeks. I sat at home and after a few days realized that it's amazing everyone is in the reserves, but the rent still needs to be paid, and the property tax keeps coming even when the business is closed."

He recounts, his tone becoming slightly irritated. "After zero support from the municipality and only symbolic support from the property owner, I realized I had to do something. I'm not the type to give up easily. Moreover, as the war dragged on and winter suddenly began, fewer people came to the beach and promenade. I decided to completely change my products and cater to everyone working from home and all the evacuees from the south and north who had come to Tel Aviv."

The result is a series of pizzas primarily delivered throughout Tel Aviv. The dough is made from several types of flour, with a ten-year-old sourdough starter, quality mozzarella, a secret sauce, and a formidable oven that operates at 450 degrees Celsius.

After Maayan finishes talking about the government and the municipality, he relaxes and begins to speak enthusiastically about the pizzas, revealing a completely outrageous sense of humor. "I dedicated the names of the pizzas to our staff who are keeping us safe in the reserves. A pizza I named 'Pizza Amit' is dedicated to Amit, who is lactose intolerant, and it comes with a mix of cheeses—mozzarella, Emmental, cheddar, and Gruyere—for NIS 89. Guy keeps kosher, so the pizza named after him comes with mozzarella, pepperoni, and fermented chili (also NIS 89). There are also small and interesting dishes like chicken bites, a new cocktail menu, and draft beer."

But if you happened to discover the new pizzeria on the Wolt app or hear rumors about a hot new pizza delivery, there's another change. "Spring is coming, the weather is warming up, and we've just reopened the place to the public, with the beautiful sunsets and beach atmosphere. Delivering pizzas all over the city was a good idea at the time, but I got tired of working with Wolt. I don't have direct contact with the customer, and I don't know the couriers. If my pizza arrives cold, I can't compensate the customer. Wolt tells me they've already compensated them, so they come out fine, and I come out as the restaurateur who sent a cold, unappetizing pizza. We chose to focus more on customers who come here, whether to sit down or take food to the beach."

This choice also led to what is probably the most affordable deal for romantics and sunset lovers, with 50% off the drink menu and 30% off the food menu between 17:00-19:00. "A couple can come here for a date, including a sunset, pizza, and an alcoholic drink, and leave for less than NIS 100, whether they sit here or take everything for a takeaway to the promenade or the beach," he concludes enthusiastically.

Pizza 180, 2 Yona Hanavi Street, Tel Aviv, Sunday-Saturday 12:00-00:00, 054-2388868