Regina: Enjoy the mature, old world taste - review

Most people go to a restaurant for a good meal. But restaurants are not always about just the food. Some are about history, nostalgia, great memories, and connections between people. Regina is one such restaurant.

Regina is located in Hatachana, the old Tel Aviv train station, built by the Templers over 200 years ago. 

Owner Avi prefers a simple, rustic design that reflects the style of Hatachana with its preserved structures, original wooden train platform and tracks.

These are challenging times for every business. The restaurant business is unpredictable in the best of times, but winter and wartime present even more challenges. There is no telling how many people will come to dine on a given day. Some days half of Tel Aviv appears at Regina’s doorstep. Other days whole parties are canceled at the last minute. With a few hundred thousand soldiers out of the workforce and no Palestinian labor in Tel Aviv, the restaurant is shorthanded.

Enjoying food with Regina

Regina rolls with the punches. When the hostess is not available, owner Avi answers the phone and takes the reservations; and when the waitstaff does not show up, young Shneur Zalman, the mashgiah, doubles as a very charming waiter. 

We have been following Regina for more than a decade through two owners and many different chefs. Despite the difficulties, we believe that today the restaurant is the best version of itself.

Chef Shimon Atias is the artist in the kitchen. He comes to Regina with a rich résumé from kosher hotels and fine restaurants. This is a chef who loves his work and who goes the extra mile to create dishes that are both aesthetic and delicious. He knows that first you eat with your eyes, and then the taste.

Though the restaurant’s wartime menu is short some items, there is still a good selection of starters and plenty of meat dishes. 

The grilled eggplant that started our meal was a swirl of the meat of the eggplant on a platter of tehina with a tasting bowl of lemon juice (NIS 48). The tehina was decorated with a pattern of hearts, a very charming addition. My companion loves soup, no matter the weather. But on this cold and rainy day, soup was a natural choice (NIS 44). The green lentil soup was hot, thick, and filling. This was followed by a generous portion of warm asado stew in a rich sweet sauce. A beautiful platter with big chunks of meat with a mound of rice (NIS 118) was enticing even to this nonmeat eater. My grilled salmon fillet (NIS 108) was served with a healthy portion of chips, my choice over rice or potatoes. 

Atias could not resist bringing out tastings of some of the dishes hot off the stove. We were treated to a cup of a delicious off-menu soup bubbling on the fire. And try this rice, he said. With onions, pistachio, and blanched almonds. Success! 

This veteran restaurant, with its great location and homey atmosphere, has been drawing diners for decades. Folks favor Regina for birthdays and even weddings. Over the years memories have been made at the restaurant. “We want to make our mom a birthday party,” the caller said, “and the only place she will consider is Regina. You see, Regina was the last restaurant that my parents came to together, before my father lost his life in Gaza. For my mom, Regina is not just a restaurant. It is a memory.” 

A pleasant surprise awaited another family, celebrating their son’s recovery after being wounded in Gaza. While the son was hospitalized, a lovely lady came to sing for the soldiers in the ward. The singer, they discovered, was none other than their waitress at Regina. There was a moving, unexpected, and tearful reunion. 

Make your memories at Regina.

Reservations are advised because one never knows. Hatachana has a very large pay parking lot convenient to the restaurant. The restaurant can accommodate singles, couples, groups, and parties of up to 120 guests. 

• Regina Restaurant
• Hatachana, Old Train Station, Jaffa/Tel Aviv
• Kashrut: Chabad mehadrin
• Tel: (03) 736-7474
• Open: Sunday-Thursday, 2 p.m.-11:30 p.m.; Saturday night, from 8:30 p.m. Closed Friday and Shabbat.

The writer was a guest of the restaurant.

The writer is the founder and CEO of eLuna.com/, the premier English-language website for kosher restaurants in Israel.