Elisha: Part of a fun night out in Tel Aviv - review

Elisha restaurant is situated on the ground floor of the Azrieli Center in Tel Aviv, and when we were invited to dine there we were more than ready to make the trip.

The center, built in 1998, is an architectural landmark with its three skyscrapers, one round, one triangular, and one square, designed by Israeli-American architect Eli Attia.

The DNA area offers several dining options and the food emerges from caravans stationed around the space. Diners sit at bars on high stools, where the waitstaff make sure your water or wine glass is always filled, and are pleasant and attentive in a nonintrusive way.

What's on the menu?

We left the choice of menu to our hosts, and the first dishes to arrive were a cucumber salad and a portion of mafrum. This is a dish of Libyan origin and consists of root vegetables filled with meatballs. The vegetable in question was an artichoke heart, adding a certain sophistication to a somewhat homely dish (NIS 72). The accompanying cucumber salad was very fresh, with a slightly sweet and piquant dressing.

Several dishes followed in quick succession. The stuffed cabbage, leaves filled with rice, was welcome, as this fussy dish is something I make only once a year, on Sukkot (NIS 66). There were hot crispy cigars, filled with something tasting vaguely of lamb (NIS 48), and a boulette (NIS 38) which turned out to be a potato – filled with meat, crumbed and fried. It came with aioli sauce, tomato, and onion garnish and was very tasty.

Finally, although barely able to move by this time, another dish of chicken and potato, sofrito, topped with a totally superfluous fried egg, came to our table. It proved to be as delicious as all the previous dishes (NIS 74). On the side were marvelous, very hot fries.

In the present situation, we are all living in a strange dichotomy between a dreadful war which affects us all, on the one hand, and a need to try to live as normal a life as possible, on the other. Eating out provides a temporary relief from all the stress – and sitting at the bar of Elisha, with a well-tended garden of healthy, blooming plants directly behind us, was a very pleasant and diverting experience.

• Elisha
• Azrieli Center
• Menachem Begin Road 132
• Tel Aviv
• Open: Sun.-Thurs., 12 noon-10 p.m.
• Kashrut: Tzohar

The writer was a guest of the restaurant.