Run, don't walk, to Bardelas restaurant - review

As I drove out of my Jerusalem bubble toward Rehovot, I questioned whether any slice of pizza would be worth the hour-long drive. But I had already canceled on Bardelas co-owner Donny Rogoff twice and didn’t want to disappoint him. The Italian-style restaurant opened three months ago.

The vibe there is great. There were families, several celebrating birthdays, and couples on dates. Even on a Sunday night, the place was full. The service was excellent. You feel like the staff really cares that you have a good experience.

But if you are trying to watch your calories after a month of feasting during the recent Jewish holidays, stop reading right now. Because if you keep reading, you will want to go to Bardelas, and it will blow your diet. But it’s also worth it.

Bardelas (“cheetah” in Hebrew), situated on the ground floor of a new Rehovot mall, is right down the street from the Weizmann Institute of Science. Most of the seating is outside, with a wall of greenery between the restaurant and the street. The interior of the restaurant is dominated by the huge taboon, which the owners brought from California.

Rogoff and his partner, Lior Hovav, run a catering company that does kosher high-end events all over the world. “We decided to open a restaurant with the kinds of things that we like to eat,” the New Jersey-born Rogoff said. 

Lately, I’ve grown tired of restaurants that all seem to have the same salads, pastas, and pizzas. The menu at Bardelas offers dishes that I had never tried before, as well as tried-and-true favorites. Often, when I review a restaurant, I’ll let the chef/owner order for me. It lets them showcase the dishes they think are most unique, and I love the surprise of not knowing what I’m going to be served.

I went with my favorite husband, and we both ordered one of our favorite drinks, a pina colada (NIS 54). It was very well made and helped me recover from the drive. During the meal, everyone in the restaurant was offered a chaser of one of their cocktails, in this case, a Bed of Roses (NIS 52) with gin, martini, and apple liqueur. There is an extensive wine list as well.

A tasty opening

The first section of the menu is called Munchers. It includes Beer Buddy (NIS 27), consisting of nuts, spiced olives, and pickled vegetables, and Wine Buddy (NIS 39), which is a cheese plate with nut jam and sourdough bread. We tried the Buffalo Cauliflower (NIS 59), which is one of the best appetizers I’ve had recently. The deep-fried cauliflower in a General Tso-type sauce was both sweet and spicy. Although I promised myself I would just taste each dish, I admit that I took a second taste of this one, and it’s one I’d go back for. 

From that section, we also tried the Chips Bardelas, my favorite husband’s favorite dish, which were tossed with truffle tapenade and Parmesan flakes.

We moved on to the Ventimiglia Onion Soup (NIS 39), which is onion soup covered with French bread, croutons, and Parmesan cheese, baked in the stone oven. You tear off a piece of the bread that covers the bowl and dip it in the onion soup. Simply delicious. Our last appetizer was a Modern Caesar Salad (NIS 59) with romaine lettuce and kale, cherry tomatoes, red onions, Parmesan, and anchovy dressing. Well made and delicious.

I could easily have stopped there, but I take my duty to my readers seriously. I know that at this point, you are asking, “What about the pizza? What about the pasta?”

The pizza is New York-style pizza with a thin, crispy crust. There are a lot of unique options they suggest, or you can build your own, choosing your own sauces and toppings.

We tried the Tye-Dye Pizza (NIS 74) with vodka sauce, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil. All the toppings were made in-house, and you could taste the difference. There are also vegan pizzas, as well as gluten-free pizzas. The owners say they try to keep all the pans and utensils of the gluten-free pasta separate, but they cannot guarantee that there is no “cross-contamination.” I appreciated their honesty.

We also tried an excellent beetroot ravioli in a sage and butter sauce that I can’t stop thinking about. The ravioli had a different shape than I am used to, and the pasta was cooked al dente as it should be.

The desserts are not made in-house, but the brûlée cheesecake and excellent coffee topped off this “low-calorie,” delicious meal. Rogoff said they change the menu frequently to offer different dishes and will start serving breakfast soon.

The writer was a guest of the restaurant.