Abbale Telaviv

Great food and hospitality, with a bit of culture on the side

Leaving Abbale, I’m pretty sure I want to come back every day so I can eat my way through all the amazing stuff on the menu. And maybe figure out some stuff about being Jewish along the way.

I am smitten with this place. You walk into what feels like an intimate garden party. One garden wall is covered in red flowers. Are they roses? I’m not really sure but they cast a rosy romantic glow on the entire garden dining area. The other side of the garden is a burst of lush green plants. The twinkle-lights are my stars and the whole place feels a little like heaven.

Abbale celebrates the best of Jewishness -- a sense of belonging and well-being. It’s Shabbat, the weekly Friday night celebration that begins the Jewish sabbath, a day of rest. It’s a time to celebrate with friends and family. Tonight two large tables join this weekly ritual. It feels good to be next to the people enjoying their Shabbat dinner. It’s a family celebration and it makes everything feel a little more alive, a little more meaningful, a little more special.

Here’s what two of us ordered tonight:

·      Crunchy cauliflower with a tamarind glaze and sumac

·      Crispy Halloumi and Roasted grape salad, with kale, shaved fennel, radishes, spiced walnuts, date-lemon dressing

·      Moroccan spiced black group, with a north African tomato stew, olives, preserved emon aioli, Jerusalem bagel

·      2 glasses of Siduri, a santa Barbara pinot noir

·      2 glasses La Fete du Rose

Total with tip: 179.07. 89.53/person.

The Experience

Tonight’s a share dinner. We decide what we want to split and the waitstaff courses out the arrival of each dish perfectly. We never feel overwhelmed by too many things thrown at us too quickly.

The menu says the cauliflower is crispy and in this case it is really true. The outside has a satisfying crunch, the inside is soft and chewy. Rice powder is the evidentally the secret to its crunchy perfection. The tamarind glaze has a slight sweetness, a perfect offset to the perfectly salted crisp.

The Halloumi salad is the perfect combo of savory halloumi and sweet grapes. And the kale! It actually blends in and is easily chewed. The waiter says that’s because it is given a very deep-tissue massage before being added to the salad. Lucky kale!

The grouper comes with the complex tomato sauce. That sauce! It is deeply earthy and totally addictive.

On another visit, we ordered the prawn dish. It’s one perfectly prepared whole prawn cooked in a garlic butter that complements the prawn’s saltiness.

I can go on and on about Abbale but the bottom line on this one is just go!  Be ready to eat well and reflect on the circle of belonging that is Israeli hospitality at its best.