Kosher Blog

Bruno, Tel Aviv (mediterranean upscale)

I’m going to come out and say it right off the bat: Bruno was our favorite dining experience of all during our trip to Israel, and proved without a doubt that there’s great kosher dining in Tel Aviv.

Bruno is located on the third floor of the mall which makes up the base of the lively Azrieli Center — just take the escalators all the way up. The restaurant itself has two floors, the second of which was filled with a Ministry of Defense dinner (strange trend, eh?). Though we didn’t have a reservation, we got a great table right by the open kitchen where we could watch live grilling action, and fresh loaves emerging from their brick oven.

The hostess caught on that we spoke English, so she sent over Bruno’s best English-speaking waitress — beyond the food, she was a big reason we loved this restaurant. After being seated, she explained the make-up of their prix fixe meal: a wide selection of small appetizer dishes, salad, a sizzling mound of grilled meats, and dessert.

The appetizer selection was quite clever: six individual square dishes, refilled as often as necessary, of such things as roasted peppers, pickled fish, perfectly-done baby asparagus, mushrooms, and a strange Israeli vegetable that was like a thin, extra-long green bean. We were also served hot flat bread (for some reason, they call it foccacia, though it was quite like Indian nan) — excellent — and a mild hummus that I’m certain wasn’t made from chick peas (perhaps cannelini beans?) which was a refreshing change from the typical garlic-ridden varieties typically served in Israel. We had to seriously restrain ourselves from filling up on these delicious starters.

Next came salad and a surprising roasted eggplant dish. I’m not usually into eggplant unless it’s deep-fried and covered with sauce and cheese, but this dish made me an aubergine aficionado. Two petite roasred eggplants, split open, and served with a cool, smooth sauce — wow.

When the meat arrived, we were uncertain how much more we could eat, but, boy, did we. A large butcher-block slab was placed on our table stacked high with roasted potato wedges, roasted chicken, grilled steak, lamb kebabs, and a hunk of prime rib (an optional addition). Though the beef was cooked more than I usually like it, I ate heartily and happily. One thing to be aware of — your meat will be served along with a single fried egg; no idea why.

Dessert was a spectacle in and of itself. Since we were first-timers, and had by now established a good repore with our waitress, she treated us to an assortment of their available desserts: one large plate of molten chocolate souffles, a sorbet assortment (mint, coconut, and melon), and a stewed pear. The only downside to dessert was the pear, which was difficult to cut into with just a spoon.

Not only did our wonderful waitress pack up all the meat we couldn’t finish, she also snuck in four more delicious chocolate souffles, ready to pop into the oven for the Shabbat dinner we would share with our friends that weekend.

I’d say that if you have one restaurant to enjoy in Tel Aviv, make it Bruno, and sit by the kitchen.