Obviously, however, when you already own and operate a very popular beach restaurant, you are sure to be able to replicate your success. Thus was born behind the Tel Aviv hotel row Villa Mare TLV, sister restaurant of Villa Mare in Bat Yam.

The places are welcoming: a beautiful turquoise and white interior decoration and a large terrace furnished with whitewashed wooden tables. Its slight elevation above street level offers stunning views of the Mediterranean and catches pleasant late afternoon sea breezes.

Adding to the informal atmosphere are the basic wooden chairs (which seem a bit harsh after prolonged sitting) and the lack of cutlery: cutlery and napkins are placed in cans in the center of the table. Funky music plays on the soundtrack at acceptable volume levels.

As we browsed the menu, we were served a free homemade “chaser”: a nice shot of gin and red grapefruit juice. While sipping, we noticed that Villa Mare offers many special discounts, throughout the day: 1 + 1 on classic Israeli breakfasts, budget lunches and evening happy hours on alcoholic drinks and even drinks. desserts.

The trilingual menu (which also appears online) reflects the cuisine that was a winning formula for the original Villa Mare: “Meat and Seafood by the Sea”, inspired by the tastes of southern Italy. It includes no less than 11 sections: Entrances (NIS 39-59, [including house breads, NIS 9-19]); Salads (NIS 39-59); Crispy & Grill (NIS 79-99); Pasta & Risotto (NIS 65-99), Surf & Turf (NIS 79-199), Main Fish (NIS 89-168), Main Meat (NIS 69-119), Burgers (NIS 69-99), Sides (11 NIS )), children’s meals (NIS 39) and desserts (NIS 45).

The composition of the menu shows that the owner understands the concerns of the guests: the restaurant, for example, undertakes that the children are served immediately. Additionally, vegan and gluten-free options are identified as such with appropriate symbols.

We started with one of the first: Artichoke – pieces of fresh artichoke with young shoots and Kalamata olives, generously seasoned with olive oil, yellow tehina, chilli and candied garlic. It was a tasty salad that would certainly appeal to non-vegetarians as well.

Next comes the Chicken Liver Pâté, generous pâté patties served with seasonal fruit jams and toast. Unfortunately, it looked more like chopped liver shaped into molded rectangles than a real pie; nevertheless, helped by the clearly homemade jams containing pieces of candied fruit, we had no trouble devouring the whole plate.

We knew we wanted to choose at least one main course from the Surf & Turf category, which is not common on Israeli menus. After some difficulty, we opted for the Jumbo Shrimp with smoked goose and cream. The plump shrimp were a bit chewy and the meat slices too big – but that’s just baffles in what was overall a delicious and satisfying dish.

We were tempted to continue in this vein, but another rare dish on local menus was an equally irresistible draw: the carbonara pasta (listed as “linguine carbonara with smoked goose”). The dish was served well, with a sparkling egg yolk in the front and center. I would have preferred smaller pieces of goose – or even lamb bacon, if a restaurant that serves seafood always insists on avoiding the real one – but once I had sprinkled some extra grated Parmesan (which had to be requested), this filling portion was as good as anything you might find in an exclusively Italian restaurant.

The desserts, listed on a separate English menu, are made on site by the same talented chef who prepared our meal. Three of the five desserts are made with mascarpone cream, which is already a good start. The pistachio mousse with mascarpone cream, whipped meringue and ground hazelnuts was light and sweet, but our favorite was the raspberry pie: the layer of tiny fresh ruby ​​red raspberries was bursting with flavor and was perfectly complemented by the rich cream and crust. puff pastry.

Villa Maré

Not kosher

Herbert Samuel Quay 88, Tel Aviv

Phone. (074) 772-5322

The writer was the guest of the restaurant.