Anastasia — Restaurant in Tel-Aviv

Purely disgusting, was given dirty and broken dishes, cup and plate were so dirt, as i was cleaning it in front of the waitress, she asks if i would like for her to go clean it...? Why weren't they cleaned before i was given them. It was 5 mintues before 12 i was told my order for the main dish wouldn't be put in until 12. i ordered dessert that i had to eat before my main dish because 5 minutes makes a huge difference here... 40 mintues later at 12:40pm, i get my main dish, the roasted mushroom and other vegetables, i separated all the vegetables and notice the asparagus wasn't included, i asked the waitress if they ran out, she offered to show me the menu so i can check what goes in the dish, never came with the menu. Terrible service, or just discrimination since I'm not a regular customer and just visiting the state. Just keeps pacing back and forth and not asking me a single thing. This is a mockery... could be a great restaurant if they actually cared about their customers and cleanliness. Also, don't sit by the bar, it's the most uncomfortable place to eat by, the seats are bolted into the floor and you can't move them, forced to sit extremely close to the table. When asked to sit elsewhere, oh you can't... or, "it's reserved" whole time i sat there, not a single person came to sit there... but you guys don't care since you already have your daily customers who makes up your business, the rest are irrelevant. The little patio outside in the back is so dirty with stained pillows that you guys won't even care to...

I always wanted to eat out at one of the restaurants east of Diezengoff on Frishmann which have a more relaxed vibe than their neighbors around the corner. Last night I went to Anastasia around 20:45. It was the most crowded moment of the evening with all tables full of friends and rendezvous, but there was cushioned lounge furniture as a welcome back up. In fact, there’s a set of lounge furniture in the back as well which surprisingly has a more local atmosphere. You can tell the restaurant is a highlight on the gay culinary map.

The servers were as always too few, but the blonde who waited on me was attentive with a sprightly personality. I kept it simple and ordered the shaksuka.

I moved inside to the counter by the window by the time the food arrived. At first, I was a bit disappointed that the eggs were not runny, looking like massive over cooked egg yolks. But my first bite convinced me that this was one hell of a tasty dish. And then there was a freshly baked/warmed loaf of bread. The combo made for the BEST shaksuka I’ve had in this town, which is saying something. Slightly spicy for those with sensitivities.

The high quality of the espresso was also a welcome surprise.

Conclusion: Great for dates or friend meet ups where you can actually hear each other over some great food....

I was in last week on a free night in Tel Aviv during a whirlwind tour of Israel. My roommate was vegetarian, the tour had done several fancy meals at meat restaurants, and our tour guide had mentioned that Tel Aviv was the vegan capital of the country, so we called on Google maps to tell us what was nearby. It led us to this gem, and I am so very thankful!

My roomie got the roasted mushrooms entree and devoured it. I got something that's not on the current online menu, a Druze dish made of barley and chickpeas (that I can't remember the name of) served over a cauliflower steak that was AMAZING!!! We also shared the cheese platter, which included some of the most fantastic vegan cheeses I've ever had (and I've tried a good number of the ones that are easily available in the US).

The staff was excellent, especially when our attempts at understanding/speaking Hebrew failed miserably. If we'd been in Tel Aviv for more than three days, or had had another free night, I would have dragged...