claro; — Restaurant in Tel-Aviv

In a Word – Spectacular

Located in a renovated winery in the trendy Sarona Market in downtown Tel Aviv, Claro (punctuated as claro; on its website, signage, and menu) was, by far, the dining highlight of our trip to Israel. Both the exterior and the interior of the building are beautiful, setting a beautiful atmosphere for an amazing dining experience.

We snagged a coveted reservation at the bar surrounding the open kitchen, so we had "front row seats" to watch our magnificent meal (specialty cocktails, two bottles of sparkling water, a bottle of a French Sancerre white wine, a starter of steak tartare each, a main course of smoked trout for me and grouper fish with crème fraiche for my spouse, a side dish of asparagus and goat cheese burrata, a complimentary coriander-lemon shot, and dessert) being prepared. It was fascinating to watch the bartenders prepare drinks and the various prep-and-cooking stations where the chefs worked with precision and finesse. There is even a baking station for the house-made breads and desserts.

If you’re in Tel Aviv, definitely make a reservation at claro; Be sure to book ahead because the restaurant fills up quickly. Do not rely on the online reservation system, which is operated by a third party, and does not provide confirmation of whether or not a table is available. Be sure to call the reservations line directly to get a table or a place at the bar at this...

Regardless of the great food, Claro gives you the feeling of an establishment run by pros. First, the acoustics is very good, you can barely hear other people talking from the nearby tables. Second, the background music was Israeli oldies (my favorite) at a volume which allows you to have a conversation with your table buddies without having to shout your lungs out. Third, our waitress was a pro with excellent knowledge of the menu and possible substitutes. And now for the food, we came to Claro for a Saturday brunch. The brunch for two includes two 2-eggs omelettes made to your choice, a basket of pastries ranging from savory to sweet, salad, olives, an assortment of soft and hard cheese, jam, a plate of smoked salmon (we substituted it for feta cheese), 2 muesli cups, 2 cold drinks (we ordered the freshly squeezed orange) juice and 2 hot drinks. Yes, that's a lot of good food, but my sweet toothed partner also ordered the french toast, served with ice cream and berries, which was very tasty. I can highly recommend Claro to anyone looking for good food and nice ambience. Brunch for two -- 178 NIS French toast -- 58 NIS Extra orange juice -- 14 NIS Total -- 250 NIS + a good tip for an...

A very nice location located on the edge of the Sarona Park, comfortable, cozy and quiet with an atmospheric environment. We came here for a farewell meal to one of our esteemed colleagues and I have to say I was mostly satisfied with the restaurant. The staff was courteous and conversational, keeping a good balance between showing interest in the table and not overstepping their boundaries.

The food itself was amazing, definitely great and enjoyable. I've had the Seared Filet of Beef dish, which was, taste-wise amazing. However, it was a very small serving, even for Filet and despite being tremendously good, did not feel satisfying.

The other dishes I've tasted from were just as great taste-wise, I'd recommend the Apple Glazed Spare Ribs - incredible taste and a big satisfying serving combine to make a foodie's dream dish.

The desert I've had was the King Size Truffle, it was beyond delicious and more than made up for the small portion of the Filet with it's massive size and it had that melt-in-your-mouth quality that just made me want to eat it forever.

All in all I highly recommend this restaurant, some may call it a little expensive, but when the food is this good, it justifies...