Hatraklin Meat & Wine Bistro — Restaurant in Tel-Aviv

When we got the bill, it was completely in Hebrew, so unless you're Hebrew speaking you won't be able to tell what is what. Our server decided to take advantage of this fact, and put a 25% gratuity item on the bill, without asking or telling us about this - even though he knew full well we would not be able to read the bill on our own.

When we carefully reviewed the bill, we did notice the extra 100 shekels he charged on a ~400 shekel bill, and asked him about it. His response: I've added the tip to the bill for your convenience, because in Israel you cannot do so after the fact. I did a quick calculation in my head and figured that he tipped himself around 20% and asked if a 20% tip is standard. He replied that he in fact only added 15%.

Glossing over the fact that he didn't even ask or confirm the amount with us, I thought that perhaps my hasty calculation was wrong, and proceeded to give him our credit card. Later, once we left the restaurant, we took out a calculator and figured out that the actual amount charged was nearly 25%. We returned back to the restaurant right away asking for an explanation. All he could offer was to say that their computer system automatically calculated the tip, and that he thought it was 15%. This was an obvious lie as a computer system wouldn't automatically calculate a round tip of exactly 100 shekels on a non rounded bill with change. Then, instead of offering us a full refund of the tip, he simply gave us a small refund to take it down from 25% to 15%. How very generous of him.

In terms of pricing in general, everything and everyone at this place clearly have only one mission: to milk every last dollar out of your pocket. I think they mainly rely on tourists, so I guess repeat business isn't very important to them, as evidenced by their deceptive gratuity practices, extremely overpriced menu, and at best only average food.

Conclusion - please avoid this place. There are so many better places to eat in Tel Aviv. Everything from street food to restaurants that actually care about what they are serving you and about creating a memorable experience. If you do go here, be sure to carefully review each item on your bill, and DO NOT leave a cash tip unless you're certain gratuity wasn't...

A lovely place, located in Neve Tzedek, with a beautiful garden that is very suitable for hanging out when the weather is not too hot. Good food, with an emphasis on meat. Not all dishes are good and there is a gap between different dishes in terms of value for money

It's a recommended place for a light meal. For a gourmet meal, there are much better restaurants nearby.

Two service experiences worth mentioning - 1) The waitress who served us claimed that there was no wine menu (by the way, the owner of the restaurant is a great wine expert and I'm sure he has an excellent selection. You have to ask about the price before ordering!!).

2. There were four of us and we ordered 5 starters. From experience in all restaurants, if you order main courses at the beginning of the meal, they come to the table too early. So we told the waitress that we would prefer to order main courses later in the meal. Another person arrived and clarified that it is their custom to get the entire order at the beginning of the meal, she would respect our preference to delay ordering the main courses, but clarified that from the moment of ordering it would take about 40 minutes for the food to be served. During the meal, we ordered main courses and they were served...

The day before yesterday we went to Traklin restaurant following an invitation to an event called "ארוחה מהסרטים" - "Food from movies". The restaurant is located in a small street just off Rothschild Boulevard, in a beautiful old Tel Aviv house. The owner, Yossi, who is also the sommelier, and his team greeted us with a warm smile and a glass of wine (from the owner's own vineyard) each, then we were all seated in two extra rooms. The "Food from movies" idea is amazingly simple but effective: the team takes you through a 3 hours trip around the world, treat you with music, movie clips and absolutely delicious food and carefully chosen wine according to the movie clips. We had eleven courses (!) each, and there were special courses for people with allergies and/or more special food preferations. The service was amazing, the waiters and waitresses always with a smile answering our questions and orders, asking if everything was fine and if we had any more wishes. And I have hardly ever had such delicious food in my life. It was indeed gourmet. Above all the whole atmosphere of the place was relaxed and pleasant. One of the best evenings I spent in my life. We will definitively repeat this evening - and I'm already so looking...