Malka by Eyal Shani — Restaurant in Tel-Aviv

Two stars for the food, the rest was simply horrible. This restaurant is trying to be special and wants to set itself apart from other places. For example almost nothing is served on plates, every dish comes on a piece of cardboard. That's all fine but where this place loses grips with reality is the staff and service. First off they are very slow, second every hour or so the entire staff gathers around the bar and downs a shot while screaming and shouting. For me this is not very professional but like I said this place is trying to be "special" . Where everything falls apart is that the staff feels too relaxed so they do whatever they want, hell our chocolate muse was literally thrown on our table as if it was a piece of garbage by the waitress (I'm not kidding! Remember the no plate part guess the benefit of not having plates is you can throw the food at your clients...). Anyway long story shot after we finished desert we were asked to kindly GTFO, which for me is a real no go. We paid and told the waiter specifically to put the 11% tip (more than they deserved) on the credit cards. The waiter nodded and left but as it turns our misunderstood (maybe due all the shots he took earlier) and did NOT put his tip on the cards. When we left he asked us: "Where's my tip???" So we told him that we instructed him specifically to put it on the cards. As we were a group of 4 people who were in a hurry to leave (and some have already left) there was not much we could do... When we already left the restaurant his manager came charging out chasing after us demanding us to pay up!!! (Crazy ain't it?) We told her that we wanted to tip him but he didn't care to listen.. Instead of letting the thing go she started attacking us for not even wanting to tip 10% (which we did).

Anyway to anyone who made it to the end of this review, first off you are a true hero! BUT you will not leave here unrewarded, listen to me and keep away from that...

The place undoubtedly reflects Eyal Shani's philosophy - from the waiters who sit at your table and tear a part of the brown paper covering it to write your orders, via the fresh tomatoes on the table, to the flourished prose of the menu (in what consists the purity of the pure potato salad? I ask - That it is not a salad, answers the waitress). But somehow, as with lots of Shani's creations, it works. And how. The menu is varied and full of the classics for which Shani is famous, and also other dishes. I had the pure potato salad, which was a lovely boiled potato probably cooked with a hint of vinegar with a few rings of onion and some fenugreek, swimming in a lake of oil, simple and baroque at the same time, then a lovely steak minute with tahini and grated tomato which was very nice and velvety (I asked the hot green condiment to be removed). My friend had beets and the night stew, both of which he professed very nice. Then we had chocolate cake/pudding with a coffee coulis which was absolutely wonderful and I would never had believed to be non dairy had I eaten it somewhere else. Business lunch means that for the price of the main you get bread, tahini, grated tomato, a first course and soda pop or fizzy water. The whole thing came to about 160 nis each which for a kosher restaurant in the center of Tel Aviv is very fair. Although the table was booked till 2:30 pm they let us keep it a bit longer. Very friendly and unobtrusive service. Place was busy but still we could hear each other. Very well recommended and will do my very...

Wow. Just wow. One of the most fun and delicious dining experiences I’ve ever had. I’m genuinely shocked this place has only a 3.8 rating — all five of us left completely blown away.

From the warm, attentive service to the eclectic menu and cozy, rustic space, Malka nailed it. We ordered every special on the board, plus a handful of staff-recommended staples: • The mashed potato schnitzel (their signature — incredible) • The za’atar bread (absolutely insane) • The lemon green beans (a classic done right) • And the showstopper: multi-day braised Dino Ribs, which they only serve when available (apparently just 10 a week).

It felt like a rolling food show — dishes kept coming out one after another, often surprising us since the menu is intentionally playful and a little chaotic. Every plate sparked conversation and excitement. Most were straight-up WOW.

Pro tip: come early. We arrived when they opened at 5:30 and basically had a private meal. By 7:00, the place was packed.

Bonus points for the open kitchen vibe, fresh tomatoes and coarse salt on every table — it’s got a raw, cool energy that perfectly matches the food. (Try one of the table tomatoes with the salt - you’ll realize just how fresh their produce is - we ate 5 of them).

Malka absolutely crushed it. I can’t believe more people aren’t experiencing this gem because of a weirdly low rating. Do yourself a favor and go.

(Plus, the pricing is insanely fair - having ordered like half the menu we only ended up spending $80 a person including...