Yaffo Tel Aviv — Restaurant in Tel-Aviv

Mixed feelings for a place with a mixed identity. Somewhere between high dining and worker class eatery. None of the dishes is special or rememberable. Everything we ate was well prepared and a solid ok plus, but nothing was a perfect experience. The meat was a tiny bit too done and too salty. The crab gnocchi was very good but the plate was very wrong. The apricot desert was interesting and tasty but did not fulfill its full potential.... Even the service was a mix of styles. If you insist on hovering around to keep my water glass full like a high end classic restaurant then you can't just forget about it at some later point and let me go back to "self service" mode. If you think it is important enough to disturb my conversation to introduce me to a new waiter and explain that the original one is done for the day then it makes no sense for the latter to keep on working and even randomly serve our table. Unlike the food, the mixed style had no upside -- too formal and uncomfortable but without the true high-end professionalism. Not bad service in anyway but far from excellent. Overall, for a business lunch, it was a solid experience. However, nothing made we want to come back. The dish we ordered from the dinner menu was the best one, but the rest of the menu was not interesting enough for me. The cost was too high for...

Wonderful restaurant with a fantastic sommelier, attentive staff and a big hearted chef. Our table for four was spacious, right by the window and very cozy. We tried numerous drinks, including wine recommended by the sommelier, the clover club cocktail, which had a wonderful berry taste, and desert wine. The best dishes for me were the gyro for appetizer, the whole sea bass with tomatoes baked in taboon, which is in the middle of the dining room and the Beirut desert. I have to say that I find the lack of an enforced dress code in a restaurant of that price point a bit jarring, people were in sweats, but the vibe was nice. I wish the fish was a bit more spicy, and carpaccio used less oil. We ended up paying over $150 a person plus tip, which to me was too much for the size of the dishes, especially appetizers, all of which ran over $20. I liked the experience, but would I return to same menu and prices, I am not sure. To me the food was inventive but lacked that kick and spice that would put it above what my Safta can whip in 20 minutes. I guess it was bland overall, except deserts. That being said it was Monday and the place was packed, so who cares...

The restaurant itself looks very nice, not to crowded and relaxed atmosphere. We went there, a couple, on Friday noon. It is located outside of the center of Tel Aviv, in an area that has mainly office complexes, so on one hand it’s easy to find, at the evening or during weekend there’s plenty of parking and no traffic. On the other hand no attracting view from the restaurant and nothing to do around. So if you are looking for a romantic spot that's not it.

During launch time they have a really nice and fairly priced business menu (make sure to check the exact days & hours). First courses were really really good, in the attached images. Main courses were quite big but one of them was disappointing (the Oxtail, the meat was dry and over seasoned, we really expected more from such famous chef restaurant), the other one (Gnocchi) was good. We even got extra super soft CHALA bread for Shabat on the house.

They have a nice selection of wines and fun and colorful cocktails...