The bistro, which opened its doors in 1992 on Sheinkin and redefined the Tel Avivian kitchen, will close at the end of March – partly due to upcoming renovations on the building in which it is located. Sweet potato pancakes, we'll remember you forever.
At a festive dinner on January 8, Orna and Ella announced to its forty-five staff members that they intend to close down, for good. The decision was made on the last night of 2017, following the announcement of expected renovations to the building in which the restaurant is located.
Orna and Ella opened as a small café on Sheinkin, a street that awoke from its sleepiness in the early 90s. The handsome young waiters and the café's aptitude for baking were a trigger for growth despite the abysmal acoustics of the building. The founders of the place, two young cooks named Orna Agmon and Ella Shine, met in university. The only rule they set for themselves in those days was to produce the entire menu with their own hands and rely on the basics: they baked loaves of bread, and made fresh croissants, ice cream, pasta, and more.
© Anatoly Michaello
In the interviews they gave over the years, the two emphasized their connection to traditional cooking, achieved through hard labor. Nourishing, comforting, satisfying, freshly and daily cooked food, with no shortcuts and with extreme care. The same hands of Orna and Ella themselves are cooking in the kitchen to this day.
Over the years, the café has matured into a bistro, bringing with it a cute balcony and a deepened love for food, including a menu face lift with lots of vegan dishes never before seen in Israel. In 2006, at a time when the restaurant's menu was featuring many integral dishes of Israeli cuisine (for example, the iconic sweet potato pancakes), Orna and Ella published a book that was a best seller and revealed the restaurant's recipes. There will forever be a sweet potato pancake shaped hole in each of our hearts.