Get ready to splurge at these special occasion restaurants in Israel

A communal fine dining experience in Jaffa with meticulous attention to detail. OCD lives up to its name, offering a meticulous dinner experience. Crafted to perfection with flavors that pop and playfulness that entices your tongue, the magic of it all lies in the structure with one seating area where everybody eats together at the same time. Sit with random people who share the same love of food and become friends: this is communal dining at its finest. This top-notch diner is one of the most talked about experiences in town.  

On the roof of the luxurious Mamilla Hotel, you’ll find breathtaking views of the Old City and an extensive bistro menu with dishes straight from the ‘tabun’ (clay oven). Expect dishes like fresh handmade pastas, grouper shawarma, and a multitude of vegetables made from the best produce of the season.

If you like surprises and multiple flavor contrasts in every dish, then head to Popina, a beautiful gem in the romantic Neve Tzedek neighborhood. Popina brings creative food to a higher level with artful masterpieces, outstanding seafood and an awe-inspiring attention to detail. The open kitchen lets you peek behind the scenes at the craftsmanship of chef Orel Kimchi and his team. You’ll find options like the sea bream fillet and forbidden rice risotto, with king oyster mushrooms stuffed with parsley, tomato and parmesan with a leek fondue, or the seafood pizza with goat cheese cream, chopped shrimp, scallops, thyme & chili oil. 

At La Regence, you will be impressed by the talent of Chef David Biton. At 33, the boy wonder has already held the post for a decade. The star of his impressive display is the light and stunning duck raviolo and shimeji. With a fabulous tasting menu and extensive wine list, La Regence is the place to experience the King David like a king. Located inside the stunning King David Hotel property, this lavish restaurant and wine bar is the place to indulge.  

Located in the Tel Aviv Port’s indoor market, this market-to-table restaurant serves up seasonal dishes bursting with creativity. At Kitchen market, you can enjoy breathtaking views of the sea while indulging in some of the best contemporary Israeli food in the city. Handcrafted by artisanal chef Yossi Shitrit, the gourmet cuisine is harmonious, while each dish surprises and soothes at the same time.    

A vibrant restaurant with a creative and surprising menu. Situated in the old stone Artists’ House, Mona is further enlivened by its select menu where unusual, flavorful combinations always sing and are never heavy-handed. Expect to try the best seasonal and raw ingredients with menu items like fresh pastas made by hand, light and refreshing sashimi and out-of-the-box desserts.  

It’s no surprise that Taizu earned the title of Time Out’s Best Restaurant for 2 years in a row (and other accolades the years before) with their “Asiaterranean” cuisine, an extensive, seafood-heavy menu of small plates, amazing flavor combinations and consistent craftsmanship. Chef Yuval Ben Neriah’s restaurant is one of the best in town, and Pastry Chef Ana Shapiro’s desserts are in a league of their own thanks to a fusion of savory, sweet and unique ingredients like curry, saffron and other surprisingly harmonious spices.

Located on the North Beach, this destination dining restaurant comes from the hands of two successful chefs, Inbar Shapira and Lior Raphael, formerly of restaurant Hamasger 5—a place known for its attention to detail and beautifully-plated dishes.  Whale lives up to the same standards, offering an element of surprise with its refined simplicity and seasonal ingredients, brimming with freshness and creative takes on classic dishes. 

After years of running Tel Aviv's successful Herbert Samuel, chef Michael Grotofsky decided to uproot to northern Israel. This destination restaurant has a warm, welcoming, and rural vibe and authentic farm-to-table dishes, all creatively using the best locally sourced ingredients. Discover delicacies like cauliflower tabbouleh, ‘arais’ (juicy grilled lamb on pita with eggplant and parsley), and fresh gems from the sea. Dedicated foodies come from far and wide to taste chef Michael’s creations.

Tucked into a nondescript traffic circle in Tiberias, above a generic supermarket and overlooking a tourist-heavy stretch of the Sea of Galilee, Magdalena is quietly redefining Israeli gourmet cuisine. The restaurant, which sits at the Migdal junction, is elegant, refined and entirely surprising. Chef Youssef Hana’s menu fuses home-cooked specialties from the Galilee kitchens Hana grew up in with influences from Lebanon and the wider Mediterranean.

Ilan Garussi’s much-loved restaurant can be summed up in a combination of fresh seasonal ingredients, sensational seafood and a keen attention to detail. Though its speciality is seafood, this Mediterranean hot spot serves up food of all sorts, like hand-made pappardelle with tomato butter, colorful seafood risotto and slow-cooked Japanese barbecue short ribs.