Beta Cafe

Its 10:30 am and it has become routine for me to come to Beta Cafe for their coffee. This quaint little nook is located just behind Alliance High School in the center of Ramat Aviv (A suburb just north of tel Aviv). The atmosphere is warm and social, constantly occupied by retirees, stay at home moms and high school kids taking a break from class. The inside seating consists of a trendy retro design incorporating vintage tables and lamps. This 1950's cafe creates a great place to talk, grab a bite to eat or just sit and people watch (one of my favorite things).

The food at Beta Cafe is nothing fancy, to be honest. Their simple menu consists of ordinary sandwiches, salads and soups of the day. Although I have not always been impressed by roast beef sandwich, sweet potato soup or grilled fish, I cannot resist their coffee. Although Israel is famous for their coffee, but at Beta Cafe it has got to be one of the best cups I have tasted yet.

When in Israel, try to make it to Beta Cafe and taste their fabulous coffee, I will most likely be here.

Brodetzky Street 17

Ramat Aviv

03-6412285

Kosher: no

English menu: yes

Reservation: no

Onami

For all of you Sushi lovers out there, GO TO ONAMI. I have been there several times every month for this last half of a year and I still cannot get enough. Last night, I had the joy of dining with three amazing women that I worked with. But I must say, the food itself really made the night complete...sorry girls.

The Retsuarunt is clean and chic with a little bit of a raw edge. The music is trendy that creates the perfect sexy atmosphere. I'm game.

The menu itself feels authentic and true to the Japanese culture, not that I have been to Japan, but lets try our best to imagine. I start off my meal with a nice portion of salted and hot Edema me beans. Always satisfying. Soon after, I receive the seaweed salad. This salad is different in the best of ways than other seaweed salads I have tasted. It has a slight hint of soy sauce, with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and best of all, the seaweed itself is dry. It created a very nice and satisfying texture when taking my first bite.

For my main course, I ordered the fatty salmon Sashimi (raw slices of fish) over a bed of sliced cucumbers. The fish was impeccable, you could tell how fresh this catch really was. Last but not least, like a true Onami fan, I ordered the Unari Special for "desert". If you are willing to venture out into something new for your taste buds, or even if you are not, I am not giving you a choice...ORDER THIS! It is one roll. You pick what fish you want inside, (i picked Enteas) and then they complete the rest of the roll for you. They add fish eggs, a touch of mayo, a light fry for crispiness and rolled with a thin strip of seaweed...it comes warm. Its harder to eat than it sounds though because you have to eat it all in one bite! Not only did I enjoy the roll, but my friends enjoyed my chipmunk face. I did not care, it was a gift from heaven.

Needless to say, go to Onami. You will not be disappointed, and your taste buds will thank you too.

English Menu: yes

Clean: yes

Wait: on weekends

Reservations: Yes

Kosher: no

Address: 18 Ha'arbaa Street
Tel: (03) 562-0981