EL AL | Atmosphere

Lifestyle I Food

Haifa’s food scene is alive and kicking and restaurants of every kind are sprouting across the city, from street food to fine dining, European cuisine to Asian fusion, wine bars to coffee shops and patisseries - there seems to be no limit to the culinary abundance and inventiveness. Here are 6 of our absolute favorite / By Sharon Ben-David Taste of the town: 6 new eateries to try out in Haifa

Photo: Anatoli Michaelo

Café Coco | A Paris-style boulangerie-patisserie Chef Hmodi Okala is a Haifa food celeb. His restaurant, Raseef 33, is considered one of the best nightlife spots in the city, known for its chic atmosphere and top-notch menu. For Okala, Café Coco is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream, an opportunity to showcase his love for European baking techniques and flavors. It is situated just a stone’s throw away from Raseef 33, in the heart of downtown Haifa and overlooking the city’s iconic port. Its window is chockfull of baked wonders: intricate sandwiches, puff pastry delights, croissants of every kind, and more. Aside from French classics, the menu here includes interesting offerings that blend French baking techniques and Middle-Eastern flavors, such as halva-filled cruffins, croissant-pastry basbusas with coconut ganache and passionfruit coulis. On Saturdays, the café also serves brunch – it’s very popular so make sure you come in early to guarantee you get a seat. Hanamal 33, @cafecoco.haifa

Photo: Pavel Pereselyak and Moshe Levi

Roomka | Post-Soviet cuisine

with concrete walls and vintage steel cutlery. Vodka is served in tiny glasses called roomkas (which gave the restaurant its name), aside zakuskis, Russian hors d’oeuvres served cold. The menu also includes such dishes as chicken Kiev, shuba salad, and manti dumplings that integrate more Middle-Eastern flavors. A tasting menu called “Nov God” gives you a chance to fully immerse yourself in the post-Soviet food experience and is heartily recommended. Nordau 21

Had you ventured into Haifa’s Hadar neighborhood in the 1990s, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were somewhere in the Soviet Union. Almost four decades later, two childhood friends who grew up here, Dean Albert and Rony Berlin, opened Roomka, a restaurant that celebrates the flavors and specialties of post-Soviet cuisine. Modest in size, it opened a few months ago as the war was raging. The décor references typical Soviet aesthetics,

26 ATMOSPHERE JULY 2024