With miles of beachfront, the Old City of Jaffa, new high rises and plenty of
refurbished buildings, there are a number of places in Tel Aviv with great views
of one or the other.
There are few restaurants or bars, however, that can
claim to encompass all of the above in a single view. Hugo is one of
them.
While the food is satisfactory and the atmosphere is chilled, it is
the view at Hugo in the Hatahana complex that really steals the show. Walking up
the stairs of the Villa Viland building on a warm November evening, the hustle
and bustle of the center of the city seemed very far away. The restaurant is
named after Hugo Wieland, the man who built the villa in 1902 in the Templer
style, using materials produced by the family factory, where goods awaiting
transfer to the train station were stored.
Wieland brought with him ideas
and concepts from Europe at the turn of the century, and this European influence
is seen on the menu, which aims to offer bistro food and affordable
prices.
Once my brother and I were shown to our seats on the large open
terrace with that great view in front of us, the smiling waiter gave us our
menus, and the fun began. This menu was no more or less inspiring than any other
bistro restaurant in Tel Aviv, but there was one dish that really caught my eye,
and I had my heart set on it: home smoked veal spare ribs with spaetzle and
green peas. To my disappointment, they were out of it that night. Despite this
minor setback, we soldiered on and ordered.
For starers, I went for the
potato blini with crème Roquefort and smoked salmon (NIS 27), while my brother
had the corned beef with mustard aioli, pickles and bread (NIS 42). Were it not
for the long wait before the food reached the table, we would have enjoyed the
food even more. Both dishes were tasty enough and proved to be good value, but
neither offered any wow factor.
The main courses, which were considerably
more expensive, were of a similar standard. My salmon fillet, potato and sardine
pie with Meuniere sauce (NIS 86) was light and refreshing, while my brother's
beef fillet medallions, shrimps in port sauce (NIS 115), was slightly
overcomplicated but rich in flavor nonetheless.
After the main courses
had been cleared from the table, our waiter was still smiling but seemed to have
forgotten to offer us any desserts. When we were finally offered the dessert
menu, there wasn’t anything that really stood out, but we decided to share a
dark chocolate pie and orange confiture (NIS 34) and a soufflé pancake served
with pear in vanilla syrup and chocolate ganache (NIS 34). As with the previous
two courses, the desserts were more than satisfactory, and both our plates were
empty by the end.
To sum up, Hugo offers decent food at the more
expensive end of the good value range. It’s worth a visit if you are not in a
rush and want to take in a bit of the great atmosphere that Hatahana
offers.
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
Hugo
Not kosher
Building 8, Hatahana Complex, Tel Aviv
Sunday – Thursday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday
– Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Tel: (03) 516-0008
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