Restaurant and cocktail bar Room Service ticks all the boxes
By SHAWN RODGERSUpdated: OCTOBER 15, 2015 14:38Restaurant and cocktail bar Room Service(photo credit: PR)
I am pretty excited to now call Room Service my neighborhood go-to cocktail bar. Since opening in 2013, Room Service has been consistently busy. And rightfully so. Situated at the corner of Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff and Nordau streets, this place gets packed in the evening; but if you stop in at midday for a quick drink, you’ll have no problem getting a table or a seat at the bar.We started off with some interesting and delicious cocktails.Each cocktail comes in a single glass or a large “fish bowl” that can be shared between two to four people. The leffa’fonnito (NIS 48/91) had all the right ingredients of Bombay gin, lime, fresh cucumbers and ginger. While the fig cocktail (NIS 43/84), consisting of Finlandier, fig liqueur and basil, tasted very fresh and wasn’t as sweet as one would imagine.The restaurant menu is quite extensive, with a wide array of salads, pastas, fish and meat dishes. Our waitress was friendly and made us feel at ease. She took her time explaining details of dishes and drinks.We began our meal with the risotto (NIS 34). Accompanied by assorted mushrooms, green peas, Parmesan and truffle, the dish was done beautifully and was very tasty.This was followed by roasted cauliflower (NIS 36) with herb tahini and parsley. Roasted perfectly, the cauliflower was buttery in tenderness, and the florets were nicely browned and had a bit of crispiness.Next up was falafel stuffed with spinach and feta cheese on a bed of yogurt (NIS 39). It did not disappoint. An obsessive spinach eater, my dining partner was thrilled with this new take on a Middle Eastern classic.Equally good was the tuna tartare bruschetta (NIS 49). The mixture of fresh onions, tuna, diced tomatoes, Kalamata olives and chipotle aioli got my taste buds dancing. It also had a nice spiciness to it.With deft and friendly service, our first course was cleared and the main course soon followed. We began with the hamburger (NIS 57), which was cooked to mediumrare perfection. I could tell that the patty was top-grade meat and seasoned just right. The large raw onion ring was a great touch, adding the perfect amount of crunch to the burger’s texture, and the chipotle aioli was a solid complement. The tap’u chips were also perfect. Very crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. There are a lot of good burgers in Tel Aviv, and Room Service surely ranks near the top.This dish was followed by the beef fillet (NIS 98). Cooked just right, my piece of meat was heavenly. Each bite melted in my mouth, and I just closed my eyes, leaned back and savored every bite for as long as possible. I should have chosen something other than the mashed potatoes as a side dish because they were too filling, and I wasn’t able to finish them. But they were fabulous! We ordered hot drinks and took a breather. For dessert, we ordered the warm chocolate fudge cake (NIS 38), which is a chocolate lover’s dream come true. The cake was incredibly moist without being greasy, and the chocolate fudge frosting was just the perfect amount of smooth and creamy, while still being fudgy.Known as the backpacker’s dessert, Room Service’s version of Hello to the Queen (NIS 58) is a layer of crumbled butter streusel at the bottom, a warm topping of chocolate sauce, and a cover of caramelized sliced bananas, all under a generous cloud of whipped cream and vanilla ice cream. In short, it’s a parfait made with the best union of very simple ingredients. A fusion of hot and cold, mushy yet crunchy coming together in sweet harmony.Overall, Room Service is great place to just sit, relax and enjoy good food and good company.The writer was a guest of the restaurant.Room Service Not kosher 245 Dizengoff, Tel Aviv Tel: (03) 532-9654
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