The huge, glass-walled restaurant in Petah Tikva’s industrial area is in the capable hands of long-time proprietor Eran, who has been at the helm for nearly 20 years.
By GLORIA DEUTSCHAlfredo(photo credit: Courtesy)
Whether it’s a family outing in convivial surroundings, or a romantic candlelit dinner for two, Alfredo Restaurant has it covered.The huge, glass-walled restaurant in Petah Tikva’s industrial area is in the capable hands of long-time proprietor Eran, who has been at the helm for nearly 20 years, and is dedicated to making sure that everything runs smoothly.While we perused the English menu, two little crusty focaccia loaves appeared with two very piquant dips – green olive tapenade and chopped sun-dried tomatoes, just the right things for activating the taste buds.The starters we chose were Tuscan salad (NIS 46) and aranchini (NIS 44). The first was a mix of grilled fresh artichoke and mushroom slices, with Kalamata olives on a bed of assorted lettuce leaves, croutons and Parmesan cheese.The vegetables had been flavored and sautéed, but the dish was not at all oily and the contrasting flavors each stood out in their own way.Arancini are balls of rice, filled with mozzarella, dipped in bread crumbs and deep fried. The filling had been livened up with something peppery as had the tomato sauce and one suspects that some Tabasco had been added to both for that extra kick.Just for your interest, arancini means oranges in Italian, because the original ones looked just like the citrus fruit that were once Israel’s main export, being large and, well, orange.For our main course we ignored all pasta and pizza offerings, of which there is an abundance, choosing the healthier option of fish. My companion picked sea bass (NIS 118), and I chose salmon (NIS 88). Both were succulent, perfectly cooked to just the right degree and full of flavor. My only complaint was that the portions were way too large, given the amount of food already consumed.The side dishes included green beans garnished with mushrooms, peppers and cherry tomatoes, and a salad of julienned carrots and cabbage topped with tomatoes and Bulgarian cheese. We drank Chardonnay and light ale, which were perfect for the dairy meal.Having both been brought up to finish what was on our plates, we did our best while keeping in mind that the separate dessert menu features many attractive choices. This is clearly the advantage that kosher dairy restaurants have over the meat variety.In the end, we shared an amicable cheesecake with orange sauce and great satisfying blobs of Chantilly cream, which was sheer heaven. Two cappuccinos later and we were on the way home, using the 20-minute drive to digest and reflect on a very pleasant evening out.Alfredo RestaurantShlomo Shmeltzer Road 94, Petah Tikva.Ph: 03-923-0643Sun-Thurs: 9 a.m.-11:30 p.m.Friday: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.Saturday night: From one hour after Shabbat.The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
