Cafe Scene

When the Yad Harutzim industrial zone in Tel Aviv became a hot destination for dining and entertainment, the notion raised many eyebrows.

By VIVA SARAH PRESS
Cremcaffe 7 Gibor Israel, Poleg Industrial Zone, Netanya 09.885.9996 Sun - Thurs, 7 a.m. - 1:30am; Fri 7 a.m. - 2:30 a.m.; Sat 9 a.m. - 2 a.m. Not Kosher When the Yad Harutzim industrial zone in Tel Aviv became a hot destination for dining and entertainment, the notion raised many eyebrows. In no time, however, other industrial zones around the country took note and began developing their own entertainment offerings. Consequently, it's no surprise that the Poleg industrial zone in Netanya is on its way to becoming a leading leisure spot for Sharon area residents. There in the midst of big gray buildings are a range of cute, well-designed coffee shops. Cremcaffe is one of them. My aunt was recently visiting Israel, and because she was without a car, most of the time we spent together was in Ramat Poleg, where she was staying. We decided to try out Cremcaffe because of the coffee shop's inviting Web site. At the coffee shop itself, the color scheme - warm browns and yellows - enhances its retro feeling. An outdoor patio offers customers comfortable wooden tables and chairs, but we wanted to be in a non-smoking environment, and thus chose to sit inside. Seating options included white chairs at round tables or yellow booth seating at rectangular tables. We chose to sit in a booth with a view of people outside. Cremcaffe gives a cozy feeling, with relatively good service provided with a smile. The food was average. But despite the fact that making changes to one's order is discouraged (there's no substituting), the overall environment is very friendly and welcoming. From our retro booth chairs we had no inkling of being in an otherwise unsightly industrial zone.