New chef in town

A fresh face brings healthy ideas to bistro dishes in the heart of Tel Aviv’s most fashionable center.

By NORA BERLIN
Salad 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Salad 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Rothschild’s Kitchen is situated in the heart of Tel Aviv, in the middle of Rothschild Avenue, where locals and tourists take their evening stroll. It is a perfect location in the city’s most desired neighborhood.
It’s a bistro, despite the fact that the balcony chairs look more like café chairs, the food is definitely that of a bistro. Satisfying cooked meat and fish dishes, large salads and very European desserts go very well with people-watching over a bottle of wine.
But it’s not all French oriented – rather a little of everything: meat, including what the chef calls “the best hamburger in town”’ fish and seafood dishes, pastas and other modern international dishes that one can find in most cosmopolitan cities around the globe.
The new chef, Oren Luxenburg, comes from a health-oriented restaurant (Bariba). You can taste the healthful influence in the salads and some of the specials.
Luxenburg says his aim is to transform Rothschild’s Kitchen into a more fashionable place in keeping with the location.
We sat on the porch, trying to convince ourselves that we were actually sitting in a cafe on Boulevard St. Michel in Paris. But we were soon brought back to reality when presented with the menu and asked to choose from many mouth-watering options.
I started with a roasted carrot and beet salad with feta cheese and walnuts (NIS 36), which was way too large for one and more than enough for two. We didn’t know that, so my companion ordered tartar of mullet (NIS 42), which was served over tomato cream with yogurt and nuts and was delicious.
For the main course I selected the fish, which was a fillet of mullet served over polenta with sun-dried tomatoes (NIS 69), while my companion across the table ordered the entrecote steak, which was served with potato puree and asparagus – a French classic that was well prepared. The steak is priced according to weight.
When it was time for dessert I decided to trust the chef’s new ideas and chose the Dubonnet and mascarpone cheese dessert with berries (NIS 29). It was interesting. He chose a more traditional baked cheese cake, that proved to be excellent (NIS 35).
It seems that Rothschild’s Kitchen is forever pulling new tricks out of their hat. Ideas such as visiting chefs, a changing menu (good idea for returning guests from the neighborhood) and more. For New Year’s Eve, they plan to have a special dinner with a three-course meal that includes a glass of Cava, an appetizer, first and main dishes, all from the menu and for the reduced price of NIS 150 per person. Champagne will be sold at a reduced price as well, and there will be fire crackers and a D.J. at midnight.
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
Not kosher. Rothschild’s Kitchen, 73 Rothschild Ave. Tel Aviv, (03) 525-7171. Sun-Thur 12 – 5 p.m., Fri-Sat 9 a.m. – until last customer. Breakfast is served on weekends until 1 p.m.