The fifteenth floor of the Lagoon Vert Hotel is the nearest you will get to gastronomic paradise.
We visited the Maree restaurant there recently, escaping Passover cleaning and preparation for a few blissful hours of great food and wonderful ambience. The waiters are all utterly charming and helpful, and also speak perfect English, although in our case that was not strictly necessary.
The restaurant has a somewhat psychedelic décor with supporting pillars disguised as tree trunks, walls that seem to be hewn out of black rock and a central cooking island with a bright red hood. All the greenery, palms and such, is real however.
The background music is upbeat and cheerful, and eventually you don’t even notice that it’s playing.
Eating the heavenly food at Maree Sky Lounge
We sat at a small table overlooking the sea with a view of the coastal road winding its way south. Then it was time for the serious business of tasting the food of famed chef Aviv Moshe, but first we were obliged to sample the Maree’s cocktail selection.
I had something called White Lotus (NIS 64) which had a miniature garden perched on top. Once I had managed to penetrate that, it tasted pretty good. My companion had Coppa del Sol (NIS 61), a mixture of wine, passion fruit, bitter lemon and orange. Both had minimal alcohol content, as cocktails often do, but we enjoyed sipping them.
For starters, my companion chose the liver paté, which was a very good creamy concoction in which the liver taste was pre-eminent. The caramelized almond garnish provided a sweet contrast and the whole dish was as far away from grandma’s chopped liver as you can get. (NIS 64).
I chose the cauliflower and mushroom dish, with tehina and roasted almonds. The vegetables had been roasted in a Josper oven (fueled with charcoal) and seasoned with za’atar and oregano. It was pleasant enough, but not unduly exciting. (NIS 68).
While waiting for our main course, two more starters appeared, a tartare of amberjack (raw sea fish) cubed and served on a crispbread and decorated with edible pink petals – a very pretty dish. Yet another starter was something called foie gras carpaccio, which was goose liver, almost raw, although the waiter insisted it had been cooked. It was served with tehina and tiny red chili pepper slices. Both were highly original as well as tasting good.
Having indulged in several appetite awakeners, the main courses now arrived at our table. My companion chose beef fillet steak, very tender, with roasted vegetables and marvelous potato puree flavored with truffles. (NIS 228). I had a skewer of pargit, grilled to crispy but still juicy, with puree which had been flavored with mustard, quite good but not up to truffle standard. (NIS 124).
The staff were all wonderfully friendly and efficient, and at least two were aspiring musicians, just passing the time as waiters.
We told them there was no way we could consume a dessert but one arrived anyway, a chocolate soufflé with fluffy chocolate mousse on the side topped with some coarse salt. How could we resist?
We ended this incredible meal with a double espresso coffee for my companion, which would have fitted into a small thimble. One wonders what a single espresso looks like.
The restaurant was fully occupied when we left – Israelis know when they are on to a good thing – and even a war is not going to stop them. But the lobby downstairs, full of aimless evacuees, was a jarring reminder of the reality we all live in.
- Maree Sky Lounge, Lagoon Vert Hotel,
- Kehillat Sefat, 3, Netanya.
- (09) 741-0909
- Open – Sun, Tues, Wed, Thurs, 7 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. Mon & Fri – closed. Saturday night – 8:30 – 11:30.
- Open for Passover
- Kashrut – Netanya Rabbinate.
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.