The place has so much going for it – many different places to dine, both inside and out; a stunning view of the expanse of wine-dark sea through the gently waving palms.
By GLORIA DEUTSCHThe Yekev(photo credit: ANGELINA KVIVCHENKO)
It’s no wonder the Yekev is always so busy, even in these corona days. The place has so much going for it – many different places to dine, both inside and out; a stunning view of the expanse of wine-dark sea through the gently waving palms; and, last but not least, good food in prodigious quantities.It’s also very child-friendly, and several families with small but well-behaved children were present on the evening we dined there.It’s spotlessly clean thanks to a young woman whose sole job seems to be making sure there are no sticky fingerprints on any of the windows or glass doors, and wiping them off if there are.The electronic menu in several languages worked pretty well, although at times couldn’t quite cope with the English translation and left it in Hebrew.We indulged in a starter of garlic bread with dips, reveling in the soft, fragrant, baked garlic teeth nestling in a fresh-baked focaccia, without a thought for the antisocial aspect that would manifest itself the next day (NIS 28).The other starter we chose was fish cutlets, four rather solid rissoles of chopped fish, which, on inquiring, turned out to be made from a mix of salmon and hake. They had been grilled on skewers and made for a filling starter. The sauce of Greek tzatziki provided a good contrast (NIS 42).My companion chose the grilled Denis (sea bream) as a main course, and this was accompanied by about eight different salads, which provided a very attractive variety of flavors. I counted (and tasted) two or three kinds of eggplant, pickled beets, salsa, corn, hummus, tehina and egg mayonnaise. All the salads were very fresh and had unusual spices, such as cumin and coriander, to liven them up.It was supposed to be served with a puree of root vegetables, according to the menu, but this never materialized – only a fairly standard coleslaw.For a main dish, I chose a salmon burger, baked warm chunks of fresh salmon on a bun, with tomatoes, lettuce and fries (or “frize” as they appeared on the menu). There were two dips, mayonnaise and Thousand Island, which had been nicely spiced up with something peppery and sharp (NIS 73).Not wanting to overload on calories, we decided to share a dessert. From the varied menu of sweet offerings, we chose warm chocolate fudge, a flourless chocolate cake (I’ve no idea what was substituted for flour) with chocolate cream inside and out (NIS 41). It was as decadent as it sounds, but quite delicious.We each had a glass of very well chilled Sauvignon Blanc from the Teperberg winery, which made the perfect accompaniment to our fish meal. The Yekev, as its name implies, has a vast selection of wines from all the best wineries in Israel (NIS 28 a glass).After this meal, I couldn’t imbibe another drop, but my companion, who doesn’t know the meaning of the word “insomnia,” drank a hot, strong cappuccino.A long walk back to our parked car provided the right amount of postprandial exercise for the evening.HaYekevKosher2 Gad Machnes, NetanyaTel. (09) 862-2220Open: Sunday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday night, one hour after Shabbat until late.The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
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