Exclusively bounty of the sea - Tel Aviv's staple fish restaurant
Shtsupak owes its 24-year success not only to its expertise in cooking fish and other seafood, but also to the popularity of its value meal, which is served not only at lunchtime but all day long.
By BUZZY GORDONLocation and value have made Shtsupak a north Tel Aviv institution(photo credit: AFIK GABBAY)
It’s hard to miss the restaurant with the least Israeli-sounding name in town; the exterior of Shtsupak looks like a wooden cabin growing out of a Ben Yehudah Street storefront. And it has had a long time to leave its impression: 24 years, admirable longevity for a Tel Aviv restaurant.Shtsupak owes its success not only to its expertise in cooking fish and other seafood, but also to the popularity of its value meal, which is served not only at lunchtime but all day long.For the price of a main course, diners also receive the house bread, 10 small salads (mezze), and black coffee or mint tea. And these entire meals start at only NIS 79.Of course, this meal format – notable also for the unlimited free refills of the mazettim – is a familiar one among the fish restaurants of Jaffa. By making it available also in this one north Tel Aviv outpost, Shtsupak has built a loyal following.There are no specialty cocktails, but there is an adequate wine list, featuring overwhelmingly Israeli vintages. Availability by the glass, on the other hand, is rather limited.The house bread, resembling focaccia, and the spread of 10 small appetizer plates, appeared on our table almost as quickly as our menus. Surprisingly, the only printed menus are in English, with Hebrew translation alongside in smaller letters. The main Hebrew menu is written on several blackboards on the wall.The food menu comprises four sections: Starters (NIS 19-49), Fish (NIS 79-128), Seafood (NIS 95-129), and Other Options (NIS 65-89). The only other options besides fish or seafood are chicken breast and schnitzel, so this is not a place for vegetarians or vegans. Even the starters are entirely raw fish or seafood, while two of the “other options” are pasta with – you guessed it – fish.Also itemized under the other options are two kids’ menus (NIS 49), as well as the option to eat the mazettim without ordering a main course (NIS 42).All the mazettim were good, but most notable were the spicy pickled vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, carrot) reminiscent of kimchi, the particularly creamy okra, and the zesty tomato salsa.The numerous mazettim pretty much obviate the need for a starter as a first course, but we could not resist the fish soup on a blustery winter evening. It was a bit startling to discover that there was absolutely no fish in the clear soup – only seafood and bean sprouts – but that did not prevent the broth and generous helpings of calamari and shrimp from being absolutely delicious.We decided to take one main course each from the Fish and Seafood sections, but then came the harder part: choosing not only from the broad selection of fish, but also the many ways they could be prepared – grilled, fried whole, baked or pan-fried in sweet and sour sauce.We eventually chose the trout, which is rarely on the menu of restaurants that do not specialize in fish. It is also the only fish on the menu with the option of being served in a cream sauce with almonds. The sauce turned out to be a disappointment – overly seasoned – but the fish underneath was cooked perfectly and could be enjoyed in its own right.From the seafood section we settled on the shrimps and scallops, and once again had to choose from among a variety of sauces. My companion elected to go minimalist, simply fried in butter and garlic, and served with two dipping sauces. This straightforward method of preparation enhanced the natural flavor of the extremely fresh seafood, which was melt-in-the-mouth tender.The separate bilingual dessert menu listed a number of tempting choices (NIS 29-34), headed up by something called “homemade Bavarian cake,” from a “secret recipe.” In fact, it was a classic Bavarian cream, piled on the thinnest layer of sponge cake. I am not ordinarily a fan of Bavarian cream, but this was the best version I have ever tasted.Similarly, the New York cheesecake with berry coulis, while not the best I have ever had, was a cut above run-of-the-mill restaurant cheesecakes.
