Popular Ness Ziona café establishes an outpost in Tel Aviv's Sarona Market

• Author: BUZZY GORDON
• Published date: 30 September 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Not surprisingly, the newcomer did not import the charm of its original venue; fortunately, however, the best dishes on its menu – along with talented Chef Haim David – have succeeded in making the transition.

Ziona Café the offspring – located close to the eastern entrance of the market, now accessible via a covered wooden passageway from Haarba'a Street – is not much more than a hole-in-the-wall storefront; its limited seating areas are a counter with several bar stools, and a few regular tables in the dining area shared with other eateries. Unlike the image commonly conjured up by the term "café", this is hardly the kind of place for a first date or intimate conversation.

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There is barely any alcohol on the menu: no cocktails, and but a minimal selection of wine and beer. To be precise, one Israeli craft brew (Malka) on tap (NIS 21), along with two house white wines and one house red – all imported, and available by the glass (NIS 36).

The food menu is more extensive than it looks in print, crammed in small fonts onto one page. There is an English menu, albeit not available in print: it must be accessed from your smartphone via QR code, and it is not very user-friendly. The good news is that our genial waitress made things easy with her excellent English.

The menu sections (half with English-language headings) are: Small Plates (NIS 44-56); Our Specials (NIS 42-72); Pizza (NIS 52-56); Pasta (NIS 66-68); Salads (NIS 62-66) and Fish (NIS 88-98). There are vegetarian/vegan – and even gluten-free – options in every category, including among the pizzas.

Bread, served with soft butter and olives, is included with every meal – and the house sourdough walnut was dark, crusty and outstanding. Especially noteworthy is the fact that there is also a gluten-free bread option – which my companion promptly declared among the best she has encountered in Israel, including from bakeries.

The Ziona Café Specials category comprises both starters and main courses, making for a plethora of choices for first courses (counting the Small Plates). We ended up starting our meal with one representative appetizer from each of the first two sections.

The Grilled Artichokes (from the former category) were seared perfectly, and accompanied by a most intriguing condiment: an almond-garlic-beetroot spread, seasoned with balsamic vinegar and Parmesan...