4 Best Restaurants in Caesarea, Haifa and the Northern Coast

Two of Israel's best-known culinary personalities, Amos Sion and Uri Yarmias, opened this restaurant to create a first-rate yet affordable dining experience. It occupies a beautifully restored stone building in the ancient harbor, and large windows everywhere maximize the sea view under a wooden pergola. The chef puts an Israeli spin on Mediterranean-style cooking, turning out such tantalizing appetizers as calamari with lemon and hyssop leaves on sheep-milk yogurt, and sliced sirloin in aged balsamic vinegar with Cambozola cheese and pistachios. Main dishes include an aromatic fish stew made of red mullet, spinach, and Swiss chard, and grilled barbuni (sardine-size fish). The wine room holds the chef's private collection. A children's menu is available.

If you're one of those people who could eat breakfast three times a day, Agenda is for you. Try the shakshuka, an Israeli dish in which eggs are poached in a sharp tomato sauce; for lunch and dinner there are also pizzas, sushi, and other light fare, plus cocktails and wine. The staff is friendly, the atmosphere casual. Like many of the tastiest good-value restaurants in Israel, this one is in a gas station (Paz Gas, next to Minato, a sushi place). It has a bright interior with indoor, outdoor, and bar seating.

Sitting by the old port of Caesarea in Caesarea National Park, and with ample seating overlooking the bay, this cavernous restaurant is famous for its fresh seafood, caught right from the water below, though it also serves juicy steaks and kebabs. An excellent starter is the salad of grilled eggplant, hummus, and fried cauliflower. Crunchy pita rounds toasted with olive oil and local spices are served alongside. House specialties include baked red snapper topped with chopped vegetables and black mussels sautéed in garlic, butter, and wine. Still hungry? Creamy cheesecake or warm apple pie with ice cream will do the trick. This place is a favorite with tour groups.

In a gas station (and next door to the restaurant Agenda), this place is perfect for beachgoers craving sushi. The name means "port" in Japanese, and Minato does a brisk takeout business, serving sashimi and nigiri as well as a variety of tempura dishes. You can also eat in at the long sushi bar and watch the chefs' knives flash in front of you. Try the temaki, a cone of seaweed filled with rice, vegetables, and the fish of your choice.