2 Best Restaurants in Neveh Tzedek, Tel Aviv

Inside a beautifully restored historic building, this bistro has a rarefied atmosphere and an on-the-premises bakery that turns out a luscious array of French-style pastries. The breakfast menu highlights some of the baked delights, including smoked-salmon croissants and the indulgent French toast sandwich with fruit, ricotta cheese, and maple syrup. An enclosed patio, with its wrought-iron tables and chairs, is a lovely place to enjoy a late-afternoon coffee among a mixed crowd of businesspeople, surfers, and families. The executive lunch is a good value while the dinner menu offers more extensive (and significantly higher-priced) fish and meat options.

Israel has the highest population of vegans per capita, so it's impressive that Meshek Barzilay started blazing the plant-based trail long before farm-to-table eating became trendy. Tucked away on a quiet, secluded street in Neve Tzedek, the restaurant serves only locally sourced, organic, plant-based ingredients. The original restaurant was founded in 2002 by Merav Barzilay in the small agricultural community of Moshav Yarkona. A few years later, she opened Meshek Barzilay in central Tel Aviv. The produce may not come from her own backyard any more but Barzilay continues to source directly from a meticulously selected group of Israeli farms and producers who deliver daily. Best-selling dishes include the mushroom, tofu, and lentil veggie burger and the beetroot gnocchi.