Last Monday, my husband and I went to Zahav restaurant in Philadelphia. Zahav is labeled as a “modern Israeli restaurant”. Not only is Zahav one of the best restaurants in Philadephia but it’s been ranked as one of the best restaurants in the country. Normally I post diner reviews, but Zahav quickly became one of my favorite restaurants so I decided to showcase that as well. I don’t have any running-related posts right now, so why not show some other aspects of my life?
Before Monday, I had never tried Isreali food. Although I typically post about diners, my husband and I go out fairly often. We both enjoy trying new things and new cuisines. Locals always recommend trying Zahav, so I knew eventually I wanted too. When I went to make a reservation a few days before, I quickly realized that I wasn’t going to be able too. The first reservation they have is in late June!
Since my husband is in the military, reserving a month or two in advance isn’t an option for us. We can’t even plan more than a day or two because his schedule is changing. Luckily Zahav was more than helpful and was able to get us a reservation. I cannot thank Zahav enough! (They didn’t pay for our meal but were helpful to get a reservation).
Zahav was ranked as one of the top restaurants in the entire country. To say it was delicious is an understatement and if you live in the greater Philadelphia area, I would highly recommend getting reservations.
When we arrived at Zahav it was extremely crowded and throughout the entire time and throughout the 2 hours we were there, it never got less crowded. Every table in the entire restaurant was filled 100% of the time.
We decided to order from the Zahav tasting menu and chef’s recommendations. This meant all of the food at Zahav was served Tapas style, and we didn’t have to worry about choosing anything. Honestly, while the Zahav menu is small, I had no idea what to choose.
For our meal at Zahav, we started off with the Salatim and Hummus. It came with six mini salads with a giant piece of Lafta bread (which is similar to pita bread).
From there we received several small plates including grape leaves, fried cauliflower and fried cheese. I don’t think I’ve ever had good cauliflower but this was the best I had ever tried. If you go to Zahav, I definitely recommend trying the fried cauliflower as well as grape leaves. (Be warned the grape leaves are spicy!)
The main course at Zahav was roasted lamb for us to taste. To say it was the best lamb I’ve had is an understatement. It was so tender; it fell right off the bone. Looking back at the post, I want to it eat it again.
For dessert, we received the “chocolate konafi for two”. It was a somewhat chocolate and crispy cake with melted ice cream and pistachio on time. It was one of the most unique desserts I’ve had.It was crunchy and rich.
Zahav was one of the best restaurant experiences I’ve had, and I can’t wait to go back. Afterward dinner at Zahav, we walked around Philadephia for a little bit. The lights along the river were gorgeous.
Questions for you:
Have you tried Isreali food before? Have you been to Zahav?
What is one of the most unique restaurants you’ve been too?
never tried isreali before, it looks like foods i’d like though. I’m going to bookmark this restaurant for sure 🙂
This all sounds so delicious. I am definitely yelping Israeli food now…
I don’t think I’ve ever had Isreali food! It looks really good though and I’d totally try it! I think the most interesting food I’ve had is probably Ethiopian food. It’s just so different from what I normally eat but they had TONS of vegetarian options so it made it extra fun!
I’ve never tried Israeli food before and now that I am thinking about it, I don’t venture out much at all with ethnic cuisines. I need to work on that! I am totally baffled by that dessert. All of the ingredients sound good though! Your dress is so cute!
Definitely never had Israeli food before, but it looks like something I’d like! And that’s so cool of them to be so accommodating with reservations. Love it when restaurants do that kind of stuff.
Zahav is one of my favorite restaurants too!! And yeah, it’s no joke about getting a reservation… I had wanted to go there with my fam for graduation and went online exactly 60 days in advance when reservations were available and they were already booked for that night.
I’ve never tried Israeli food but this looks delicious!
I’ve never tried Israeli but it looks so good and I think it’s really smart to go with the chef’s recommendations. I had Indian food in Seattle once and we all sat on pillows on the floor, around a low table and had no cutlery, an experience I’ll never forget!
I’ve never tried Israeli food (I’m 99% sure we don’t have an Israeli restaurant here and don’t think I’ve heard of any in SC, in fact). But everything you had looks really delicious- and I have tried a few of those items like grape leaves, which I like. You can’t beat a nice restaurant and trying a new style of cuisine on a night out, though. I’m glad you and Tim managed to get a reservation to try Zahav!
I walk past Zahav almost every day on my walking route with my roommate and her dog! I’ve ever been but have heard amazing things – sounds like I need to check it out!
You should definitely go Samantha, I’ve heard their lunch is really good too!
Well, I now want to try Israeli food! It sounds amazing! I love the picture of you at the end of this post. You look beautiful, Hollie!
It’s so much fun to try different culture’s food. I’ve had Korean, Thai, and Indian and loved them so much. Next I want to try Ethiopian and Israeli!
What a fun evening! Good call going with the tasting menu, especially since it’s a new-to-you cuisine. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve had Israeli food before …
i loveeeeee zahav! i haven’t been there in a few years, but it’s still one of the best meals i’ve ever eaten.
You look beautiful. 🙂 That bread looks beautiful, too!