A special elevator in the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv whisked us up to the 49th floor. There are two restaurants there, as well as an events hall, but we were headed for the Sephora Sushi Bar. The view from the restaurant is stunning. We got there for sunset, and it was just lovely to watch the sun go down over the Mediterranean Sea.
I highly recommend starting with a cocktail. I asked for something sweet, and my husband wanted something tart. Both cocktails were excellent. I had the Tropical Eden, which was a combination of rum, passion fruit, coconut, and pineapple. My husband had the Hayim in Red, which consisted of vodka, cranberries, strawberries, and lime. The drinks are named after employees of the restaurant who were murdered during the Oct. 7 Hamas mega-atrocity.
We started with the locus popcorn (NIS 78) or, as it says on the menu, “locust popcorn.” While I’m not a big fan of locusts, locus is dusky grouper bass, one of my favorite fish in Israel. The fish cubes were fried in a tempura coating, with a spicy yuzu sauce. They were delicious, with just enough of a kick.
We also tried the asado crispy rice cake (NIS 88), which was asado accompanied by scallions, shimeji mushrooms, pickled onions, almonds, and chipotle aioli. Although a small portion, it was very tasty.
Delicious sushi rolls
Our two sushi rolls were delicious: Double tuna (NIS 89), which was chopped red tuna, orange tobiko, and spicy mayo on the inside; and cucumber and avocado with red tuna on the outside.
We also had the salmon sandwich (NIS 76) with avocado and shiitake mushrooms in tempura. It was crunchy, and the salmon was barely cooked, which is the way I like it.
My only disappointment came with dessert. The crusted top of our crème brulée (NIS 62) was not crunchy, and the custard part of the dessert was bland.
The prices at Sephora are certainly not low, but they do seem to be average for Tel Aviv.
We were there relatively early, when the atmosphere is relatively low key, but the staff told us that things usually heat up after 9 p.m., when there is often a DJ and people start dancing. But for these old fogies from Jerusalem, it was time to head home on the train, which conveniently stops at the Azrieli Mall.
Sephora Sushi BarAzrieli Mall, 49th floorTel AvivPhone: (03) 771-4960Sunday-Thursday, noon-5 p.m., and 6 p.m.-10 p.m.Kashrut: Tel Aviv Rabbinate
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
