See all Restaurants in Tel Aviv
Mul Yam
Tel Aviv Port Cuisines: SeafoodAbout
Lionized by local food critics (and the New York Times) and with prices that cover the airfare for the ingredients in many of its dishes, this cutting-edge seafood restaurant/oyster bar has a name that's a Franco-Hebrew pun: "Mul Yam" in Hebrew means "facing the sea," and also (if you're a Hebrew speaker who knows French) "sea mussels." The moules (mussels) from the pun are rarely on the menu, but a variety of top-quality crustaceans and mollusks are flown in several times a week from distant, chilly seas. Here Tel Aviv's nonkosher elite consume fresh-off-the-plane oysters in an informal place that looks like a small seafood restaurant in Maine or Cape Cod (the decor may be upgraded soon). The kitchen is fantastic and inventive. The appetizers are heavenly: Look for filet of sea bass with crispy gnocchi and pumpkin cream; or crab soup velouté with herbes de Provence, served with peeled shrimp. Main courses on the constantly changing menu might include a dynamite cold lobster salad; pumpkin and ricotta ravioli with shrimp and clams in lobster sauce; or a medley of scallop, scampi, shrimp, and lobster in white wine. Main courses are served with a side dish and brioche. Whole grilled Nova Scotia lobster in herbed butter starts at NIS 220 ($55/£28). A special dessert chef produces light, elegant items to top off your meal. This is Xanadu for those coming to Israel for gourmet seafood.
