Pasta Della Casa, Kfar Saba (Shlomi Gabai)
Chef Ido Feiner's resume includes a stint as sous chef at the mythical Mol Yam, leading one particularly successful restaurant that closed - Grieg, together with the wine expert Uri Kottori;
Roberta Vinci, the beloved Italian from Pardes Hana, who nods to locality;
And Roberta's Burger - a burger joint in the center of Herzliya.
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Grieg was and is not.
Roberta and Roberta's are alive and kicking, and now comes the new chapter in Feiner's work - Emek Brasserie, which he recently opened together with restaurateurs Raz Almog, his partner in both Roberta's, and Oren Magids.
Contemporary and pleasant.
Emek Brasserie (Photo: Shani Halevi)
The location of Brasserie Valley does not fill with romantic associations.
In the shopping complex in Mishmar Hasharon, of which it is a part, you can find, among others, an Alonit gas station and supermarket, a Stimatsky store, Golda ice cream and more.
Such a generic Israeli compound, probably blown up on Shabbats and the likes of which can be found everywhere.
Entering the restaurant space, whose windows are distinguished by wooden curtains, one instantly forgets the Israeliness outside.
The space, medium in size, with a long bar and not many tables, is contemporary and cozy.
Not an eye-popping design, not laconic;
A matter-of-fact, inviting and completely hybrid atmosphere, suitable for almost any entertainment context: intimate, social or family.
The cuisine at "Emek" relies mainly on regional growers, from Emek Hefer.
The concept shows a constant search for local twists to familiar classics.
On the menu are starters, "vegan", pastas, main dishes and - who said hybrid restaurant and didn't get - "kids".
she deserves it
To serve such a dish in the middle of Tel Aviv?! Wow
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The connecting hand.
Emek Brasserie (Photo: Shani Halevi)
A cursory glance at the menu, for those who do not know the background of those who do the craft, may cause concern that the genericity from the outside continues inside, with vegetable salad, Caesar salad, roast beef, schnitzel and grilled salmon.
We started with the first three - spinach stew bruschetta (NIS 58), vegetable salad from the region's crops (NIS 54) and roast beef (NIS 62).
Feiner's bruschetta is remembered since the days of Grieg and Roberta Vinci, and is a kind of flagship dish that goes with him wherever he goes.
Here Alyah arrived, after also going through a charcoal grill in addition to baking, a stew of Swiss chard and two types of spinach with olive oil, butter, garlic and local Parmesan, which was no less than wonderful.
Three-four bites of pure pleasure for everyone.
You cannot mistake the quality, freshness and freshness of the greens.
The bread is excellent.
The connecting hand of all this allowed the freshness of the greens to be present, along with the depth and breadth provided by all the additives.
magnificent.
I stuck a spoon in the vegetable salad, and another, followed by another, and another.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, fennel, kohlrabi and purple onion, with olive oil and Jacobs feta cheese.
Basically, it's all vegetable salad with feta.
For how many of these did we get used to paying 60 shekels outside and getting badly pissed off every time?
The current one was huge in size, each of its ingredients was great and all together just said poetry.
This is a dish that is all about the choice of ingredients that reminds us how wonderful simple vegetables can be.
The roast beef, based on "Schneider" beef in the Golan Heights, came with amba aioli and pickled vegetables.
The meat itself was excellently done - pinkish, juicy, very tasty on its own.
The Amaba aioli, very refined, represented the local twist that Feiner makes sure to put in every dish of the seemingly classic dishes.
The pickled vegetables were also good and the meticulous homemade handiwork was evident.
Great dish.
Pinkish, juicy, delicious.
Emek Brasserie's roast beef (Photo: Shani Halevi)
A whole fish in Josper costs 132 shekels, a fish fillet portion 125, and there are many dishes that return a surplus of a hundred.
This is a price level that we were once used to, before the cards of the economy driving restaurant pricing here were destroyed
We moved on to the basics.
In an age where we are used to paying 170 and 180 shekels for a fish main from the aquaculture farms, looking at Emek Brasserie's main menu warms the heart.
A whole fish in Josper costs 132 shekels, a fish fillet portion 125, and there are many dishes that return a surplus of a hundred.
This is a price level that we were once used to, before the cards of the economy driving restaurant pricing here were destroyed.
We went for a "Lolo" meal at Josper (88) and Beau Bourguignon (94).
The chicken dish is another clear expression of Feiner's preoccupation with locals and upgrading classics.
The Lulu chicken itself is really delicious, nothing like regular chicken.
The kreis arrived perfect from the wood oven - juicy, crispy on the outside, with real deep flavors.
The wheat stew was Feiner's version for flakes, with a herb salsa and a measured and lovely presence of the "ras al khanat" spice mix.
The bourguignon dish was good.
Its dimensions were very pleasantly surprising, in the context of the moderate pricing.
The beef stew in wine had depth, the puree was excellent but the meat itself was "good" and nothing more.
There are no complaints at all, and in an age where every dish based on animal protein costs close to double, this is absolutely an excellent value for money dish.
But compared to all the excellent plus we've had so far, it's a bit less.
Rare in our places.
Brasserie Valley
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We were very confused about the identity of the dessert.
Quite a few options look very tempting.
As someone who is on duty and looking for the more intriguing dishes, I was debating between Sabrina and Bavarian Cream - two historical dessert dishes, which characterized the local "gastronomy" once upon a time, when people ate at skewers that were located at gas stations.
We went for Sabrina (46) and we didn't regret it.
The Saberina base was steeped in "Blanc de Galilei", the excellent grappa of the "Julius" distillery.
It was topped with a wonderful citrus cream, with geranium syrup.
It was a dessert that combined a considerable balance of textures and flavors and was executed with great care.
The job of upgrading the historical classic was done here with great distinction.
His breath is big.
A place for everyone.
Emek Brasserie (Photo: ShutterStock)
Can't remember when I finished a meal at a new local restaurant with such a wide, ear-to-ear, and heartfelt smile.
Almost every week in the last few months I have reported in this section about new places that the Seventh day is bitter.
How generic, how overlapping, how incompetent and what a disgraceful value for money.
Emek Brasserie is the complete opposite: all uniqueness, character and strictness.
It reflects superior talent and the value for money factor it delivers is rare in local terms.
Based on the dishes we ate, with two starters, two mains and a shared dessert, you can close a meal with about NIS 350 for two (the bill detailed below is higher because we ate three starters).
We got used to paying something more like almost double.
All this goodness happens without "Emek" being a place only for connoisseur foodies.
On the contrary, something about it is built so that everyone can enjoy it.
It may be that the former will know how to appreciate the magic that exists there much more than others, and that for the generic diner it will be a place with only "good food".
Not bad.
I intend to visit this place, where all the virtues exist, a lot.
How long have we been waiting for a real local bistro/brasserie, that serves really delicious food without making a big deal out of itself and at a decent price.
here he comes
Great fun.
Emek Brasserie, Mishmar Hasharon complex, Tzomat Hagogen, 077-9800322
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