Brunch with a sea view.
Villa Mara in Tel Aviv/Rotem Drov
When I wanted to arrange an interview with Alex Droz, the owner of two "Villa Mara" branches, the older one on the Bat Yam promenade and the younger sister on the Tel Aviv promenade, I sent him a message on WhatsApp.
We don't know each other before and that was actually the first message I sent him, or so I thought.
It turns out that we talked already on the 10th of October, when the country was in its most difficult week since the war of liberation.
He cooked food for soldiers and evacuees in his closed restaurants, I opened a very tiny HML of friends with commercial cars and trucks that wanted to transport food and I made the necessary logistical links, so that the food would reach those who needed it. And here, we are talking again in a completely different context.
Even the gurlbaks and creme parche are prepared on the spot.
Villa Mara/PR
"Very quickly the wheel turned. The audience is not stupid, they understand that the product is high quality and genuine and comes from my soul"
Villa Mara was opened by Droz seven years ago on the promenade of Bat Yam, first line to the water, near the famous Sela beach.
The foam of the waves that activates the feeling of hunger like a magic wand can literally be smelled at the tables.
Droz, who defines himself as "a cook, not a chef", is currently a restaurateur, and dreamed of a restaurant with regular customers, and an Italian-Mediterranean menu.
In Bat Yam the restaurant is very successful.
The demands from the customers - veteran Israelis and many from the former Commonwealth of Nations - led him to include dishes from his Ukrainian grandmother's house, such as Flamini and Sariniki, on the menu.
Because if the food is good, it doesn't really matter which country it comes from.
Three years ago he decided to take action and opened a branch of "Vila Mara" in the promenade, but this time in Tel Aviv.
Again blue in the eyes through the windows, a breeze from the sea and a feeling of freedom.
But here Druze found out first hand that you should always stay true to your truth.
"I wasn't afraid, because I knew that the Bat Yams would enjoy coming here to try, but the Tel Avivites didn't even know there was another branch, because they didn't dream of Bat Yam," he smiles, "but I made a mistake. I tried to hide my identity and together with the I suffered many losses due to the corona virus. I gritted my teeth and got out of the losses."
When I try to find out what is meant by hiding the identity, Droz explains that the original menu in Tel Aviv had handmade ricotta tortellini and "hunter tortellini" made from beef, for example.
"We made them from scratch - the dough, the filling, and the dumplings themselves. It would have cost me NIS 4,000 a week, but I would only sell a few portions and throw everything in the trash. I tried to think why, and I realized that there are thousands of such dishes in Tel Aviv, and I don't reinvent anything. I apologized to God And in the face of fate, I threw the tortellini to hell and put in my soul and my culture."
The soul and culture were "Grandma Sara's Veriniki" filled with potatoes and plimini filled with meat.
"The work is still hard," he admits, "but very quickly the wheel turned. The audience is not stupid, they understand that the product is high quality and genuine and comes from my soul and today I sell hundreds of portions a week, compared to 5-10 portions of tortellini in the past."
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Yes, a menu with Eastern European dishes, but one that also hits everyone's taste/PR
Droz realized that in the Tel Aviv jungle he must stay close to his truth and continues with the Eastern European culinary line, alongside an Italian-Mediterranean menu that suits everyone.
Thus, you can also enjoy particularly indulgent brunches here on the weekends (and some Israelis love brunch, especially if you include a sea view in the deal) with special dishes such as grablax that is conquered on the spot with "driniki", which are potato fritters from the Belarusian cuisine, and fresh home cream Immediately of course.
On the menu, you will also find appetizers that are loved by everyone - Armani Labishi, for example, which are cheese triangles from a thin dough shell filled with a mixture of Georgian cheeses (NIS 45), and in fact "skinny khachapuri", with the cheeses but with less bread.
Like khachapuri, but with less bread and more cheeses.
Armani clothing/Rotem Drov
When Droz starts talking about his unique menu, it's hard for him to stop.
"I decided to include borscht soup because it is a world soup and not a Ukrainian one. Let me tell you about the process - you start with chicken and beef bone stock, along with the beef, which is then cut into cubes. Separately, there is the roasting of candied beets, and separately from them the roasting of seasoned tomatoes and onions. After When the stock is ready, we strain it and return the meat, return the vegetables, add cabbage and let it cook for another hour, add beets and stop. You've never tasted a borscht soup like this, I promise you," as he proudly presents the dish that costs NIS 45.
Sunset at Villa Mara.
A bottle of wine and something small next to you and you are set/PR
Villa Mara on the Tel Aviv Promenade is perfect for spending a Saturday, or in the evening facing the sunset.
Tel Aviv offers a lot of attractions in the area that you can combine for a really fun day, or just start the fun with a bottle of wine on the sand with a blanket and then go to a restaurant.
However, I must also mention the restaurant in Bat Yam - a rich bar, a great menu, first line to the water and an atmosphere of the Bat Yam Promenade that you will not find in Tel Aviv, if you want an entertainment unlike anything else you have ever known.
Willa Mara, Herbert Samuel 88, Tel Aviv and Derech Ben Gurion 69, Bat Yam
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