A good friend named Arugol had a birthday, because I do not usually go to bars and parties, I offered the picky friend food that is a good Italian restaurant, and so instead of sitting on a high chair and suffering from loud music, we would sit on low chairs and gain weight from pasta.
A brief Google search led me to a kosher Pankina restaurant, an Italian restaurant close to home, which I surprisingly had not heard of despite its high rating.
Arancini, Pankina, Photo: Itai Lukacs
A short and gossipy small talk alongside a good cup of coffee and we ordered first.
We took focaccia and arancini, a classic and relaxed opening in the best Italian tradition.
The focaccia was great, one of the best I ate, hot and airy alongside tomato and feta salsa and served with a bottle of balsamic vinegar and a bottle of olive oil with two personal dishes to mix.
Already at that moment I realized that I had arrived at a great place, as a person who loves balsamic a lot and always struggles for the drop in olive oil, I was glad that I was given the opportunity to decide on the dosages myself.
The arancini was perfect, very crispy with a filling of excellent risotto and a classic tomato sauce.
The lovely waitress told us that most of the kitchen staff and also the owners were Italian, and although I was not surprised I said "Mama Mia!"
And we ordered mains.
Lasagna, Pankina, Photo: Itai Lukech
For mains we had lasagna rosé, pasta cacho papa and ricotta ricotta zucchini.
The lasagna was amazing, soft and delicate with a great filling, and burnt just the right amount at the edges.
The cacho papa was excellent, a classic dish of pasta in butter and pecorino sauce with black pepper in a classic, precise and correct execution.
The ricotta zucchini ravioli was one of the best ravioli dishes I have eaten in my life, made perfectly with a great filling and a sauce that compliments the dish, more than I compliment flatterers from the gray market so they don’t break my legs (you sting stunningly tried! Keep it up!).
The owner of the restaurant approached us, a charming religious Italian guy who wanted to make sure everything was fine.
We told him everything was perfect, Italians like us!
From here we continued for desserts: tiramisu and chocolate souffle with a scoop of ice cream alongside a chaser limoncello for pampering.
Ravioli, Pankina, Photo: Itai Lukech
Arugu and the waitress came to life (because I do not drink alcohol) and we dived into the depths of the sweet.
The tiramisu was great, absolutely the best three I have eaten in the country.
The souffle was just perfect, uniformly made and heavenly flavored alongside good vanilla ice cream.
His account in Bakshto!
We ordered his account, it cost 352 shekels.
Really fair price for two people who exploded and enjoyed every bite as if they were Super Mario eating a mushroom.
Focaccia, Pankina, Photo: Itai Lukech
In conclusion:
Pankina Hachshara restaurant offers a delicious and authentic Italian experience, not fluffy, very accurate and at a fair price.
Highly recommended for chatterboxes who want to gossip or a light date against the backdrop of Gordon Dizengoff.
Until next time, I was Luke.
Arivderchi.
