Haifa, as is well known, is where the Baha'i Gardens, the holiday of the holidays and the heart of New York are located (at least according to Avi Bitter's films).
I gathered some friends from the disgusting Tel Aviv and drove to Colony Grill, a restaurant and crazy butcher shop led by the famous Bambino from Shawarma, a 33-year-old butcher (a more impressive degree than any doctorate or PhD).
We entered a cozy, air-conditioned restaurant, with large chairs and spacious sofas, and with huge refrigerators that age steaks bigger than all of us together.
Colony Grill Restaurant Haifa, Photo: Lior Klein
For engine heating we took beef fillet carpaccio, Caesar salad, eggplant plate and prana with dips.
The carpaccio was the most delicious I have ever eaten, a slice of high quality spicy beef fillet alongside hot crostini. The emperor's salad was refreshing, a classic dish in excellent execution.
The eggplant plate was great, as the vegetable came flat and well seasoned.
The perna was warm and comforting, alongside more flattering dips than I flatter my dietitian so you wouldn’t throw me out because of the reviews (tomorrow’s diet, Yael! Really!)
We were careful not to overfill and focus mainly on the meat, and then came the asado snacks: a huge platter of perfect asado steaks alongside an addictive wine sauce and a refreshing chimichurri.
Not only meat, there are also vegetables here.
Colony Grill, Photo: Lior Klein
We devoured the snacks and reached the highlight, a huge meat platter consisting of beef fillet, entrecote, lamb chops and Haifa kebab, covered with a blanket made of a thin loaf that retains heat like a mother tends to her chicks.
All the meats were to an exact and correct degree.
The fillet was slightly below medium and excellent, the entrecote was some of the best I have eaten, with excellent juicy and spicy fat, the ribs were juicy and wonderful and even the kebab was well made and very tasty.
Alongside the dishes were a number of toppings: spicy fries, friki, baked potatoes and rice - good toppings that blended nicely with the meat.
Meat platter, grill colonies, photo: Lior Klein
Happy and bursting with hysterical amounts of meat we sang hymns to Bambino and continued on to desserts.
We took apple tart and lemon pie.
The tart was great, crispy and crunchy dough with a filling of tender apples alongside a classic vanilla ice cream.
The lemon pie was excellent too, filling and good cream combined with great dough.
We finished the meal and ordered a bill, it cost 899 shekels, a fairer price considering the quantity and quality of meat we ate and the bottle of wine that the chubby friends drank for the trip.
We thanked Bambino, took some steaks from the butcher shop and headed back to the White City.
Desserts, Haifa Grill Colonies, Photo: Lior Klein
To sum up: Colony Grill is one of the best meat restaurants in the country, the atmosphere is great, the meats are crazy, the first courses and desserts are excellent and the price is totally worth it.
If you happen to be in Haifa, is it worth visiting there, and in Bethlehem?
Also worth a trip especially.
Until next time, I was Luke.
To have an appetite.