At the blue tables of the restaurant "Regina in the station", which operates in the station complex in Tel Aviv, we met the owner of the place, Avi Arbov, who came to the field without prior knowledge after being on mission in Brazil on behalf of Chabad for four years.
"When I returned to Israel in 2016, the Chabad emissary in Tel Aviv told me that many people who come to the city call them and ask for recommendations for a Chabad kosher restaurant, which there are almost none in Israel," he said.
"I told him there was no problem, and I started looking for places to open or operate such a restaurant, until I arrived at this place. I had no idea about restaurants until then."
In fact, Arbov was not the one who opened the restaurant, but entered it as a partner - and only then did it become kosher.
Two years earlier, she belonged to Dafna Bar-Zion, a restaurateur and singer who was murdered by her husband (from whom she separated), the musician Ilan Ben-Ami.
Hamburger at "Regina at the station" // Photo: Noam (Dabol) Dvir
The restaurant is located in the station complex in Tel Aviv-Yafo, in an ancient house for preservation: "This place is very special. It combines several rooms, so a diverse crowd can come here, so everyone can feel comfortable. I also make sure that the staff is diverse, so there are secular waiters here and religious alike, because I want this combination. On Friday we work half a day and then open again on Saturday night."
This is a time when restaurants struggle to survive. The price of raw materials is rising, electricity is becoming more expensive, customers are more protective of their money and it is difficult to find workers.
"We are dealing with post-Corona, during which the prices of raw materials have risen significantly. If a gallon of oil used to cost 63 shekels, today it costs 140 shekels. Bread, tahini, paper products, everything has gone up. Meat prices have also gone up, but by relatively low percentages. Alongside this, it is difficult to find good employees. All these things cause the prices to rise on the menus as well, but we have not raised prices yet."
Beet carpaccio at "Regina at the station", photo: Noam (Dabol) Dvir
And what about the food instead?
Well, the restaurant has a family atmosphere, although sometimes a little noisy.
You can find secular, ultra-Orthodox and those wearing knitted caps, as befits the place.
The entrecote steak (NIS 168) was particularly successful, and if we narrowed down our opinion on it - it was one of the best we ate recently in Tel Aviv.
The entrecote hamburger (NIS 84) was also excellent.
The restaurant has a special department for aging meat and a variety of bone-in steaks, and there is still a fish dish on its menu (sea bass ceviche - NIS 64), which means that it faces gaps between very good dishes and those that were less recommended.
After these dishes, of course we came to desserts.
We chose a chocolate soufflé with ice cream (NIS 44), which brought us back to the stigma that kosher restaurants are less good.
"Kosher restaurants have limitations, certainly if they have strict kosher like ours," says Arbiv.
"We are definitely limited in desserts, which must remain fur. In the end, those who eat kosher - enjoy the food here. Quite a few rabbis who come to Israel, Knesset members and ministers - from all ends of the spectrum sit here."
Chocolate soufflé at "Regina at the station" // Photo: Noam (Dabol) Dvir
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