There's magic to OPA's family atmosphere – to be precise, it's said to be a new family in every sense. So much so that when it was decided to close the restaurant on the occasion of Chol Hamoed Sukkot, three of the employees came up with a gorgeous idea.
Happy and casual pop-up, non-obligatory and super tasty. Of course, all the values of the coveted brand are also reflected in a pop-up called Opalite, and the ripples of the culinary personality of chef Shirel Berger - who won the One To Watch award of the list of the 50 best restaurants for 2023 (restaurants worth following) on OPA, are an inseparable part of its essence.
Shirel Berger on stage at the ceremony in Abu Dhabi, photo: PR San Pellegrino
Restaurant bartender Elior Chen, Flor manager Shaked Harari and waiter Tomer Eshel are the initiators of this fun. The three of them together wanted to operate the restaurant as a rhythmic eatery, serving eye-level food during the holiday, free from the usual tasting menu but one that chats in the same unique and fascinating language as Berger.
When a brand manages to stretch the scope and give itself different perspectives that empower it, it establishes its status and resilience. Thus, this is the second time in a short time that the women of OPA, sisters Shirel and Sharona Berger and their partners, have created a different experience that is directly and consciously derived from the mother's title. It was not long ago at a wild nature dinner outside the city and here it is happening again, in the form of this short and special pop-up.
And now, when a restaurant like OPA wears casual and declares itself a eatery, the whole atmosphere is released accordingly. Music in a more electronic style plays loudly and moves pelvis and shoulders, the sounds of conversation are louder than usual and the entertainment is young and has no age without.
Precise meal on strawberry leaf, photo: Tomer Nahir Petluk
The pop-up menu includes five courses and an à la carte dessert (per dish rather than as a structured meal). Among the dishes served to the table was a lion's mane schnitzel sandwich with barbecue sauce, potato bread and coleslaw. The lion's mane is a wonderful fleshy mushroom, with an impressive presence and depth of flavors, the crispy coating it had gave it an additional textural touch that complimented it (NIS 52). Another dish at the meal was carrot sausage - the dish came as a steamed sourdough ban with smoked carrots, pickled onions and fermented chili aioli. This is actually a dish that brought us Berger in all its glory at the one-time restaurant "Miss Kaplan" that operated in the Sarona complex, a long time ago, even before we knew how big Berger was going to be (45 shekels).
White sweet potato on coals, photo: Maya Drin
We also enjoyed the lion's mane mushroom schnitzel dish fried in koji batter and fermented corn. A dish that is all umami of late summer, served with the best sauces, including spicy and addictive mango sauce (42 shekels) and a dish of burnt white sweet potato on coals with yogurt, almonds and herbs whipped cream (42 shekels).
We ended our meal with a coquilida - almond miso cookies, vanilla ice cream and Jerusalem artichoke caramel (36 shekels).
The cocktails that accompanied the food (42 shekels) were an integral part of the experience. Apart from the spectrum of colors, compounds and homemade syrups - the alcohol in them definitely did the trick: Dream Vodka with bitter citrus syrup - sour, vodka and mint; "Pigam Pigam" with gin, melon liqueur, pig and bitters or for example, "Pumpkin Spice" which consists of gin, pumpkin liqueur and spice syrup.
Homemade syrups, photo: Maya Drin
The demand for the Opalite experience is very great and from the moment the restaurant opens, customers already gather at the door. It is recommended to make an early reservation as it is not possible.
The pop-up takes place October 4-5 from 18 p.m. to 00 a.m. and Oct. 24 from 00 p.m. to 6 p.m.
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