A new dairy restaurant, Sunset Kitchen, has just opened in the Daniel Hotel in Herzliya, and we heard about it through our good friends Vera and Joey Freudmann. So the four of us ventured out together for dinner.
At the Sunset Kitchen restaurant, dinner patrons are invited to be in their seats by 7:20 p.m. so they can enjoy the beautiful sunset, which gives the place its name. We were too busy perusing the menu to give the setting sun more than a cursory glance, but we did manage to select a cocktail from the imaginative menu.
I chose Pink Sunset, which seemed appropriate, a kind of margarita with a small amount of tequila and a lot of fruit juice (all cocktails are NIS 58).
We each chose a starter from the eight very original offerings. I chose mushroom croquettes (NIS 52) – two nicely hot and crispy rissoles filled with a blend of ricotta, mushrooms, and spinach. The green sauce was a basil aioli, and on top was grated cheese, Grana Padano, similar to Parmesan.
We all tried the focaccia, which came with a smoked eggplant cream and oregano zhug, both unusual dips.
My dining companion picked Tuna Crudo (NIS 88), which was fresh slices of fish on zucchini and yogurt cream, pistachios, and lemon zest, which was quickly demolished.
On the other side of the table was Fish Salona (NIS 82), a hot fillet of sea bream from the wood-fired oven, which Vera assured us was delicious. Among the four of us, we polished off every crumb.
The menu offers a variety of salads, pastas, and pizzas, but we passed on these in favor of fish dishes.
A fish feast
Joey and I ordered fish kebabs (NIS 138), which the menu describes as “a blend of sea fish wrapped in crispy pastry in spicy tomato sauce with charred onion and fresh chili.”
These turned out to be a kind of pie, with thin yeast pastry, and inside were three fish cutlets, looking just like gefilte fish but made from sea bream, in a very good tomato sauce. Neither of us ate the pastry, but it served the purpose of keeping the food inside hot.
The other two members of our party had more conventional grilled sea bass dishes, which they both enjoyed (NIS 148). The side dishes were original: one was grilled fennel, and the other a chard and chickpea stew.
The dessert menu offered five mouthwatering choices. Two of us had the crème brûlée (NIS 52), which was a classic and perfect example of the genre. Another had cheesecake, which was topped with fresh cream (NIS 48), and the fourth had the Yuzu lemon with mascarpone, which was deemed very good (NIS 42).
We all agreed it had been an outstanding meal and a lovely social occasion. The service was impeccable, and the waitresses were charming and helpful.
Full marks go to chef Dror Suffrin for an exceptional gastronomic experience.
Sunset Kitchen
Daniel Hotel
60 Eli Landau St.
Herzliya
Tel: (09) 381-3813
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 1 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Friday, noon – 4:30 p.m.
Shabbat closed
Kashrut: Shoham
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.