Zacks Brasserie is Rehovot's newest culinary gem - restaurant reivew

But the opening of a new, kosher, meat restaurant, Zacks Brasserie, is sure to put Rehovot on the map of must-visit sites for both local and visiting foodies.

Zacks Brasserie comes with a good pedigree, established by the Cramim Group, which first got underway back in 2002 with the landmark eatery of that same name, founded by chef Sahar Rafael at Moshav Segula, becoming a pioneer of haute cuisine in the South. Since then, it has grown to be one of the top dining and hospitality companies in the country, with projects that include the Cramim Spa & Wine Hotel in the Judean Hills, just outside Jerusalem.

Its establishment of Zacks Brasserie in Rehovot is not incidental; the identity and approach of the restaurant draw from its location, starting with its name. Ephraim Zacks (1858-1944) was one of the leading figures of the town during its early days, when it was one of the first Jewish settlements established by the Zionist movement.

Zacks served as head of the local council, helped develop Rehovot’s water system, and established a loan association that aided new immigrants. He also planted large almond groves and spearheaded the building of the local post office – both achievements, as we shall see, reflected in the Zacks Brasserie experience.

Naturally, there is also an Ephraim Zacks Street in Rehovot, but the restaurant is located elsewhere, in the city’s upscale Hollandia neighborhood, sitting behind the Mediterranean Towers residence, and accessed through its lobby.

Upon entering, the restaurant makes an immediate good first impression. Leather-upholstered chairs and tables are draped in white, amid a tastefully luxurious interior of polished wood and metal crafted by Gad Halperin, a prominent restaurant designer in Israel.

A large glass wall looks out onto a forested area of eucalyptus trees, lending a bucolic atmosphere in line with the menu’s “farm-to-table” cooking approach, which relies on fresh, seasonal produce. The kitchen, overseen by Rafael and chef David Levy, collaborates with greenhouses and utilizes herbs grown especially for the kitchen. The fresh seasonal fish and meat, sourced from local suppliers, undergo aging processes on site.

WE STARTED our meal with wine, which can be ordered as individual glasses or bottles, or wine-pairing courses that range from NIS 129-NIS 159. With the effusive and efficient house manager, Ofri Perzovsky, acting as our sommelier, we accepted her recommended glasses of Sauvignon Blanc from the Tura Winery, located at Rehilim in Samaria.

This white wine was both fruity and light, a perfect complement to the fish dishes that were among the selection of appetizer courses we sampled. These included: a tuna tartare infused with green chili and nana, floating in a watermelon-based gazpacho (NIS 67); a Matjas herring tartare sitting on a green-tomato consommé and topped with an algae cracker (NIS 68); and a sashimi course of sliced herring or white fish in olive oil, with tomato seeds, tarragon oil, apple gremolata, celery, green chili, mint, and salted almond fragments (NIS 68). All the fish was superbly garnished and fresh enough to please my companion, who generally shies away from raw fish offerings.

We also tried both cold and hot meat appetizers: the former included an excellent beef tartare garnished with red chili, chives, capers, Spanish shallot, grated pickled yolk, and served on a smoked eggplant “bruschetta’’ (NIS 72).

Even better was a dish of seared veal shanks, served over a spicy pepper cream, with coriander leaves and cashew “yogurt” (NIS 92). For some reason, restaurants in Israel tend to veer away from serving veal unless it’s cooked schnitzel-style, but when prepared as perfectly as this dish, no meat is more tender. I literally cut it with my fork.

We also sampled two salad offerings: a Caesar salad with grated yolk and bread crumbs (NIS 62); and a leafy salad with endives, caramelized onion, seasonal fruit, and yuzu pecans (NIS 58).

But for me, the stand-out of all the appetizers was the risotto with “Rome-style” fried artichokes and tuber (truffle) cooked in an olive oil, white wine, and sage broth (NIS 59). I’m a risotto-lover, and would never have thought you could achieve the necessary creaminess without using butter or parmigiana, but the Zacks team now has me convinced otherwise. Che buono!

FOR THE MAIN courses, there are both chicken and fish options, but we decided to go with the meat specials, for good reason. The restaurant’s kitchen is equipped with a Josper – a special high-temperature charcoal oven developed in Spain, enabling that country to become famous in recent years for its barbecue-style meat dishes.

I went for an entrecote cut of steak (NIS 169), cooked perfectly to a juicy medium-rare, with the requisite smokiness you’d expect emerging from a Josper.

My companion went for the “hamburger’’ special (NIS 119); I put that in quotes because this is unlike any burger I have ever tasted, served sans bun and accompanied by a wine-reduction sauce. This was as far away from a fast-food offering as can be, and was quite simply the best hamburger I’ve ever had in this country.

The dessert menu, under the direction of pastry chef Dor Friedlander, is a display of outstanding creativity. We sampled a unique sweet called “The Zack” – a homage to the restaurant’s namesake consisting of an almond-and-praline financier pastry with almond and amaretto whipped cream and sugared almonds (NIS 56).

We also tried a miso brulee, with coconut yuzu, fresh anise, and coconut sorbet (NIS 58); and a black sesame and citrus cake with tehina toffee, sesame caramel, and calamansi sorbet (NIS 56). Calamansi is a citrus fruit grown in the Philippines that tastes like a super-charged lime, and that tartness, combined with the sharpness of the black sesame, made this dessert an especially tongue-tingling experience.

Other notable touches of Zacks Brasserie include the lovely presentation of all the courses in simple but classy white dishes, the attentive service, and the ways the restaurant pays homage to its namesake – from the constant theme of almonds throughout the menu, to the brown envelope the bill is presented in as a reminder of Ephraim Zacks’s contribution to Rehovot’s postal service.

It’s clear just how much thought has been put into making this restaurant a high-level culinary experience, with a degree of wit and originality not at all common in this country.