Chef Aviv Moshe returns to Tel Aviv with kosher Italian restaurant Bella - restaurant review

In recent years, Moshe began cooking only kosher cuisine, first at Poupee in Tel Aviv and then at Maree Sky Lounge in Netanya. The good news is that Chef Moshe is officially back in Tel Aviv, now at the helm of Bella, a restaurant defining itself as a nuova osteria, serving traditional Italian food with contemporary interpretations.

As a kosher dairy restaurant serving classic Italian dishes using cheese, the main courses eschew meat and poultry, replacing them with fish.

The interior design of Bella has changed little from its previous Serafina incarnation, retaining its elegant ambiance and handsome bar, as well as the semi-open kitchen dominated by its white Italian pizza oven. The one prominent addition to the latter is a mountain of truffle butter, a testament to the role of one of the restaurant’s gourmet ingredients.

Bella is open primarily for dinner, on weekdays from 5 p.m. to midnight and on Saturdays after Shabbat (it opens briefly for lunch on Fridays). Notably, the restaurant offers a Happy Hour: Sunday-Thursday between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., with a 20% discount off the entire menu.

The full bar serves six specialty cocktails (NIS 62), as well as the classics. The Margo Milano is Bella’s take on a spicy Margarita, while La Palma – one of two vodka-based creations in this category – is a perfectly balanced, fruity cocktail.

The adequate, although not extensive, kosher wine list features exclusively Israeli vintages, except for sparkling wine and champagne from Europe. There is a rather limited selection of wines available by the glass.

Not including the house bread (NIS 37) – wood-fired focaccia, served with infused olive oil and truffle butter – the food menu’s six sections are: Crudo – Raw Fish (six entrées, NIS 72-NIS 87); Starters (including the house salad, NIS 58-NIS 76); Classic Italy – Sharing Plates and Appetizers (NIS 56-NIS 88); Main Courses – Pasta (NIS 88-NIS 96); Main Courses – Fish (NIS 158-NIS 168); and From the Oven, comprising three pizzas (NIS 83-NIS 88).

There are plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free choices (excluding the pastas and pizzas), but few vegan options.

The raw fish course contains more dishes than any other category. Those who like a bit of heat will not be disappointed by the jalapeno sashimi, six pieces of extremely fresh amberjack swimming in a piquant chili pepper and herb emulsion.

The burrata cuore di bue features a plump ball of the creamy mozzarella cheese perched on a bed of chopped heirloom tomatoes. When cut, the burrata oozes a delicious river of stracciatella over the delicately seasoned red tomatoes.

Bella Greens is a vertically presented salad of mixed leaves, soft buche cheese, and toasted matchstick almonds in an understated white balsamic vinegar dressing. This pleasing salad yields a refreshing interplay of flavors and textures.

Our Classic Italy sharing plate featured lemon arancini: three balls of pearl rice, deep-fried to a perfect shade of golden brown, drenched in a delicious cheese sauce and powdered with shavings of aged pecorino. The only problem with this excellent dish was that we wished there were more of it.

As a main course, we chose the only one that combined both fish and pasta: bisque gnocchi, a red drum steak served on a bed of potato dumplings in a very rich brown-butter bisque. The white sea fish was cooked to perfection, while the light, fluffy gnocchi pillows were superb.

A separate dessert menu listed four final courses (NIS 54-NIS 64), with more choices slated from the restaurant’s talented pastry chef. A mouthwatering chocolate creation combining mousse, fudge, and a cocoa tuile was sinfully decadent, while a large portion of that iconic Italian sweet – chiffony tiramisu – was a worthy finishing touch to a memorable meal.