Darya

Menu
****
₪₪₪

Waze your way over to this Silk Road culinary masterpiece.

Darya is the latest upscale phenomenon to enter the culinary scene. Located in the lower level of the Hilton hotel in Tel Aviv, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, this fine dining establishment will not disappoint.

The model of Darya is like the Herbert Samuel at the Ritz Carlton. Hotels usually take their top real estate and offer that location for breakfast for its visitors. Such is the case at the Hilton (and Ritz Carlton) where breakfast buffet is offered with breathtaking floor to ceiling windows that overlook the majestic sea.

But breakfast does not include the breathtaking sunset (which happens in the west) and the premier real estate is unused for the balance of the day. Not anymore. Welcome Darya.

Darya is a unique restaurant unlike anything I have seen before. The cuisine, fashioned by chef Hillel Tavakuli, is an homage to the original Silk Road foods.

The Silk Road is the Euro-Asian path that merchants would trek through selling and buying wares. It extended from the Far East of China and Mongolia all the way to the Nile River. In other words, the Silk Road began in Israel.

Enough geography.

The menu is designed for sharing. The spices within each dish are unique and flavorful. Not too spicy but also not a funky combination like many other Israeli chefs are dabbling in these days. This is not fusion fare. This is true Euro-Asian Silk Road inspired dishes.

We started with the bread and spreads. They call it Nontoki, which is hummus with pomegranate honey. It made for a strange color (grey) but was quite tasty as was the tomato salsa and spicy harissa. The trout confit appetizer was served with a half circle of what looked like Shmura Matzah. But if Shmura Matzah tasted like this, I would relish Passover more! This dish was soft and delicate, yet bold.

The fava bean relish was offered with giant beans that look like they were grown close to power lines. They were colorful and sweet. This was surprisingly tasty.

For the main, we enjoyed the sea bass which was served on a flat sieve that smoked the fish and it was adorned with vegetables. This was exceptional. Not smoky but seasoned to perfection and the fish was delicate and delightful.

The filet was cooked amazingly. It was tender and did not need any additional season. A butter knife cut through it with ease. I could have eaten two more portions.

Dessert was a masterpiece. It was a feast for the eyes and even more so for the palate.

The chocolate ganache, dark chocolate mousse, cocoa crumble,
red fruit coulis & pareve hazelnut ice cream looked stunning and tasted better.

The baba au rhum was infused with nectarines, pistachio cream, pistachio cardamom crumble,
lemon & lime coulis, lemon grass ginger pareve ice cream. It was unlike anything I have tasted or enjoyed before.

Save up (it was not cheap) and Waze your way to the Silk Road to enjoy Darya. It will be unlike anything you have tried before, and it will not disappoint!