Tasting Menu at Pushkin Restaurant

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well,

if one has not dined well"

Virginia Woolf

This post is slightly different from my previous ones, as this place is really expensive. So, I suggest you to go dining there either for an important occasion (like birthday) or once you've got an unexpected "fat" bonus.

Budget: The sky is the limit. So, don't forget to bring your big wallet or just a rich partner :)

Decor: The style is pompous and eclectic (pillars versus a modern-style fountain, commodes vs avant-Gard lighting). One corner of the restaurant is covered with Pushkin's well-known handwriting. There is also the VIP space, which can be separated from the rest of the restaurant.

Ambience: Music is some sort of calming piano and saxophone improvisation.

Recommended Menu: Tasting menu (6 courses, 2 of them are desserts): 300 NIS. My suggestion is to share this menu between two people. If you are very hungry or just a fan of big portions then order an extra dish from the regular menu (which is even more expensive). 

Audience: Well-based couples at their 30th-40th, ladies - in dresses, gentelmen - in polo or formal shirts.

Service: Waiters give very good explanation about dishes. When I asked complicated questions they would check with the chef and came back to me with the detailed answers. Please be aware, if you order the tasting menu, the service is going to be super slow (the estimated time for serving the full menu is 2.5 up to 3 hours).

Food: I've opened my dinner with the Gazpacho soup (garnished with a cherry tomato) poured over some type of the basil olive oil (this dish was from the house) and a mini/micro toast with black olives tapenade aside.

Next course was a fish carpaccio covered with slices of 24k gold, passion fruit spots, super-thin grapefruit slices and some eatable flowers. The dish had a beautiful presentation.



Scallops, corn puree over lobster bisk



Next course was an orange-green-inspired plate that included three scallops, a quail egg. broccoli, corn pure, perfectly chopped zucchini, some home-made black pasta, grapes (yes, the chef is really into fusion) and all this was served on top of lobster's bisque.



My Favourite Dish



Then came my new favourite dish: white roots risotto with green peas and slices of smoked duck breast. On top of this rissotto you'd find some kind of "forest" with snails, green asparagus and other vegetables. I higly recommend this dish!

Afterwards, I received a course of the beef fillet placed on top of the home-made cofee-flavoured spagetti (it is not a mistake, cofee had been added to the dough), egg yolk, white roots pure, asparagus and, again, some tenderly cooked vegetables.

When I was not able breathing anymore, my first dessert dish arrived to my table. It was a "sexy" three-layered shot of the passion fruit, chocolate mousse and whipped, very tender cream. The passion fruit crispy twill ended this mini-dessert.   

The second dessert was panacotta, covered with a thin layer of white chocolate, cubes of mango, raspberry sorbet, hibiscus' twill and, again, a few slices of gold. Twills were a delight and  the gold was eatable.. This dish and some others brought me back in time to the 19th century (to Pushkin's time) when some people had thought that eating of the pure gold has a healing effect. I hasn't refused to try it myself :)

Summary: This place is only for those brave people who are mentally prepared for the revolution in their plates and are ready to pay well enough for an enjoyable long-lasting dinner full of fusion, gold and other adventures.

Site:
http://www.rest.co.il/_websites/pushkin/en.html



Perfect Happy End



Top 5 Chart: Dinner at Tapas1 #4

 

There is no love sincerer than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw

 
So, last weekend I went again to Tapas 1. Normally, I would suggest you to make a reservation in advance. However, since I was on my own, I'd decided to take a seat at the bar and "supervise" the open kitchen from there.

After a short (or not so short) conversation with my waiter, I'd chosen a Peruvian oyster ceviche in addition to 1/2 dozen of oysters imported from France (Bretagne). Yes, I was in an aphrodisiac mood!

At that moment I still haven't decided whether I am going to continue with one of my favourite restaurant's dishes: fois gras with apples in a white sangria-based sauce.

As it was a very hot evening, I felt very thirsty and, therefore, my body was begging for some white wine: Chablis has fallen as a perfect choice for my seafood dishes.

Both oysters dishes were just a delight. Yes, they are expensive in Israel but if you're an oyster lover like me, try it and you won't regret. The service was very helpful and the guy was really trying to make you feel comfortable.

After finishing my two dishes, while still drinking my Chablis, an interesting plate catched my eye. After a short investigation, it had been identified as a beef fillet (see picture below) with mushrooms. I still remember its texture, its softeness, its smell and taste. If you like eating pink-color meat dishes (I am affraid, most of us have this unconscious animal instinct), this is definitely your dish.

My waiter was not sure whether I eat enough so far. So, he brought me a cute tapas portion of a scallop with black risotto (of course, it was on the house). You will easily recognize it on the picture.

In the end, I received a dessert from the house: an American-style vanila ice-cream with hazelnuts (but it was me, guys, thanks to my innocent green eyes). It doesn't necessary mean you will get the same treat. I'm sure you will get the better one.

Summarizing this post, the place is not cheap(!) but it justifies itself by the quality of ingredients, service, creativity and the ambience.

I will definitely return there. What about you? Don't blame me for not convincing you enough to come right away!

Ambience: Spanish/Latin-American, tapas, coolness, international and up-to dated.

Hasta pronto en Tapas1!