Abbalé Telavivian: Tel Aviv style comes to Miami Beach.
One of the hottest restaurants on Miami Beach is Abbalé Telavivian, the ode to Israeli/Middle Eastern food, helmed by Chef Sam Gorenstein in partnership with Pura Vida, owner, Omer Horev, and tucked into a converted house and bougainvillea garden on Commerce St. in the South of Fifth neighborhood.
My first visit to Abbalé TLV was on June 23rd, 2021, and with visions of falafel dancing in my head, my feature never made it past those visions as I awoke the next day to news of the tragic Champlain Towers condo collapse, and immediately set out with my nonprofit, Food Rescue US to provide supplies and meals to first responders and ultimately to the grieving and displaced families for the next 3+ weeks.
My feature is long overdue. I have since returned multiple times and although no longer “new”, Abbalé still offers the freshest and most creative menu on Miami Beach.
Open for Lunch (11:00-4:30 pm) and Dinner ( 5:30 pm-10 pm), Friday night Shabbat dinner ,and Sunday All Day Brunch there is no reason not to make a reservation (strongly recommended) and go.
Start with an assortment of Salatim dips and appetizers with fire baked pita. Not to miss is the babaganoush, charred baby carrots with date honey, labneh and toasted almonds, fire roasted onion and lemon tahini, and roasted beets with tahini. If you choose wisely, this could be an entire meal. Add an order of hummus dotted with Aleppo pepper, herbs, olive oil, and order extra pita.
Many dishes are roasted on an open flame at 700 degrees F and include the traditional Shakshuka, which includes eggs, braised tomato, pepper, and onions, Moroccan spices and Jerusalem bagel.
Charred baby cauliflower with tomato and tahini and Fire roasted eggplant with salad and tahini sauce are flavorful vegetarian dishes, Moroccan spiced local fish in tomato braise and both grilled lamb chops and whole branzino are satisfying and come with side of arugula salad.
On a recent visit for lunch, we chose both the falafel pita with salad, hummus, tahini, pickled cabbage and sprouts, and the fattoush salad, which was a colorful assortment of romaine greens, fresh vegetables , crunchy pita chips and light sumac dressing. Add ons include falafel, avocado, salmon, local fish and lamb kofta.
Beverages available include coffee and tea, fresh juices, wine, and beer.
We enjoyed a very refreshing iced Moroccan mint tea. Wine is available by the glass and by the bottle and includes a Chef’s Cellar Reserve Wine list.
The food is as colorful as the cozy setting and offers a fresh, clean alternative in the Miami Beach dining scene.
EDITORS NOTE: Welcome to Hedy Goldsmith who joins team as Executive Pastry Chef! Her sweet and flaky baklava with tahini ice cream is not to be missed.
864 Commerce St
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(Closed on Monday)