November 09
Get ready for a thoroughly enjoyable dining experience. Scala is pure pleasure.
Scala is the fine exclusive kosher restaurant in the David Citadel Hotel. Italian architect Piero Lissoni's design together with Chef Oren Yerushalmi's menu and Anat Lessem's leadership makes this an excellent dining experience.
The restaurant is located one flight up from the David Citadel Hotel entrance, in an alcove off the lobby restaurant.and the sushi bar.  The narrow corridor that leads to the restaurant opens into a lovely space with tables set for different size parties.
The Scala menu is a one-page listing of available items, not categorized as starters and main courses. Dishes range from nis 48 to nis 145 with the more expensive items toward the bottom of the page. The first items can be appetizers, or if you so choose,. can be the main course of your meal. This menu arrangement enables you to manage the budget of the dinner. You can choose less expensive items or since the portions are generous you can share one of the pricier dishes.
Even if you are not drinking, you must take a look at the Scala wine menu. The wines, not always easy to find in the local shops, are carefully chosen from the best boutique wineries in Israel. Wines from Hevron Heights, Gvaot, Yatir, etc are on this menu. You may experience sticker-shock from some of the prices, but there is no need to buy the whole bottle. The restaurant offers most of the wines by the glass.
After we arranged ourselves on a comfortable banquette and chose our dishes, a cordial and well-trained waitress delivered fresh home made bread to our table with a creamy dip and sea salt. We also had a yummy cocktail. These were beautifully served on lovely dishes, striking glassware and fine cutlery. That's what you get in an upmarket restaurant like this one.
My companion started his meal with Wheat Cream soup, which was delightful when stirred slightly, bringing up the meat at the bottom. I chose the vegetarian gnocchi mid way down the menu page. This dish, a full-bodied carb, rich in onions, mushrooms and chestnuts, could certainly have been a main course or a starter for two.
 For our mains my companion had the chicken dish with spicy sausage on a mix of cubed potatoes, peas in a very yummy brown sauce. The contrast of the spicy sausage and the chicken was very pleasant. I enjoyed the seared sea fish on a bed of legumes with vegetables. This dish was truly outstanding. Though totally satiated I was down-right sorry when I had finally finished the fish. Portions were plentiful, the combinations were delicious and the presentation was excellent.
A tempting dessert menu follows the main course. We could have skipped this but we decided to try the chocolate dessert. The description on the menu did not do justice to the taste or the lovely presentation of this dessert.
Scala restaurant is all that you would expect from an invested upmarket restaurant in an upmarket hotel like the David Citadel. One Scala experience will dispel the myth that restaurants in hotels are inferior or that kosher means compromise. Chef
Yerushalmi, formerly of Tel Aviv's Catit restaurant, is a graduate of leading French Lenotre Culinary and Pastry School, and experience at top New York restaurants, is handling the kosher challenge admirably. No compromises here.
Every month a new menu is printed and several of the dishes are changed. So you will always find something fresh and new at Scala. Ask about "a day at the hotel spa" offer including dinner at Scala. This is the best of all worlds. |