After visiting several kosher wineries in Emek Haela (worth an eluna article all their own!), we recently found ourselves in need of something to soak up our imbibed pleasures. The helpful hostess at the winery suggested a new kosher restaurant: Hola, in Beit Shemesh.
Luck like this doesnt strike often enough. Hola, opened three months ago by local clothing designer Itzik Ben Hamu and Tel Aviv-based chef Shimshon Sharkazi, brings big-city style and experience to Beit Shemesh.
The design is polished, the menu varied, the presentation sophisticated and the service expert, with the tables cleaned and cleared cutlery and napkins, too between every course! The only things rural about the restaurant are its location (near the Beit Shemesh water tower, wedged between a gift shop and a makolet) and its prices. The same quality in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem would set you back double.
Far from the usual dairy fare, the menu boasts a variety of creative options: tempura smoked mozzarella, grilled portabello mushrooms with mango and goat cheese over baby greens, salamandra potatoes and seared Tilapia fillet with hearts of palm, white wine, chili and lemon sauce. The desserts are dramatically designed on site, but currently brought in, until Holas own conditoria is up and running.
Native to LA, my companion of course ordered the Mexican wrap, an original and satisfying combination of avocado, roasted peppers, cheese, pesto and spicy sauce, served with green salad. But the winner was surely the spinach ravioli recommended by the waitress. Its superb sauce containing cherry tomatoes, cream, curry, ground walnuts and who knows what else was so special, even the South Beach dieter took bread to soak up every drop.
Chef Shimshon is perhaps happiest to surprise adventurous eaters with his off-the-menu ideas, which is how we came up with raw salmon tartare and roasted eggplant stuffed with goat cheese in a creamy pesto sauce. It is also how the restaurant is still seeking to adapt its menu, as it gets to know its clientele, and prepares to branch out to new locations.
Hola can already get busy on weeknights with a mix of ages, lifestyles and languages, with families at large tables and singles at the bar, so reservations are advised. The sleek earth-tone interior, wired for music throughout, can also host events for up to 40 people on its upper level. Hours are 9 AM midnight Sunday through Thursday, 9AM until Shabbat on Friday and Saturday evening from one hour after Shabbat.
Hola deserves to succeed, and certainly warrants the detour from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv need we mention Modiin or Beit Shemesh for carry out? We all agreed wed be back.
So visit Hola soon, even before they correct the English on their new menus. Thats about the only thing left to improve.
Appetizers: nis 25-30 Sandwiches: nis 28-32 Salads: nis 32-42 Pizzas: nis 29-32 Pastas: nis 29-38 Fish: nis 67-72 Desserts: nis 29
|
