December 06
La Trattoria, we’ve been waiting for ya!
At last, a “special occasion” restaurant in the heart of Raanana.
 La Trattoria is on Ben-Gurion Street, not far from Ahuza. There is parking on both sides of Ben-Gurion street and more parking in the lot known by locals as the “Hamashbir parking” across the street on Ahuza. Parking may be tight if there is an event at the Yad LeBanim. Otherwise you’ll be fine.
The restaurant has a cozy indoor seating area but they have done the unthinkable and enclosed part of the outdoor courtyard! Now there is plenty of room for everyone. In the winter this area is “wrapped” in plastic and is heated with tall movable gas heaters.
This lovely dairy Italian restaurant is owned and run by French folks. That works for me!
The menu ranges from pizza to full fish dinners. Indoor tables are covered in cloth and the restaurant is littered with lovely little knick-knacks here and there. The semi-open kitchen is a hub of activity and the staff hops around from table to table.
My companion and I visited this restaurant on a cold wintry night in the middle of the week. We thought to make reservations ahead of time so we were ushered in ahead of the waiting crowd and seated at exactly the appointed hour.
The first item to grace out table was a lovely plate of twisted breadsticks, a spread, and olives. That was a good start to a good meal. My companion enjoyed a very large bowl of soup, served with rolls, while I went straight for the lasagna main course served with a bowl of salad.
A word about lasagna in restaurants: In lesser restaurants foods like lasagna are prepared in advance, are frozen, and are popped into the microwave when ordered. Not so at La Trattoria. I was assured that the lasagna had been made that day and from the taste I believe that this was true. I can’t quite explain why the dish was cold on the inside, even after I asked for reheating, but it was certainly delicious anyway. My only other criticism of this dish is that the portion was so generous, it was hard to make even a dent in it. I gave a hefty section of my meal to my companion, who by then was working his way through his equally generous ravioli with salmon dish, which he had with a glass of the Recanatti house wine. Both of our dishes were prepared with rich creams and cheeses, which explains at least some of the great taste.
The restaurant is not short on service and we were always able to catch someone’s eye.The staff is courteous and helpful. My companion  requested butter with his rolls and out came a small bowl of butter, obviously not planned with that dish. At some point in the evening, the very debonair owner and chef dressed in clean whites, made the rounds through the dining room and introduced himself to the diners. How very French! We were charmed.
Italian dairy desserts are something to look forward to, but after those filling main courses we had to skip the desserts.
The bill for our dinner, including two soft drinks, came to NIS 200, not inexpensive but a very pleasant and successful evening all around.
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