Lawrence is a magnificent gourmet fish restaurant in the amazing Herod Vitalis hotel. The Vitalis is one of 3 hotels in the Herods complex that includes Herods Palace, a family hotel, Herods Forum for business travel and the luxury spa hotel Herods Vitalis. Take the elevator to “L1” which is Level 1 and not Lawrence the 1st, even though this restaurant is so impressive there should be a hotel floor named for it.
What do you say about a restaurant where smoking and cell phones are not allowed? Children under 16 are discouraged. These are the rules at the exclusive Vitalis hotel, and they apply to the restaurant as well...almost. We did spy a few embarrassed diners grabbing for their ringing cell phones, but mostly the rules were observed.
The restaurant is the brainchild of Chef Ronen Dovrat Bloch. Chef Ronen is the man behind many of the successful restaurants in the center of the country. Challenged with the opportunity to create a restaurant appropriate for this magnificent hotel, Ronen packed up his team and off they went to Eilat.
Lawrence is not just another feather in Chef Ronen's cap. This is probably one of the best kosher gourmet restaurants in the world. Each menu item is a work of art. Lawrence is a remarkable experience from the beautifully appointed furniture, to the matching carpeting that picks up the pale green color scheme of the restaurant, to the beige tablecloth and napkins and the soft lighting. The restaurant offers every luxury that you can think of – and a few that you can't.
This is an intimate restaurant with seating for no more than 50 diners at a time. Open only 3 and some hours for dinner, this restaurant is very much in demand. Be sure to make reservations well in advance. Operational less than a year, the word must be out about this wonderful restaurant because the evening that we visited there wasn't a spare seat in the house.
Start your meal with a basket of thickly sliced crispy bread served with small containers of butter, rock salt, and a very yummy lemon-flavored whipped eggplant spread.
The menu lists 7 mouthwatering appetizers, but there is always a special of the day not listed on the menu. Low-calorie dishes are specially marked on the menu - after all, Vitalis is a health spa. Our waitress recommended the celery soufflé, and we were wise to take her advice. This individual round souffle made with mushrooms, is the perfect combination of presentation and flavors. The Tarte Tatin with Tomato Confi piqued our curiosity. The tomatoes are slow-cooked, then peeled and arranged on a base. I don't know what else they do to this dish to make it so outstanding, but we were delighted.
After the success with the appetizers we wanted to order every main course on the menu! We limited ourselves to the fish fillet on wild rice listed on the menu, and an unlisted special that came highly recommended by our waitress, the Locus with Jerusalem artichokes served with eggplant puree. The waitress knew whereof she speaks. This was an outstanding dish.
Between courses we were served sorbet to cleans the pallet, though I dare say that I was none too happy about parting with the wonderful flavors still lingering from the first course. Whenever crumbs dared to accumulate on the tablecloth were whisked away by another waitress brandishing a blunt blade knife.
Desserts! What could be more enticing than dairy desserts in a gourmet restaurant! How I wanted to violate our rule of one dessert between us! If ever there was a restaurant that tested that rule, this was it.
My partner chose a Krambel Pecan Nut with Apple and Cinnamon ice cream. So predictable he is. The chocoholic in this corner went for the non-listed dessert with cold chocolate medallions beautifully arranged on a plate with swirled sticks of chocolate. Heaven!
Dinner for two comes to approximately NIS 360. Guests of the Herods hotels can upgrade from the hotel dining room to the Lawrence restaurants for an additional supplement. If you have to ask about the price, you are in the wrong place.
Appetizers from NIS 32 -48, Main courses from NIS 80 – 120, Desserts NIS 35-40. |
