Rashel, Lounge Bar & Restaurant, Tel Aviv

November 2025
Rashel restaurant opened its doors four years ago for the Mimouna – the Moroccan Pesach after-party, and it has been a party every day since. The menu offers the festive dishes you’d find on Moroccan Jewish holiday tables. These familiar favorites are elevated at Rashel to gourmet status.

Rashel was born of authentic Moroccan hospitality. Owner Shimon and manager Ron bring the warmth of home cooking and years of restaurant experience and teamwork to this restaurant.

Dining at Rashel is a feast for the senses - from the stunning décor, the Eastern style arches, filigree accents, and tiled tables, to the beautiful plating and bold, exotic flavors. The restaurant’s rich green palette, soft lighting and gentle background music set the mood and complete the dining experience.

The electronic menu, in 3 - 4 different languages, presents the dishes in categories that do not begin to tell the Rashel story. Forget the menu and take your pointers from your server.

We began with an appetizer of 4 Moroccan dips served with a warm pita bread. Not a standard pita, this was the Moroccan Frena bread, heavier and tastier than a standard pita. The pumpkin/eggplant dip was a hit, but the stand-out dip was the Matbucha, known as the king of the Moroccan menu. The original Rashel home-made Matbucha is served warm.

The Pastilla is the signature dish on the starter menu. This is a most impressive pyramid filled with ground meat and tahini and topped with sweet Tanzia sauce. This is a specialty Jewish holiday dish, traditionally served on Rosh Hashana.

“Moroccan cuisine is either sweet or spicy or both” says restaurant manager Ron. The Pastilla combines both, for a bouquet of sweet and piquant flavors. The Tanzia is what does it. This is a sweet mix of dried fruit, nuts and silan, offset with a touch of spice, and is about the best charoset-like sauce that you will ever taste. Used as a topping for the Pastilla, it is also paired with high-end main meat dishes, such as the veal. If asked, the restaurant will bring you a tasting bowl of Tanzia that you can eat straight. Screw up your chutzpa and ask for it. Don’t be shy.

We often say that the foods from different culinary traditions are really the same with different names. Dim sum is kreplach by another name. And Osh Palao is cholent from the Kavkaz. But the foods at Rasha are unique, with no equivalent in the Eastern European culinary tradition. That might present a challenge to the Ahkenazi pallet, but this Galizianer foodie can say that she did enjoy many of the Moroccan dishes, especially the sweet dishes and the generous use of nuts.

The Rashel salad, for example, is a leafy green salad in a pleasant vinaigrette dressing. It is topped with a healthy sprinkling of sweet and crunchy candied nuts. You can’t get enough of it. Look out for the slices of chili pepper.

A beautifully plated dish of Moroccan "cigars" was next. The extraordinary Rashel cigars are a modern twist on the familiar crispy dough filled with asado.

If you want to make your dinner a selection of starters, as these are the outstanding Rashel dishes, you will not be alone. We noticed that several other tables were doing just that. But fair warning, if this is your strategy you will miss the extraordinary main dishes.

We shared a main course of a large filet of drum fish (musar yam) on a plate with uniquely flavored freekeh and a creamy sauce. After all the starters it was hard to do justice to this dish, but the meaty drum fish was excellent, with a crispy skin topped with sea salt. This colorful dish was beautifully presented and just the look of it revived our appetites.

The portions were all generous, and even shared, the meal was quite filling. Dessert comes out of the Moroccan playbook. Sfeni is the main attraction, iconic at the Moroccan Maimona. Sfeni is reminiscent of the Israeli sufgania (from the same word) shaped like a doughnut without the jelly. The doughnut is light, fried, and sprinkled with sugar. It came with a light tea served in a charming ceremony with a decorated teapot and etched Moroccan glasses.

Rashel has an extensive wine list with some extremely pricey bottles. The restaurant bar is impressive with a professional barman shaking it up before your eyes. The not alcoholic "driver's cocktail" is thoughtfully offered for the designated driver. This is a juice cocktail, beautifully decorated in the esthetic style of this restaurant. Rashel is a find. Not to be missed.

Rashel is tucked deep into the Tel Aviv port. Just keep going. We found plenty of parking in the large parking lot at the restaurant.

From the menu Moroccan spreads and Frena bread NIS 54 Asado Cigars NIS 59 Pastilla NIS 62 Calf Cheek (specialty) NIS 142 Roasted Stone Bass NIS 158 Lamb spare ribs NIS 220 Angry Moroccan-style burger NIS 93 Sfenj (plate of 4) NIS 45 Moroccan tea NIS 28 Designated driver cocktail NIS 45