Tel Avivians have a very broad taste in alcohol - we enjoy a good wine with dinner, fine whiskey at the bar, vodka with red bull at the party, and arak at the beach. But the consensus drink, the one you’ll find in the hands of Tel Avivians everywhere, is of course.. Beer!
Tel Aviv offers a large variety of beers on tap. For the local experience, make sure you check out the best Israeli beer around, Goldstar, which is a dark lager beer that is surprisingly good; Many Israelis will swear it’s the best there is. Most taps around town also serve Carlsberg, Heineken and Tuborg, and other popular beers include Weinstephan, Stella Artois, Murphy’s and Guiness.
So where are the best places to enjoy a cool beer in Tel Aviv?
At the Neighborhood Bar
One of the latest trends in Tel Aviv nightlife is the neighborhood bar - a mellow place to get a drink after work or after dinner in a warm and friendly, relatively small, simply designed joint. These places are less about fancy design and loud music, and more about getting together with friends or folks from around the neighborhood to enjoy good beer and good conversation.
The Armadillo family is THE place to experience this atmosphere - two bars with great music, an interesting menu with small Georgian dishes, and a large variety of beers on tap, which include the classics as well as a few rarer brews. Appropriately for a neighborhood bar, they’re located in two of Tel Aviv’s best neighborhoods - the Shenkin St. - Rotchild Boulevard area and the Ben Gurion Boulevard - Dizengoff St area. Make sure you get there early - after 21:30 you’ll be extremely lucky to find a place to sit.
Armadillo, 51 Ehad Ha’am St, 03-6205573.
Armadillo Cerveza, 74 Dizengoff St, 03-5293277.
At the Beach
There aren’t a lot of things that are more Tel Avivi than drinking an ice cold half a liter of Goldstar at the beach. Sure, it’s served in a disposable plastic cup, it’s watered down, and it may have a slight taste of urine, but there’s something about guzzling this cold, browny yellowish liquid under the warm sun and right across from the ocean that is extremely relaxing and special. So let the chillout music blend in with the ocean waves and just relaxxx..
Tel Aviv beach bars, all across the Tel Aviv beach line.
At the Traditional Irish Pub
Bloom’s is the first authentic Irish pub opened in Israel. Located close to Gordon beach, this hospitable bar features a great blend of tourists and locals, great Irish beers and food, football games on the tele, and live traditional Irish traditional music every Monday and Wednesday from 21:30, and every Friday from 16:30. Also check out the Happy Hour, every day before 20:00, with 0.5L beers at 16NIS. The place was so successful that the owners had to open up a brother for Molly; Leo Bloom’s is located in the Ramat Hachayal industrial area and is a worthy yet less urban addition to the family.
Molly Bloom’s, 2 Mendele St. (Corner of Hayarkon), 03-5221558.
Leo Bloom’s, 24 Raul Valenberg St., 03-6482126.
At the Brewery
The Tel Aviv Brewhouse is the only restaurant in Israel the makes its beer by itself, on location. The décor features 300 year old oak wood combined with natural metals, surrounded by the copper barrels used to make the beer. The menu offers a large variety of foods that go along with beer, like spare ribs, sausages, burgers and steaks; All are very tasty. And of course, the beer is home made and quite splendid, with a variety of three excellent options to choose from.
Tel Aviv Brewhouse, 11 Rothschild St, 03-5168666.
At the Beer Festivals
If you’re lucky, you’ll catch one of the city’s beer festivals, which feature large crowds, great music, and.. yes, lots of beer. The big festival is aptly named “Tel Aviv Beer City”, and is organized by Goldstar. It usually takes place for two days during August, when the Charles Chlor garden near Jaffa is taken over by beer and music lovers. 150,000 people took part in the last festival in 2007, which was the 13th one to take place.
The other major festival is Murphy’s Irish Music Festival, which usually takes place in January in the Cinemateque plaza, and features Irish music and Irish beer.
Goldstar’s Tel Aviv Beer City, August at Charles Chlor Garden.
Murphy’s Irish Music Festival, January at the Cinemateque Plaza, 2 Shprinzak St.
1 response so far ↓
1 Chris // May 15, 2008 at 12:07 pm
mmmmmmmmmmm beer !!!! As an Englishman and an ex kibbutz volunteer, I can confirm that Goldstar is almost certainly the best lager in the world. I say almost certainly and not definately because I still need to do a little bit more research !
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