Originally joined eLuna October 2004. Revisited December 2022
While we are always on track for new and interesting restaurants there are times that we just want to go back to a restaurant that we know and love. Kind of like coming home. When that feeling washes over us, our first thought is Bistro56. Running for almost 20 years, Bistro 56 is a mature restaurant with experienced management. We can count on Bistro56 to be consistently reliable. We appreciate the quality of the dishes and we can expect to find the dishes on the menu that we have enjoyed on previous visits.
eLuna visited this restaurant at the end of 2022 for the first time after the pandemic. We were pleased to see that the restaurant has been brought to life again and is as we remember it.
Bistro 56 is a spacious up market restaurant, with both indoor and outdoor seating. The location of this restaurant, on the second floor of the Arena Mall, offers a great view from its spacious patio that overlooks the mall plaza and the picturesque boat marina. The tables on the patio are covered in white cloth for one of the most inviting dinner scenes that you will find at any restaurant.
Our visit to Bistro 56
What is it about this restaurant that is so appealing?
Bistro56 is a good dining experience from start to finish. Our visit starts on the right foot with easy and convenient underground mall parking.
We love the atmosphere of this restaurant. It is comfortable and relaxed, formal but not over the top. It is pleasant during the day and romantic at night. You can sit indoors or you can be seated on the patio and enjoy the summer sea breezes. In the winter the patio is enclosed and is warm and cozy. The tables, covered in tablecloths with glass on top, give the patio a European flare. I think that the patio is the optimum location at this restaurant. You will be hard pressed to find a more pleasant dining atmosphere at any other restaurant.
Bistro 56 offers a delicious Mediterranean menu with a pleasant balance of meat, fish and vegetable dishes.
Lunch is a deal at Bristro56. From noon till 5pm lunch includes a starter and a main course for the price of the main course. (Note that some starters require the addition of a few shekels.) Who could pass that up? I chose the fish for my main course and the salad as my starter. My companion was fantasizing about the chicken wings and the Bistro56 burger from the time we started thinking about lunch at this restaurant.
My dining companion of 50 years clearly remembered his meal at Bristro56 from two years earlier. That does say something about this restaurant. So from the moment I suggested lunch on the deck at Bistro56 he was licking his lips.
Like a Pavlovian response, my companion salivates at the mention of the Bistro56 burger. But before he even got to the burger, he enjoyed a generous first course of chicken wings. "There's a lot of meat on these chicken wings" he said. Spiced just the way he likes them. Dig right in with your hands and get as messy as you want. This dish is served with the very necessary package of wet-wipes.
While he was having his full of chicken wings, I munched away at my starter salad, which was a big bowl of lightly dressed greens.
The fish main course that i chose came with a salad so I was a bit salad-full from this meal.
 A fish lunch facing the sea is the stiff of dreams. My fish fillet sat atop a layer of potato puree and a mildly spicy sauce. The fish was crispy on top and melt-in-your-mouth soft inside. This was served with a small green salad, but after my salad starter I didn't need any more.
My companion didn't need a menu to order his main course. There was no question that he would be choosing the Decadent Burger (mushchetet). This is an everything-on-it 220-gram burger topped with a spoon of sloppy Joe, smoked duck breast, and the usual suspects of lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions. The burger comes with a generous bowl of fries. The burger was prepared perfectly medium, as ordered. The meat is ground in-house, and the smoked duck really stood out in the dish. The juices were all over the bread and the meat – delicious.
You cannot pick up a burger of this size and bite into it like a sandwich. Eating this burger requires tools. It was at Bistro56 that my companion learned to eat burgers with a knife and fork. At one of our earlier visits we noticed other patrons cutting their burger into quarters and eating each section with a fork and knife. As they say, you learn something every day.
Dessert was a huge Oreo-style chocolate cookie filled with vanilla ice cream. It is nice to end a meal on a sweet note, but not necessary after this filling meal.
The dishes were delivered promptly to our table by a very charming waiter. I was impressed with the efficiency of the kitchen. From start to finish, from the decor to the dessert, Bistro 56 is a very satisfying experience and one of our favorite restaurants. We are not alone. Reservations are a must at Bistro 56. Though there are several hundred seats in the restaurant it is usually full.
 What is the significance of the number "56," we asked. This restaurant opened in Israel's 56th anniversary year. We are about to celebrate its 75th year and Bistro 56 is still going strong.
B56 Private Rooms: Bistro 56 has seating for up to 160 people. There are 3 separate party rooms for about 40 guests each, that can be combined for larger groups. Any young boy or girl will be thrilled with for a family Bar or Bat Mitzva party. Think of this private room for corporate events, birthday parties, sheva brachot, etc.
Parking: Park in the yellow area of the Arena mall's underground parking lot and take the elevator straight up to the restaurant on level 1. Access is wheelchair friendly.
From the menu:
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