Joya Netanya
Dairy and fish restaurant

September 2024
Joya is a chain of dairy restaurants throughout Israel with kosher branches in Netannya, Rosh Pina and Or Akiva. Benny Ashkenazi, the executive chef of the Joya chain. has tweaked the nominally non-kosher Joya menu to comply with kashrut, without any compromises in quality or creativity. The menu is varied and designed to appeal to a wide range of diners.

Kosher Joya restaurant in Netanya is the most successful restaurant in the chain. You are going to love this restaurant. You will love the clean design, the efficient service and the delicious food. Joya is casual dining at its best. The restaurant works for couples, families, groups and parties.

Joya restaurant is in the Piano Center in Ir Yamim. This is a pleasant outdoor shopping center with several upscale boutique shops. Just walking around the Piano Center is a delightful experience. Several of the eateries in Piano have a teudat kashrut, so it is a comfortable place for shomrei kashrut.

"Do you have a reservation?" We were asked at the entrance to Joya Restaurant when we stopped in for a mid-week lunch. Indeed, the restaurant was quite busy, an indication of the popularity of this restaurant.

The first thing that impressed us was the lovely design of the restaurant. Light wood furnishings, open spaces and tall windows open to the central courtyard. This is a light and bright restaurant with an upbeat feel. Then we enjoyed the mix of diners. There was a table of seniors out for a lunch together, a table of women friends out with their pre-school children. There were business lunches and families. It seems that this is a restaurant that works for everyone.

Joya is all-in on the Italian theme. The theme repeats itself in the decor, with its red and white checked napkins and the packaged foods on display, imported from Italy. The dishes are out of the classic Italian playbook. Most are dairy, with vegan dishes marked in the menu. You'll want to spiff up your Italian language skills to negotiate the menu. It starts with Antipasti (the dish that precedes all others), Insalata (salads) Secondi Piatti (main course), pizza, pasta and extras. Don't forget the excellent dairy desserts.

Here is some useful vocabulary for navigating the menu: Fungi is mushroom. Porcini is a wild mushroom, tartufo is truffles, verde is green, as in verde salata. And now you are on your own. Not exactly...the helpful waitresses will get you through the menu.

Our visit this year was not our first visit to this restaurant. Some years ago, shortly after this kosher Joya opened, we visited this restaurant with tourists from the US. It was a gamble because we had never been to the restaurant, and our friends know food. On that visit we each enjoyed a pasta dish and we shared desserts. The service was attentive, the restaurant congenial and our visit was so successful that I have been planning a return till now.

On this visit my companion and I shared one salad, one main course and a desert. The dishes are generous and filling, and the foods that we ate were more than satisfying. We chose the Marketo Salad (market salad). The salad has the vegetables that you would expect and some surprises, including string beans and nuts. The salad was flavored with a honey garlic aioli dressing, and topped with crumbled feta cheese and crispy sweet potato chips. This salad was attractive, light, healthful and pleasant on a warm summer day. The bowl was easily shared between two diners.

For our main course we chose the Meagre (Stone Bass) fish platter. This was a full plate with two perfectly prepared fish fillets served with whipped potatoes, chestnuts, caramelized onions and spinach, in a mushroom sauce. This was a great combination that we thoroughly enjoyed. With the salad, this main course could easily be shared between two of us.

The big treat after a dairy lunch is a good dairy dessert. We chose the profiterole (Italian cream puff) on a platter of chocolate syrup and a generous serving of whipped cream. This was a sweet way to end an excellent meal.

Parking: Ample parking in the underground car park.

From the Menu:

Focaccia NIS 25
Arancini NIS 48
Marketo salad NIS 58
Meagre fish fillet NIS 122
Pizza NIS 60 - NIS 68
Pasta dishes NIS 65 - NIS 75