The View
June 2024
They don't call it "The View" for nothing. The View Restaurant on the Netanya promenade, has the view of a lifetime. You'll know this location from its sister restaurant, Hayekev, the landmark dairy Netanya restaurant. About a year ago Chef Nati Arbiv opened The View, a chef meat restaurant, adjacent to, and part of the property of Hayekev. He has turned this into the go-to meat restaurant in Netanya. The View, says Chef Arbiv with pride, brings Tel Aviv-level dining to Netanya.
 Chef Arbiv comes to The View with a history of successful non-kosher restaurants. Jerusalem’s iconic Machneyuda Restaurant is just one of them. Chef Arbiv in meeting the challenges of the the kosher kitchen in a unique way.
You would never know it, but the supposed dairy products are non-dairy nut-based imitations. The chef works closely with Israeli companies that supply specialty products exclusively for this restaurant, to Chef Arbiv’s specification. These include organic cheese-like products and some processed meat products like the churrasco. No, you cannot buy these in a store, nor will you find them at any other restaurant. These are bespoke products designed by this chef, each for a specific dish, available only at The View. With these unique products Chef Arbiv blurs the lines between kosher and non-kosher dining.
Make no mistake, The View is an unapologetic meat restaurant and Chef Arbiv is a meat chef. He even has a tatoo to prove it. The fine meat dishes served at this restaurant will knock your socks off. He calls his cuisine “restaurant level home cooking.” When you find a home where the food is this good, you’ll let me know.
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You absolutely must try a cocktail from the bar. We chose “Drop the Beet” a rum-based cocktail with Cointreau. It was beautifully presented topped with a raspberry flavored candied sheet.
We started our meal sharing one of the non-meaty dishes from the Appetizer menu. The forest mushrooms sautéed in chimichurri topped with vegan “cheese” and slivered almonds was beautifully presented and delicious. The “cheese’ looked like crumbly Zfatit cheese but like so many imitation products, the parve cheese tasted better than the dairy version. The flavors were just perfect mixed with the different types of mushrooms in a stir-fried sauce.
While the vast majority of the dishes contain meat, the chef will accommodate requests to adjust some of the dishes for non-meat eaters. The Saigon dish from the Appetizer menu is an elegantly presented dish of crispy romaine lettuce leaves filled with cabbage and mixed vegetables in a vinaigrette sauce, and topped with slivers of meat.
“Can you hold the meat on that?”
And they brought us a non-meaty version of this dish. The meat slivers on top of the Savion is the best part, we were told. But we enjoyed the parve version mightily.
The house bread was served with 4 dips that were each sweet, spicy and tangy by turn. The two rolls were so cake-like we were not sure that the bread required netilat yadayim.
For my main dish I chose the mushroom risotto again from the Appetizer menu. This was a blend of risotto with champignon, portabello, shimagi and forest mushrooms. As each dish can be tailored to your taste, you can request that the dishes be spicy or less spicy.
Getting back to the meat, which is what this restaurant is about, the menu offers a 250-gr burger and grilled pargit. But it seems a wasted opportunity to go this way at The View. This restaurant is an opportunity to go the mile with almost a dozen cuts of steaks and ribs that we see only at more elegant restaurants.
My companion looked longingly at the smoked lamb spare ribs, which got an enthusiastic nod from Chef Arbiv. Out came a huge wooden plank bearing 500 grams of glazed lamb ribs on the bone, cubes of roasted potatoes, and a mound of roasted vegetables with surprises as he dug deeper. The glaze, we learned, was masala sauce, an intricate chef combination of herbs and spices that lent the meat a dark red hue. The meat was soft and cut easily, and very tasty.
Look at that portion! This could easily be shared!
“Yes, but it would hurt to give it up.”
It would be hard to put away a dessert after a meal at The View. The deserts are designed to Chef Arbiv’s specifications. We had a lemon tart with meringue on a base of crumble. It was a delightful combination of sweet-tart, and went well with the espresso. The View may push the limits of kashrut with vegan cheeses, but does not go as far as artificial creamer for the after-dinner coffee.
From the menu:
House bread with dips NIS 36
saigon starter NIS 54
Forest mushrooms with "cheese" 54
House burger 250 gr 89
Veal spare ribs on the bone 500gr NIS 159
Beef medallions NIS 195
Dessert NIS 48
childrens portion NIS 59 |
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