FIRST DISHES
After an in-depth look at the menu of first courses (consisting of hot and cold dishes), we ordered Cabbage filled with risotto and bone marrow. In addition, at the waitress’s recommendation, we also chose Goose Liver — a dish that winked at me from the moment I set eyes on the menu.
The stuffed cabbage dish included risotto, bone marrow, fried eggplant, and plums. It was a tasty mix of flavors and textures, with the stuffed cabbage melting in my mouth beautifully.
Score for stuffed cabbage: 8/10.
The goose liver was something else. I usually don’t get too excited about appetizers, because most of them are only intended to whet the appetite for what’s to come. But in this case, the dish was on a totally different level — even when it was one of the strangest combinations of ingredients I’ve ever seen.
I mean, does a dish containing goose liver and popcorn ice-cream sound like an obvious concoction to you? Of course not!
But let me tell you, it was a little taste of heaven.
The clash of flavors and the seemingly unusual combination of goose liver with popcorn ice cream and lotus cream gave the dish a wonderful taste. The only ‘drawback’ is that it wasn’t three times bigger.
Score for Goose liver: 11/10.
MAIN DISHES
Choosing the main course was easy, especially in light of the waiter’s enthusiastic recommendation. However, even before that, I’d seen pictures of it on Instagram and knew I HAD to try it.
What did I go for, you ask?
Prime Rib.
900 grams of beef aged bone, served with green salad, French fries, truffle puree and Bordelaise sauce.
The steak was tasty and juicy, prepared to an expert standard. It was slightly salty and aged well, creating a truly amazing dining experience beyond even what I expected.
The small side dishes that accompanied the dish were excellent too, although I left them to my friend: the steak held my attention more than any side could have.
Needless to say, this is West Side’s best main dish (in my humble opinion), and is enough for two or three people as well (depending on the size of the steak you order).
Score for Prime rib: 10/10.
DESSERT
Honestly, if not for my commitment to my blog and reporting on a full three-course meal, I might have passed on dessert this time.
My stomach was already full of the huge steak I’d finished almost all by myself. On top of this, I’m not hugely enthusiastic about desserts in kosher restaurants — after all, we know dessert is usually the weakest part of such restaurants.
After deliberation and consulting the waiter, I ordered two desserts that seemed. And despite my low expectations, I’m delighted to say I was wrong.
The desserts seemed inspired by Grimm Brothers fairy tales, and the creativity invested into their creation was obvious from the moment the waiter presented them.
The first dish was called “Mushrooms after the rain”: it included rings of dough and almonds, cherry sorbet, vanilla and amarna ice cream, chocolate mousse, coconut caviar, chocolate cream and brownies.
I highly recommended this for anyone who enjoys a combination of bitter and sweet flavors. It was fun to photograph too, as it looks so unique.
Score for “mushrooms”: 8/10.
The second dessert was called Pink Side. It was presented well in a small jar, and reminded me of reading Hansel and Gretel as a child. If you have small children, you just have to order this dessert — they’ll be smiling for a long time!
But while the presentation is beautiful, the taste is the most impressive element of this dessert. That’s no surprise, though, when you realize It includes strawberry sorbet, raspberry crunch, white chocolate cream and strawberries.
Without a doubt, this is the most delicious dessert I’ve ever had in a kosher restaurant. Regardless of West Side’s “kosher” status, for me Pink Side can be counted amongst the top 3 desserts I’ve eaten since I launched this blog.
In fact, I was so excited about this dessert I just couldn’t stop eating it — even though I really had no space left in my stomach!
This was undoubtedly a sweet ending to the evening 🙂
Score for Pink Side: 9.5/10.
This Post Has 10 Comments
Florian
21 Feb 2019Thanks David for this review! will visit this restaurant soon 🙂
David
21 Feb 2019Thank you Florian!
Sari
21 Feb 2019You made me wanna go eat there even though I am not kosher restaurants fan
David
21 Feb 2019Excellent!
Veg1
21 Feb 2019David will you post reviews of vegan restaurants?
David
21 Feb 2019Hi 🙂
Yes there will be some, can’t promise exactly when
Yaakov
27 Feb 2019Thanks to your recommendation I visited West Side 2 days ago, it was great and without a doubt the best kosher restaurant I visited
Uriah
27 Feb 2019I’m going to visit Tel aviv on may for the eurovision, do you recommend this restaurant over other kosher ones? Thanks!!
smms
27 Feb 2019Always a pleasure to read your reviews man!
benny1978
27 Feb 2019loved your photos, looks authentic, i’m not into kosher food but well done sir