Mashya

This is a cozy restaurant in a good location in Tel Aviv and part of a hotel. When we arrived we couldn’t find any nearby parking and we were told they didn’t have any parking at the restaurant. Secondly we were seated at first near the kitchen, which is open to the restaurant but it was too noisy there. I have to say that they agreed to give us a different table immediately. The first dishes were very small a bite size dish and I ordered the tuna tartar with caviar on top. I’m sorry to say that the caviar was almost non existent, I couldn’t see it and hardly could taste it either. I ordered a cocktail which was also very disappointing and when I asked to exchange it I was faced with difficulties, at the end they agreed, but it was frustrating to need to explain myself to the waiter. The main course was excellent and so was the coffee and dessert. All in all the experience was not bad but as a fancy restaurant in which we paid top money for a meal I would have expected a better experience.

Super belated review but this was a pleasant surprise during my trip to Israel! Didn’t know Tel Aviv dining scene was so great! Everything was super good

Genuinely one of the very best meals of my life. One of those meals you come away from not thinking "I'll try that" but with no comprehension of how they did that with that. The mixture of seafood and meat and generally things that should not all be on one plate was genius. But, despite all of the contrasts there remained a consistent theme throughout the food and focus on ingredients. At no point could you be confused about what you were eating, only how they'd managed it. Perfectly matched by excellent service from our waiter, Elad who clearly genuinely cared about the food and our enjoyment of it. Excellent value for money. I can't recommend this highly enough.

The food is fresh and testy, presented nicely, service is attentive, breads are nice. If considering the food on a chef level category we felt that it didn’t was up to par considering to the price… so was fairly standard dishes. Enjoyable though I can’t say we will return.

We ate at this restaurant over 10 years ago and had only good memories, which is why we came back. But this visit was such a disappointment. Clearly, a lot has changed. The main issue was the service. Our waiter was arrogant and dismissive. The menu was very difficult to understand—no photos and many unusual ingredient combinations—so we relied on his explanations. Unfortunately, his descriptions were misleading, which resulted in several poor choices throughout the evening. He asked twice if everything was okay, but it was clearly just a formality. We mentioned that the mushroom dish he insisted we “had to order” was disappointing. We explained that it was hard to cut and even flew off the plate when try to cut it. The texture was unpleasant and difficult to chew, and it was unclear whether it was undercooked or overcooked. He showed no real interest or concern. The best part: a seafood pasta. When the waiter came by to ask again, I told him I was not enjoying it. Instead of addressing the issue, he blamed me, saying I waited too long before eating it and that this affected the taste. I was shocked—especially since he had asked if I was enjoying the dish. He said he would speak to the manager and I stopped eating. After 35 minutes, I had to ask what was happening. His response was that since I had eaten the shrimp, the dish would not be replaced. There were only four shrimp, and the dish also contained calamari and other seafood that had barely been touched. And why did he not update me? Another waiter overheard and said he would speak to the manager. He then came back, took the plate with seafood and handed me the menu, suggesting I order something else. To our disbelief, we were charged for both the original pasta and the replacement dish. As for the food itself: • The steak was chewy and made from poor-quality meat. • The mashed potatoes were so overloaded with butter it was inedible. • The shrimp carpaccio and chicken—described by the waiter as “amazing”—was a terrible combination with a heavy, unpleasant aftertaste. • The artichoke soup was overwhelmingly rich, loaded with cream. • The butternut-filled pumpkin was heavy, buttery, and badly seasoned. • The tamari Denver steak was tiny and extremely dry. • Every dessert was disappointing. • Even the mocktail, which is hard to get wrong, was not sweet despite requesting it that way. The very commonly found Earl Grey tea I requested at the end ran out, clearly showing issues of not correct ordering from the kitchen side. Had the service been handled professionally, we might have left feeling the experience was simply mediocre. Instead, the poor service made the average food stand out even more negatively. After spending 1,200 shekels on a meal we neither enjoyed nor felt respected during, this experience felt unacceptable. They are so many incredible restaurants in Tel Aviv that respect their patrons and have food that is truly incredible. I therefore strongly recommend staying away from this restaurant.

-Some of the most interesting and tasty food I've gad so far. Not always done perfectly though -Service is impeccable. We were constantly given attention. We were also given bread refills and some small servings to taste -Rather pricey. Can be mitigated by eating there at noon the "business" dishes Update: Having been a guest at the hotel above the restaurant I can add they serve the best breakfast in Tel Aviv. Exquisite!

Amazing food! Amazing wine selection! Amazing staff! Amazing ambience. Mediocre desserts. We literally ordered most of the menu and the whole dessert menu. The food itself was amazing. Well balanced, perfectly cooked. The desserts were really disappointing and not interesting. But overall, since everything els was so good. I’ll give it a 5.

Mashya is a fantastic place. When you arrive, you’re greeted with a beautiful stone facade welcoming smokers to leave the dining area free of ash trays and the like. Entering into the atrium, there is a sense of spaciousness, a luxury unattended to by Israel’s busy eateries. The place feels special and in some sub-conscious way, this makes the evening feel special. Israel bears a restaurant culture of its own, and here it’s customary for the staff to treat you as a friend. Sometimes this comes at the expense of actual service, but I prefer familiarity to stuffiness. Mashya’s team stands apart from the crowd. They manage to balance familiarity with a far more aloof quality in this scene: professionalism. Here, service coming from a “friend” with a side of a chaser doesn’t mean that you’re waiting fifteen minutes for someone to take an order. The food comes out at the right time, not while you’re eating your previous course and never after you’ve had to remind them of your order. Perhaps this standard is too low, but in a country which cherishes the absolutely mediocre “Shila” as fine dining, this standard feels appropriate. The food leaves little to be desired. The tasting menu is a true tasting, with at minimum 8 different bites, and a proper sequence of vegetables, raw fish, raw meat, bread, cooked fish, cooked meat, and sweets. Mashya takes the classic approach and mates it to a french-fusion menu that holds local sourcing in high regard. The dishes aren’t as adventurous as those in some of the country’s other leading restaurants (perhaps those by Yossi Shitrit or Avi Comforti), but they certainly match or surpass the creativity on display in the popular Machane Yehuda, the celebrity Jaffa Tel Aviv or the highly rated Animar. Where Mashya really shines is in the sauce. Beef tartares and sashimis are wonderfully fresh, but they could’ve remained nothing special, were it not for the phenomenal sauces. The execution matches the ambition and every dish is a success, a quality patrons long for in any restaurant run by the legendary comedian Eyal Shani. Overall, this is a superb spot for an upscale dinner, with a wonderful tasting of small plates that makes special occasions feel truly special. An easy 5/5.