Zahav – Society Hill

I had been looking forward to going to Zahav for quite some time now. During restaurant week I decided to check it out. I had heard about Chef Michael Solomonov bringing his style of native Israeli flavors to the city of Philadelphia. Zahav opened in 2008 and has been extremely successful. Chef Solomonov was recognized with the Best Chef Mid-Atlantic Award from the James Beard Foundation in 2011.

When I first arrived I wasn’t too sure I was even in the right place with the way the building looked. It very plain, but the sign was enough to let me know this must have been it. Once I walked in I absolutely I knew I was in the right place. The ambience was very relaxing and the smell was even better than I had expected. I had gone into a few Israeli restaurants before, some better than others, but from the second I walked in, I thought this was going to be one of the best.

From the moment we sat down to the moment we got up the service was impeccable. They had an answer for every question without hesitation. They were very responsive and very conscientious of our group all night. I started with a cocktail, then went right to the starters. I went with what I always do at Middle Eastern restaurants, the staple, pita and hummus with the great daily selection of salad. The hummus, of course, was fantastic and I wanted more all night. Then I moved onto one of the smaller dishes that I had heard was fantastic, Yemenite Beef Stew. It was perfectly cooked and the potatoes were a great accent. It reminded me of something home-cooked.

Then I moved on to the final part of my meal. I decided to stick with another meat dish. I went with the Kofte, a perfect mix of ground beef and lamb with peppers, carrots and flageolet beans. Good thing I came in there hungry, all of the side dishes that came along complemented each other perfectly and really were more filling than they looked.

Without a doubt, Zahav is a place I would visit again and again. I am going to refer anyone within any price range and any age group to visit there if they are in the Philadelphia area.