The aptly named Sunset Bar, which spans the lobby balcony at the Tel Aviv Hilton Hotel, is the perfect place to go for pre-dinner drinks and tasty snacks that won’t spoil your appetite but just tickle the taste buds in preparation for dinner.
Guests sit on high stools next to the bar and watch the ever-changing evening sky or, if timed right, watch the red ball of the sun slowly dipping into the sea. Music is provided from an adjacent beach loudspeaker. We found it a tad too loud but our 21-year-old waitress, Mor, thought it was wonderful.
A huge variety of drinks is on offer. We plumped for a choice from the Specials list. I had a long greenish-yellow cocktail made up of lemon vodka, Amaretto, melon schnapps, sour mix, Southern comfort liquor and Sprite. This was dubbed Green Hornet, and the price was NIS 67.
My companion had Apple Whiskey, which had bourbon, vanilla syrup, sparkling apple cider, maple syrup and sliced ginger and was NIS 57. One drink was enough to last all evening.
Several amuses-gueule were placed on the bar for us to sample the food. Although the portions were Lilliputian, we could get a very good idea of the chef’s talent. Everything that came out from the kitchen was delicious.
We tried salmon sashimi with sticky rice; lamb rissoles on a creamy aubergine (eggplant) base; authentic fish and chips, with the fried chunks of cod served in a small brown paper bag; and a juicy hamburger served in a mini-bun.
There were desserts as well: a millefeuille filled with caramel cream, which came with a sweet sauce on the side; and a “surprise in a glass,” which contained several unidentified comestibles plus some very good berries (each NIS 28).
The atmosphere is very romantic, and it could be a great place for a blind date or shidduch. If it’s not good, you get it over quickly; or you can linger over the food and enjoy the promise of a burgeoning relationship.
Either way, it’s a very pleasant way to spend an evening enjoying light refreshments and cool drinks that leave a warm glow long after you’ve left to go home.
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
Sunset Bar (Kosher) Hilton Hotel, Tel Aviv. 7 p.m. to midnight Open every evening except Friday. Tel: (03) 520-2222.
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