Two days before the nightmare began, we dined at Finns Restaurant in the Blue Bay area of Netanya, which had opened only a few weeks earlier.
Proprietor Yossi Zamir had spent 18 years in the food business in Australia, spoke English like a true-blue Ozzie and explained how his eatery came to be there.
“I took one look at the site and knew it was right for me,” he says. “It’s generally accepted that the right location is vital to a good restaurant, and this one was perfect.”
With its arched walls through which one can catch beautiful views of the sea, there’s no better place to be in the early evening as the sky lights up with the incredible patterns and colors of the setting sun.
This is a developing menu
The restaurant has only been open for two and a half months and its menu is still under construction. Eventually, diners will be able to choose from a range of sophisticated fish dishes, but for the moment the choices are pizza, pasta, and simpler fish preparations such as ceviche and of course, fish and chips.
We began our meal with a ceviche of fresh salmon mixed with diced tomato, cucumber, and onion in a lemony dressing (NIS 64), and a plate of hummus with srug – the peppery Yemenite mixed spice that should only be consumed in small amounts. Both starters were very fresh and awakened the palate for what was to come.
Next to arrive was a bruschetta of smoked salmon – slices of toasted rye bread spread with fresh avocado and topped with generous portions of extremely good quality smoked salmon.
There was also an eggplant salad, nicely flavored with plenty of garlic and topped with almonds. It was creamy with overtones of tehina, and, like the other salads, tasted freshly made.
For our main courses we chose a whole pizza and a serving of fish and chips. The pizza had a very thin crust which was good, but its topping of potato slices left me unimpressed and its tomato sauce and cheese were minimalistic.
However, the fish and chips compensated with a successful, albeit Israeli, version of England’s national dish. The fish, unbelievably, was carp. However the deep frying and batter-coat disguised its humble origins. Our waiter proudly informed me that the batter used to coat the fish was made with Heineken beer. The dish was very tasty, including the pleasantly hot chips (French fries).
As we almost always pick a single dessert to share, and my companion is besotted with cheese cake, this was what was ordered. Made on the premises, it was a tasty version of the genre with a very thin crust, lashings of creamy cheese, a fresh cream topping, and blackcurrant sauce on the side. (NIS 35).
We enjoyed a good meal in a gorgeous setting.
Once this hideous war is over and we have managed to somehow recover from the trauma of it, and feel like an evening out – this is the place.
Finns will be having live shows on Thursday evenings and can also accommodate parties of up to 300 people.
Finns
Blue Bay, Netanya
Open: Sun.-Thurs. 9 a.m-9.30 p.m.; Fri.: Closes one hour before Shabbat.; Sat.: From one hour after Shabbat until 1.30 a.m.
Tel: 054-775-8949
Kashrut: Netanya Rabbinate
Wheelchair accessible
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.