Living in this city, answering the “what’s your favorite restaurant?” question is a tough one. I mean, obviously we are extremely lucky that Philly is regarded as such a fabulous city for dining . . . but the judgement one could get for the wrong restaurant choice is pretty substantial.
Lucky for me, I have Zahav (237 Saint James Place). {Disclaimer: If you’re about to click through that link, please beware, the site has some groovy autoplay music that has startled me approximately 45 times this month alone.} I have loved Zahav since the first time I tried it, and it truly has yet to disappoint me since. I always go in craving my favorites, but come out in love with something I never thought I’d try.
Zahav is great for Center City District Restaurant Week because, like many small plate restaurants, their restaurant week menu is their real menu. I usually book a table as soon as the dates for RW are announced, because they fill up quick. I’ve been on dates, double dates, and with friends, and every experience is fab. This past RW, I was joined by 6 of my fellow food loving pals, seated at a gorgeous table right in the middle of the restaurant, so giddy with excitement for the meal we were about to eat. And they sure know how to kick things off with a bang.
Everything at Zahav is served for the table. You start off with salatim, a collection of mini salads, filled with delicious things like eggplant, beets, and (my favorite), carrots, and . . . naturally . . . hummus and laffa. So. good.
The best part of the meal, in my opinion, is the mezze, aka the small plate appetizers. Everyone orders two, so, hello lady, be prepared to feast. Two of my absolute favorite dishes in the entire city are on this menu: the smoked sable with challah, a fried egg, and poppy, and the infamous crispy haloumi, with dates, pickled onion, and walnuts. Seriously, I could eat the haloumi daily. The cauliflower is also out of this world, but you really can’t go wrong with any. (But . . . just make sure you get to try the haloumi.)
For the main course (Al Ha’esh), I chose the chicken shishlik, with root vegetable tagine, moroccan couscous, pickled mushrooms. For having seemingly straight-forward ingredients, I was really impressed with how unique this one was. Honestly though, if I was going to Zahav not during RW, I would probably just stock up on more small plates . . . and save room for dessert, of course.
The desserts are all truly incredible. I got the honey cake bread pudding, with green apple frozen yogurt, apple compote, and golden raisins. Like, are you kidding me? It was perfection. After all. of. this. food, my friends and I were full, but comfortably full. The food at Zahav is fresh and delicious, and the atmosphere is refreshing and comfortable. While there have certainly been new restaurants I’ve loved since my first visit to Zahav, it stays consistent and delightful, and makes me proud to say it’s my favorite restaurant in Philly. xx
PS: I kept the site’s autoplay music on while I was writing this, and I think I am obsessed.
