2 Best Restaurants in Eilat and the Negev, Israel

A longtime favorite in Eilat, this kosher lunch place is a top-drawer example of Moroccan-Israeli cooking, all of it by an accomplished mother-and-son team. When you arrive at this simple dining room, five different salads (including cauliflower, tahini, eggplant, and hot peppers) are quickly placed in front of you, and the menu further rewards you with adventuresome entrée choices. Consider such delicacies as beef cooked with hummus (a house specialty), calves' brains served with Moroccan spices, or succulent couscous with vegetables, chickpeas, and tender chicken. No fancy pitas here—just plain bread. Dessert is specially prepared fruit, such as oranges or plums cooked until thick and soft, accompanied by fresh mint tea.

On a sleepy corner in the Old City, this classic Moroccan restaurant—decorated with traditional textiles, hammered metal, and ornate tilework—has been run by the same family since the 1960s. The food is exceedingly fresh, creative, and delicious—just say the word, and chef Bebe will order for you, starting with a house-made salad featuring seasonal ingredients like fennel, dates, and candied oranges and followed by a simmering tagine of tender meat and vegetables (even local specialties like kmehin, a tuberlike desert root). For dessert, a local baker prepares a host of delicate petits fours, delivered to the table on a tiered metal tower alongside steaming mint tea.