Best Burgers in Tel Aviv: Kosher or Not

The best burgers in Tel Aviv are found in the central grid around Dizengoff Street and Rothschild Boulevard, in Florentin and Neve Tzedek to the south, and near Carmel Market and the Sarona food hall. Jaffa, at the southern end of the seafront, adds more. Beef is the norm, and the first thing to check is whether a restaurant is kosher.

Kosher rules forbid mixing meat and dairy, so a kosher burger restaurant serves no cheeseburger and no butter on the bun. Many Tel Aviv restaurants are not kosher and do serve cheese, which is one reason the city has so many burger options. Israeli street food sets the local condiments: tahini, amba, a pickled mango sauce, and schug, a green chilli paste, often appear beside the ketchup.

Burgers in Tel Aviv: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Dizengoff and Rothschild, Florentin, Neve Tzedek, the Carmel Market area, Sarona Market and Jaffa.
• Kosher or not: kosher venues serve no cheese with meat and close for Shabbat, from Friday before sunset to Saturday night.
• Local condiments: tahini, amba and schug.
• Currency: new Israeli shekel (ILS).
• Getting around: the Red Line light rail, opened in 2023, buses and shared bikes; the light rail does not run on Shabbat.
• What our guides check: kosher status and Shabbat opening, taken from each venue’s own listing.

Every guide we publish on Tel Aviv is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify, and all of them sit in our burger restaurant guides.