My spouse and I dined at Zahav for dinner on a Saturday
evening in late June 2017. Zahav is open for dinner only on Mondays through
Saturdays. You can reserve a table via telephone or using the online Open Table
reservation system. We suggest booking your place as soon as permitted (60 days
in advance) because of the popularity of the restaurant. However, if you cannot
confirm a table, it seems that the restaurant accommodates walk-ins at the well-liked
bar.
Zahav is located on the grounds of the Society Hill Towers on
St. James Place (near Second and Walnut Streets) next to the Ritz Theatre and
overlooking Dock Street. Some limited street parking is available, or you can
park in a nearby public lot or in the garage at the Sheraton Society Hill. The
restaurant opened in 2008, and it remains one of the most frequented
restaurants in the city.
Zahav, which means “gold” in Hebrew, offers modern Israeli
cuisine. The restaurant interior features cavernous high ceilings, gold-colored
walls and floors, and hand-carved wooden booths and tables in a variety of
configurations, some of which share a long wooden banquette on one side. You
can also dine at a small counter/bar under a tiny draped fabric “awning” that
offers stools with a glimpse through the kitchen windows. You can also request
to dine in the quieter side room. (The noise level in the main dining area is high.)
Philadelphia restaurant group CookNSolo operates Zahav, Abe
Fisher, Dizen Goff, Federal Donuts, and Rooster Soup Company. Chef/owner
Michael Solomonov was born in Israel and raised in Pittsburgh until age 19,
when he returned to Israel for a few years. Because he did not speak Hebrew, he
could only find work in a bakery, which ignited his culinary career. He has won
several James Beard awards, and he has been recognized by publications such as Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler,
Travel and Leisure, and Esquire.
The small plates at Zahav are meant for sharing. We started
with some complimentary laffa bread (baked to order in the wood-fired “taboon”/oven),
which we supplemented with an order of classic tehina hummus (served with a bit
of green tahini, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with cumin and chopped herbs).
On the advice of our server, we ordered another five dishes to share between
the two of us. From the mezze (small plates) section, we tried the kibbeh naya
(a bright acidic raw minced lamb and bulgur mixture that we spooned into
lettuce wraps), sabich (breaded eggplant with tomato and hard-boiled egg), and duck
hearts (with eggplant and black chickpeas). Our server also delivered a
complimentary order of saganaki (fried cheese served with a fruit sauce). From
the al ha’esh (coal-grilled) section, we shared the brisket kofte (meatballs
with roasted red peppers, olives, and apricots), and the chicken skisklik
(marinated in spices and served with pickled mango and pomegranate), which came
with a rice pilaf side dish. For dessert, we ordered the signature konafi
(shredded phyllo dough topped with citrus marmalade, orange sherbet, and
pistachios). Zahav offers a full liquor license, including beer, wine, and
cocktails. We sampled a refreshing Lemonnana (like a boozy fresh lemonade with
lemon verbena, bourbon, and mint). Zahav also offers a sort prix-fixe tasting
menu, where you choose a specified number of small and large plates for a set
price per person. Service was a bit uneven: our first five dishes came out in
rapid-fire succession and quickly filled up our tiny table for two, but then we
waited for 20+ minutes until our “main” courses appeared, and another 10+
minutes for our dessert. We enjoyed the total time spent at the restaurant, but
we would have preferred for our dishes to arrive with better pacing, especially
considering the diminutive size of our table.
We liked our dinner at Zahav – we do not
often have the opportunity to spend the evening in such a vibrant atmosphere
while enjoying delicious ethnic cuisine.
