It seems like all I talk about here is food, but I promise I will switch things up in the coming weeks. (I’ve been eating well; sorry, not sorry.) But this past weekend I secured reservations for my family at Zahav to celebrate my dad’s birthday.

If you are unfamiliar, Zahav is a famous Philadelphia Israeli restaurant brought to us by Michael Solomonov, the two-time recipient of the rare Four Bells: Superior rating from Philadelphia Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan, and the recipient of five James Beard Awards, including Outstanding Restaurant in 2019 for Zahav, making it the first Israeli-American restaurant to be awarded this great honor.

Given its success, it’s easy to understand why it is extremely difficult to secure reservations — with aspiring patrons having to log onto Resy at 11 a.m. six weeks in advance to book their spot. As my entire family has been dying to go for years, we decided this would be a great gift for celebration. Happy Birthday, Dad!

My friend recommended going with the cocktails over wine, as they were delicious. She was not wrong; I thoroughly enjoyed my Z&T. Zahav operates in a tasting-menu style, with the first course consisting of pita, hummus and various salad-like dishes to enjoy. Everything was fantastic, with not a crumb left before we started our second course.

The Mezze course offered us many bite-sized dishes from Brussels sprouts and (probably the best ever made) potatoes to phyllo-wrapped halloumi cheese and, my favorite, an almond-stuffed (I think?) date. What I loved about this is Zahav rolls these out one by one, allowing you to enjoy a taste of everything without letting you fill up too much before the following two courses.

For the third and main course, you can choose between the Al Ha’esh, which allows you to choose three different types of meat along with sides, or the Mesibah, which offers the choice of one signature dish to share amongst the table. My family went with the Al Ha’esh option, choosing lamb, chicken and branzino; however, I was drooling over the options on the Mesibah menu, where Zahav’s signature Pomegranate Lamb Shoulder resides. Every cut of meat was delicious (my fish-hating mother even enjoyed the branzino.)

As dessert rolled around, I thought I was done, as I was so full. But they brought out the Pistachio Basboosa with pear and labneh (think the best carrot cake you’ve ever eaten but green) that was so light and delicious I had to partake — and finish.

While Zahav has been a long-standing favorite on the Philadelphia fine dining scene, and as much as I love giving newer or smaller restaurants a chance, it’s a mainstay for a reason. I definitely recommend coming here at least once, and I very much look forward to trying its sister restaurant, Laser Wolf, in the future.

— Aly Evans, business development and events coordinator