A hit on Miami Beach, this Israeli-inspired Mediterranean spot is opening in Aventura
When they opened Abbale Telavivan Kitchen in Miami Beach in 2021, co-owners Sam Gorenstein and Omer Horev, founder of the casual café Pura Vida, knew their South-of-Fifth location would attract tourists eager for Israeli-inspired Mediterranean cuisine.
But for Gorenstein, who is the chef as well as a co-owner, it’s the new location of the restaurant that really feels like home.
Abbale Telavivian Kitchen is set to open its second restaurant this month in Aventura, and Gorenstein has a special insight into the neighborhood.
“I have lived in Aventura about five minutes from the restaurant for the last seven years,” Gorenstein says. “It felt like a natural move, going to Aventura. A lot of our clientele comes from this area. They’d go to Miami Beach and request we open here. We have a huge demographic here.”
The 4,000 square-foot restaurant — formerly 800 Degrees Wood-Fire Kitchen, which was owned by Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem — is located near the busy Aventura Mall, so some tourists are bound to straggle in. But Gorenstein sees the new restaurant as haven for locals.
“People here go to Houston’s on Biscayne or Bourbon Steak, but aside from that, there’s nothing else for the full-on dining experience,” he says. “There’s nothing else with a full-service, chef-driven restaurant with beautiful ambiance, top-notch service and excellent food.”
This isn’t to say Gorenstein wants diners to think of Abbale for only special occasions (even though there is a private dining room you can reserve for Shabbat or other special occasions).
“I want people to come in on a normal Tuesday and have a great meal,” he says.
The restaurant, which is about twice the size of the South Beach space and features a chef’s counter, will be led by executive chef Marcelo Palacios. The menu won’t change drastically, though there will be some new additions. You’ll find the popular shakshuka with Moroccan spices and the double-cut lamb chops, but a bigger kitchen allowed Gorenstein to expand the offerings.
New offerings include the caviar and chips, za’atar dusted chips served with caramelized onion labneh and American sturgeon caviar, which Gorenstein says is intended for anyone just craving bar food or a snack (or anyone who just likes chips and/or caviar). New salads include heirloom tomato with Syrian olives; roasted beets and avocado; ahi tuna tartare and a pan-roasted haloumi with warm honey, lemon and pistachio dukkah.
There are will also be items designed to be shared by two: a line-caught local fish and a prime kosher ribeye (the restaurant is not kosher but kosher-style). In what Gorenstein calls a nod to “the elements of fine dining,” the whole fish will be served tableside from a cart.
Aventura’s Abbale also will serve lunch with specialties like a new house-smoked beef pastrami and a chicken schnitzel sandwich and Sunday brunch with steak and eggs and tahini pancakes.
And unlike its predecessor, this Abbale will have a full bar, with a cocktail program that highlights Mediterranean flavors and a wine list that the partners have designed to showcase boutique Israeli wines.
The number of Mediterranean restaurants in Miami has grown since Abbale’s beginnings, but Gorenstein says it’s to be expected, given the reputation of the cuisine’s health benefits.
“Mediterranean food is perceived for the most part as very healthy, because it uses a lot of vegetables and healthy natural fats,” he says. “It’s what people want to eat. . . . but we’re not just falafel and shawarma. We’re a seasonal restaurant. I love to combine flavors; it gives me inspiration.”
Abbale Telavivian Kitchen
Where: 2956 NE 199th St., Aventura
Opening: Dec. 18
Reservations and more information: Resy; www.abbaletlv.com
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