Israel, like the United States is a “melting pot” country. No single ethnic kitchen has developed during more than 200 years and more of American history; Israel as well, in the 60 short years of its existence, has not succeeded in integrating the tastes and aromas brought over by Jewish immigrants from throughout the world and those of the indigenous population, into anything resembling a national cuisine. However, what Israelis have managed to do, particularly within the last 30 years, is to do away with the spartan, socialist ethos of the country's founding fathers, discover the pleasures of traveling and to be quite successful in bringing back home the epicurean delicacies they enjoyed all over the world. After having mastered these foreign cuisines, many well-known local chefs have turned back to their roots, adding the tastes of tradition foods in their parents' homes, to their knowledge of what is being presented nowadays in better restaurants all over the world and using locally produced olive oil and the French-style cow and goat cheeses produced by small local dairies. Also, in keeping with the current popularity of the Mediterranean kitchen, fresh regional staples like fish and seafood have also found a pride of place in the kitchens and on the menus of many local restaurants.
In addition, local agricultural research has been introducing new fruits and vegetables to Israeli shops on a regular basis these past 30 years. Broccoli and asparagus for example have been locally grown for a relatively few number of years, while fruits like locally-grown mangos, litchis, custard apples and even kobo and carambola did not exist in the country in the 1970's.
Israel's wine industry, a success story in its own right, has also grown out of its infancy. Hundreds of vineyards and “boutique” wineries both in the North and South of the country have developed fine, prize-winning vintage wines, employing modern technology and know-how brought over from France and California, with grapes grown everywhere from the Golan Heights to the Negev Desert.
Nowadays, it's easy to find any number of top-quality dining establishments throughout Israel serving food, both kosher and not, that is the outgrowth of the cuisine of just about every nationality around the world: French, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Russian, Persian, Hungarian, Brazilian, Ethiopian, Yemenite, Druze, Kurdish and many more.
For people who want to keep kosher while staying in Israel, the major luxury hotels are a good place to start, where intense competition for sophisticated tourists and their dollar has raised the level of quality to truly international standards. When dietary laws are not an issue, there are many truly excellent restaurants in Israel. However, what seems to distinguish an excellent Israeli restaurant from one that is merely good is a sense of imagination and flair, particularly among the young generation of chefs, a number of whom have worked with master chefs all over the world and have even run well-received restaurants abroad before returning home.
Their panache in the kitchen is often reported on and even analyzed by the press, a fair number of local chefs, food critics and lay experts have started their own food columns in Israel's most widely-circulated newspapers and magazines, and all these activities focus a new spotlight on food and good living, recruiting new converts to educated dining all the time and laying the groundwork in the Land of Milk and Honey for ever more interesting culinary times.
However, even for those on a limited budget, Israel is no longer a wasteland where food is concerned. By far the largest percentage of restaurants in the country is still devoted to what is termed “Oriental” (i.e., Middle Eastern) food - houmous, shishlik, mixed grill and the like. These places have also improved over the years and many offer good value for money and a chance to sample dishes that would be considered somewhat exotic in Europe or the United States. Also worth looking into are Arabic and Druze eateries, in particular when traveling in the North.
And then there's local fast food. Felafel is still around, as is shwarma - the Israeli version of donner kebab. Aside from this, the Western world has made its influence felt. Pizza is just about everywhere and hamburgers outlets - Macdonald's included - have also grown in popularity over the years and now there's hardly a region of Israel where international fast food can't be found, be it Nando's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Sbarro's, Domino's, Pizza Hut, Haagen Dazs, Ben & Jerry, or any number of local initiatives serving the kind of food you can run into on any street corner just about anywhere in the world the average tourist might travel.
Many restaurants have menus in English and even where one is not available, the staff will almost always be able to help tourists understand what is available.
Most restaurants remain open non-stop until the evening hours, but many of those that work at night, don't open until about 12 pm. Resto/bars are becoming more and more popular in the larger cities and many keep even longer opening hours, remaining open into the wee hours of the night.