Build- Your- Own Gluten Free Tel Aviv Tour

For the last few years I have been building a bucket list of gluten free friendly places to try around Israel. With a pretty overloaded schedule, I have a hard time getting out of Jerusalem so when I do I pack in as much as I can. Today, I joined my foodie friend Mallory  to try as many gluten free places in Tel Aviv as we could in one day.

This post is a comprehensive review of the places we went on our tour Blikemah, Bana, TLVMakers, Arte Glideria, Johnnys Falafel, and Lelo (sadly no longer in business).

Before we went, I asked you all what you wanted to know about each place and the votes were:
– Taste
– Selection
– Price
– Vibes
– Tiny dog sighting

Each rating will be on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being never going back and 5 being would go out of my way to eat there everyday.

Blikemah, HaBarzel 32 (Kosher)

This was our first stop of the day and I had really high expectations after hearing about this 100% GF cafe for months. While I wasn’t blown away it is kosher which is a plus.

Our rating:
– Taste: 3/5
– Selection: 4/5
– Price: 3/5
– Vibes: 4/5
– Tiny dog sighting: 5/5

While we saw many cute dogs, I was otherwise underwhelmed by Blikemah. In my opinion it’s quite overrated. Not only was the staff inattentive, things that were advertised on their instagram were not available and the real food items (aka pizza) was over priced.

UPDATE: I returned to Blikemach in June of 2021 and can say they have improved immensely since my first visit. They have updated their recipes, expanded the selection, and all in all have much better options. I LOVED their garlic cheese brioche and bourekas. Also the owners were incredibly kind and continue to work to make better and better options each day.

I would recommend going and giving them a try and I am SOOO looking forward to their ice cream pop up coming soon. 

TLVMakers, Maze 4

We stopped by Bana looking for Golden Sun Kombucha but unfortunately they were out. Lucky for us, we stumbled upon the near by TLVMakers Cafe which also carries a selection of this locally brewed probiotic drink.

Our rating:
– Taste: 5/5
– Selection: 3/5 for drinks and 1/5 for food
– Price: 2/5
– Vibes: 3/5
– Tiny dog sighting: 0/5

I was pleasantly impressed with the local brands sold at TLVMakers. We tried all 4 of Golden Sun Kombucha flavors that they carried as well as the Wild Dog Cold Brew. I really enjoyed the aesthetic of the place and while the kombucha was expensive, it was also really good.
There is a bit of a pressure to be quiet inside the cafe which was intimidating. Also, there is a lack of food options so don’t go there expecting to eat a meal. I really enjoyed what we tried and would 100% get both the kombucha and cold brew again but I wouldn’t go out of my way get them from TLVMakers. If you are looking for some trendy plants though they have you covered!

Arte Glideria, Nachalat Binyamin

When we got to Arte, I was thrilled to find out that all of their flavors are gluten Free except bread and butter. They use different spoons to scoop each flavour which is awesome for preventing cross contamination. I ordered the coffee and cream flavors and got a GF cone. The ice cream melted faster than I could eat it so maybe order it in a cup with the cone on top if you want to be able to savour each bite.

On a hot day, you really can’t beat this place except one of their freezers broke this morning and thus only half of the flavors were available so maybe wait a few days until it’s fixed.

Our rating:
– Taste: 4/5
– Selection: 2/5 (half the flavours weren’t out)
– Price: 3/5
– Vibes: 3/5
– Tiny dog sighting: 4/5

Johnny’s Falafel, Ternichovsky 2

THE HOLY GRAIL OF GF FALAFEL! Wow, I was blown away! Not only was everything cooked in a fryer 100% separate from the gluten products, they had specifically GF salads as well. Their GF pita was the best I have had and I really appreciated that the staff immediately asked if I was celiac when I ordered GF which shows just how educated they are about gluten. I was lucky enough to meet Johnny and he was extremely kind and took the time to get to know us a bit. Wonderful staff, amazing falafel, gluten free pita, what more could you want in life?

Our rating:
– Taste: 5/5
– Selection: 5/5
– Price: 5/5
– Vibes: 5/5
– Tiny dog sighting: 4/5

I couldn’t recommend this place more.

LeLo, Tasha St 2 (No Longer In Business)

I don’t have words. LeLo, which only opened about a week ago, is raising the bar for GF cafes. While it isn’t kosher, it is amazing. I was blown away by the staff and especially the owner who took the time to talk to us and ask us how each item was. He greeted everyone who came in with a smile and truly impressed me with his commitment to fresh, high quality ingredients. He brought us a sweet treat at the end of our meal, macaroons which were out of this world as well as a little goodie bag of breakfast pastries to eat in the morning. I would trust this man with my life and am looking forward to going back soon!

Our rating:
– Taste: 5/5
– Selection: 5/5
– Price: 3/5
– Vibes: 5/5
– Tiny dog sighting: 5/5

LeLo has a wonderful outdoor seating area right off of Kikar HaMedina. It is a wonderful place to people watch, hang out, and enjoy the breeze. The boreka I ordered was 28 shekel but totally worth it. It was huge and had what felt like a kilo of cheese inside. LeLo is so good I would be totally happy to make the trip to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem just to eat lunch there. It is only a 10 min walk from Azrieli Mall, the 480 bus from Jerusalem, and the train line so its conveniently located and really an A+ spot!

Next on the bucket list: Abulafia in Cinema City, Ramat HasSharon and Reviva vCelia. Stay tuned for more gluten free adventures in Israel and around the world.

Find more gluten free Tel Aviv recommendations here!