Del Mar seafood restaurant – fine dining in Haifa

Del Mar is an elegant and romantic chef’s restaurant specializing in fresh fish and seafood. The restaurant overlooks the magical Haifa Bay view. The tables are set with white tablecloths and shiny silverware. An extensive selection of wines from all over the world completes the perfect settings.

Del Mar restaurant is located in a 1921 building with two floors and a balcony. Both levels enjoy the sea view through a showcase and Belgian windows; on a clear day one can see all the way to the Western Galilee. The second floor is suitable for small events. The most beautiful time of day to come here is sunset of course.

True to its name, the menu at Del Mar has starters, intermediates and main courses with a focus on fresh fish and seafood. Among the dishes are red tuna, octopus, calamari, shrimps, jumbo shrimps, drum fish, beef filet, scallop, and more; all made to different plates including ceviche, tartare, carpaccio, steak, linguini, and more. For those who can’t get along with the fruit of the sea, there are also some vegetarian and meat dishes.

We began dinner with some starters, including a crisp lettuce salad containing a variety of lettuce, endive, shallots, grapes, caramelized hazelnuts, and fabulous Cremoux d’Argental cheese in sweet grape vinaigrette. We had burnt eggplant risotto with the Hameiri cheese and charcoal kohlrabi also served also with Hameiri cheese which is a delicacy! One more starter that I tasted was the fish tartare – a bite size raw fish tartare on a sheet of crispy rice served on an oyster shell – it was fresh with mild citrus flavour and crackled elegantly in my mouth. The chef treated us with a second course of lamb sirloin on coffee cream, the meat was tender and the cream was refined with touches of coffee – very unique!

Fish tartare, photo: T. Sharon

Charcoal kohlrabi, photo: T. Sharon

Lamb, photo: T. Sharon

For mains, I took sea bass in caper butter and tarragon served with French puree. The men took beef tenderloin with chestnut cream in lamb demi-glace. The portions were large, and both the fish and steak were superbly made.

Beef filet, photo: T. Sharon

Sea bass, photo: T. Sharon

We had dessert of profiteroles filled with mascarpone cream and glazed with caramel sauce, accompanied with shots of Arak on the house for a happy mood. Del Mar is an excellent restaurant in ambience, food and service.

Profiteroles, photo: T. Sharon

Del Mar, 99 Yeffe Nof, Haifa

—

Disclosure: the writer was a guest of the restaurant