Lento, an Italian-Mediterranean trattoria in the Hutzot Shfayim complex in the Sharon, is a new collaboration between chef Motti Super and Gilad Yarkoni, owner of the nearby delicatessen HaChatzer HaAchorit. The restaurant is kosher-free, open for dinner only, and requires reservations. It operates Monday through Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with weekend service planned soon.
Super, best known for La Repubblica, closed that restaurant on October 7 after 13 years in central Tel Aviv and seven more in Ramat Hahayal. Two weeks later, Yarkoni invited him to create something in the delicatessen, but the concept quickly grew into a full restaurant. Super said the partnership has roots stretching back decades, including a family connection through Yiftach Yarkoni, his olive-oil supplier for 25 years, and Gilad and their father Asa, a former military attaché in Rome and a devoted Italy lover.
The menu, about 20 dishes, is built around produce from Super’s vegetable garden. He describes his cooking as a kind of home-style Italian food made from whatever is available, but the results are polished and precise. The standout dishes include nudi in Parmesan butter, a red pizza made from a 30-year-old focaccia dough formula with a long fermentation, braised beef, spaghetti vongole, shrimp with lemon, garlic and herbs, and a panna cotta with berries. The wine list is small, with about 18 labels, and leans Israeli, Mediterranean and Italian, including Vermentino and Assyrtiko.
The review says the meal was so strong that it inspired immediate plans to return, calling Lento an accessible restaurant in price, approach and cooking. The meal for two, excluding tip and drinks, came to 436 shekels, with individual dishes priced from 29 to 138 shekels.
