Tel Aviv’s New Schnitzel Spot Draws Long Lines and Big Buzz

Oscar’s, a new schnitzel restaurant on Nahalat Binyamin Street at the edge of Park HaMesila in Tel Aviv, has become one of the city’s hottest openings even though it has been operating for less than a month. During peak hours, customers are waiting 30 to 40 minutes for a schnitzel. The restaurant does not have waiters and is built around self-service, with most of the seating outdoors.

The man behind the place is Tal Rashbavski, a colorful Tel Aviv figure who became better known after appearances on Kan’s “Dokutaim” and more recently on “Bo’u Le’echol Iti.” Rashbavski, who also runs the nearby pasta restaurant Lava and once operated a pasta place in Florentin, has now turned what he calls a local curiosity into a broader celebrity. The article notes that he had previously been branded with the unflattering nicknames “pasta crook” and “pasta Nazi.”

The food, however, is the main draw. Oscar’s serves large, juicy schnitzels and presents them as a refreshed take on a familiar dish rather than a reinvention. For now, the menu includes chicken schnitzel for 88 shekels and corn schnitzel for 88 shekels. On the visit described, the corn option was unavailable, so the meal was supplemented with chicken scaloppini in lemon butter and white wine for 92 shekels, which the reviewer praised highly. The house salad costs 52 shekels, and there is also a semolina pasta dish with sage butter and lemon.

The restaurant’s setup is part of its appeal. Orders are placed at a terminal on Nahalat Binyamin, after which diners sit at small white-clothed tables. The article says the look is intentionally stylish, with a Parisian feel. Beer is not mentioned, but wine is priced at 28 shekels a glass, or 99 or 150 shekels a bottle. The mashed potatoes are available all evening at no extra charge, with refills delivered on a cart. Oscar’s opens only in the evening, starting at 6 p.m., and does not serve lunch.