Herbert Samuel Herzliya

Herbert Samuel, Herzliya: a kosher date night for the Ritz-Carlton marina view

I went to Herbert Samuel once, and I have been to enough kosher restaurants, and enough Ritz-Carltons, to have a clear opinion. Let me be honest and useful at the same time, because there is a real reason to come here. First, set your expectations about the hotel. The Ritz-Carlton in Herzliya is not on the level of the Ritz-Carltons you may know from Paris or Rabat. It feels more like a small boutique property than a grand one. Come expecting a nice hotel restaurant in a great location, not a palace. The restaurant itself is lovely and calm. On my visit the room was quiet and relaxed, exactly the kind of setting you want for a date. There was one large company dinner that got noisy, so we asked to move to another table, and they took care of it without any fuss. Herbert Samuel is the kosher outpost of a well-known chef, so the bar is set high. The food is good. We had a steak with excellent thin, crisp shoestring fries, a second cut of meat, and some nice starters. It was all enjoyable. But I will be straight with you: it was good rather than extraordinary, and it did not quite reach the level the Ritz-Carlton name promises. If you come only for the cooking, you may leave feeling it was fine, not memorable. So here is the honest bottom line, and the reason I am recommending it: the view. Herbert Samuel has some of the nicest views of any kosher restaurant in the area, straight out over the Herzliya Marina. If you can get a marina-view table, it is genuinely romantic, and that is what makes this a wonderful kosher date night. I will say it plainly: if it were not for the view, I would not recommend the restaurant. But for a couple who want a beautiful, relaxed kosher dinner with the sea in front of them, it is a lovely choice. Practical notes: expect around 300 shekels per person and up, make a reservation, and when you book, ask specifically for a table with the marina view. That view is the whole point. On the scores, the food is a 7 and the service a 7, but the setting and ambience are an 8, which is exactly the story here: the room and the view carry the evening more than the plate does.