Yama arrives at the mall: How does it feel to dismantle a lobster at Big Glilot?
We stopped by Big Fashion Glilot before a movie to see if the "Yama" restaurant could offer more than the typical mall fast food. The result was an unexpected and gastronomically flawless experience.
We went to see Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" at Cinema City Glilot (honestly, not much). Before the movie, we stopped to eat at "Yama" in Big Fashion Glilot. After all, this is restaurant criticism, not film criticism.
A Saturday afternoon at the most talked-about mall in the country is, on paper, a sure recipe for a flop. Crowds wander between boutiques looking for a deal, and the expectation of something beyond a hamburger or pizza is a kind of culinary misunderstanding. Or so I thought.
The "Yama" deli comes from the renowned chef Yuval Ben Neria, who is behind a series of culinary hits such as Taizu, Cafe Taizu, and a. He opened the first branch of Yama a few years ago in the Florentin quarter in Tel Aviv. While neighboring restaurants change every other day, Yama stays in its place, looking like a "pharmacy for fish."
The branch in Big Glilot is larger than the original. Besides a fancy deli, it includes a restaurant that offers an eclectic menu ranging from fish kebab to half a Canadian lobster, from sardines to oysters, from beer to champagne. As much as you know the food madness of the people of Israel, it is still strange to see two women dismantling a bottle of French champagne on a Saturday afternoon while behind them the crowd flows with bags from Fox.
Since the movie was about to start, we asked if we would have time to order, eat, and pay in half an hour. The young and charming staff promised to meet the schedule. Within a few minutes, a tray of nine slices of raw fish arrived — salmon, tuna, and yellowtail — in a ponzu sauce, decorated with tiny edible flowers. The fish was incredibly fresh, and the sauce was sour and refreshing.
Immediately after, a huge portion of fish kebab arrived. Four generous patties made from a mixture of tuna, salmon, and yellowtail — very unusual, but the result is successful. The kebabs were accompanied by a dollop of yogurt, a huge pile of rice, herbs, and a quarter of a lime.
A second before we had to run to the cinema, the biggest hit of all arrived:
A huge pile of sardines on the plancha placed on a thick laffa spread with yogurt dotted with herbs. Tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers roasted on the plancha completed the beautiful picture and provided unexpected pleasure.
This was a sardine dish that any worthy beach restaurant in Greece or Portugal would sign off on. Yama Big Fashion Glilot is a huge surprise — the restaurant with the tablecloth-covered tables that sits right on the shopping avenue beats the location by a long shot. It is a complete and perfect pleasure that makes you forget where you are.
Before the bill: Sashimi trio in ponzu - 80 NIS, Fish kebab - 80, Sardines - 88.
