The Green Cat | Is This the Best Pizza in Tel Aviv or Just the Best Vegan Pizza? We sent guest reviewer Scott D. Renwick to check it out…
Unless you’re living under a rock, you will know that vegan restaurants in Tel Aviv are popping up like mushrooms, and much to the delight of vegans so are vegan-friendly restaurants, meaning certified vegan-friendly restaurants with a dedicated vegan menu.
This creates a problem for 100% vegan restaurants, as vegans can go with their omni friends to mainstream restaurants and enjoy an exclusively vegan menu. In the case of this review it may be noteworthy to mention the world-renowned giant brand Dominos pizza have a vegan pizza menu. Which has been outstandingly successfully.
So, How Does the Green Cat Fair Against the Big Dogs?
There is no doubt about it, The Green Cat has made a name for itself, with both locals, vegan tourists and people who are curious enough to know what vegan pizza is all about, after all, how can you compete with real cheese, the real stringy deal?
Judgment Day For The Green Cat
As part of my review I was able to bring a guest to dine with me, this was vital to ensure the review was of high quality and relevant to a wider audience, so I made sure to take with me a non-vegan friend. Now while not a meat eater, he does eat dairy products, fish and other sea creatures, most importantly he eats cheese. Why is that important? The Green Cat isn’t just competing on taste, it’s competing with addiction, no easy task, but who better to determine whether they succeed or not than someone who consumes cheese?!?
What Did We Order?
We ordered a large half and half pizza, one half artichoke and olives and the other half seitan and sweet potatoes. The pizza came with the Green Cat’s cashew cheese and the waitress also told us about their vegan mozzarella which we gladly included.
Of course it is very hard to determine the quality of a great pizza without equally great beer to accompany it. Beer is to pizza as red wine is to seitan steak.
The Setting, the Staff and the Atmosphere
When I’m reviewing a restaurant, I’m looking for three things:
1. Great food
2. Atmosphere
3. Customer Service
We’ll get to the food in the minute, let’s start with the atmosphere and customer service.
The Green Cat, has all the vibrancy, hustle and unique charm that you only get with a local restaurant. It has that unmistakable local character, something the locals appreciate and the tourists crave.
More and more people want to have an authentic time, and not some bubble gum, pop chart, sterile experience straight off the factory shelf. One thing however is we sat outside, which was fine, the music inside is a bit too loud for me, for an evening meal.
Next the customer service, I dealt with two waiting staff, the first one was informative, courteous and smiling, it’s what is expected and unfortunately kind of rare in Tel Aviv, so this experience was refreshing. The next customer experience was with the staff member who made my pizza, she was enthusiastic, bright and a pleasure to talk to.
One Large Pizza and Two Beers, What Happened Next?
The pizza came out hot served on a round steel tray, slice for slice, we matched each other, making good use of the hot sauce, chili flakes and herbs that where on the table. The pizza was undoubtedly fresh, the texture was perfect, not too soft and not to crispy. When it’s too crispy, it’s like eating a cracker, when it’s too soft, it sits in your stomach for hours afterwards sometimes even into the next day, we’ve all been there. This was bang in the middle, the best of both worlds.
The large pizza was a fine size for the two of us to feast on, after it we were not left wanting and were satisfied.
What Was The Verdict
Quoting from my omni friend – “I can’t tell it’s not real pizza”.
This one sentence tells us that this is pizza for everyone – Forget about this being good VEGAN pizza this is just great pizza full stop – This is pizza that can go up against anything Tel Aviv has to offer – This is vegan pizza gone mainstream, you don’t need to make an exception, you don’t need to make a sacrifice, you don’t need to do without, you just need to chow down on the fresh ingredients, excellent recipe, sweet smells and great taste of the product that is the Green Cat Pizza.
Overall, I love this place, the food is great, the staff are excellent and I loved the local vibe, very Tel Avivian.
To sum up the entire experience, I’d give the Green Cat, 9 out of 10 , I’m talking one point away for branding, it’s not obvious that you’re eating in the Green Cat, no clear signage and no English menu was provided.
I would eat in the Green Cat again and would happily take anyone there, regardless of whether I’m eating with friends or having a cozy romantic evening meal with my wife. The Green Cat rocks!
Review by Scott D. Renwick. Scott is an Irish man living in Tel Aviv for the past 7 years, he’s vegan, married, has two amazing cats, is an experienced blogger and co-founded Vegan Dublin Food Tours by Vegan in Ireland.
This restaurant is featured in the following guides:
– Best Vegan Restaurants in Tel Aviv
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