3 Best Restaurants in Haifa and the Northern Coast, Israel

If you're one of those people who could eat breakfast three times a day, Agenda is for you. Try the shakshuka, an Israeli dish in which eggs are poached in a sharp tomato sauce; for lunch and dinner there are also pizzas, sushi, and other light fare, plus cocktails and wine. The staff is friendly, the atmosphere casual. Like many of the tastiest good-value restaurants in Israel, this one is in a gas station (Paz Gas, next to Minato, a sushi place). It has a bright interior with indoor, outdoor, and bar seating.

Climb the stairs beside the Doña Rosa restaurant and keep an eye out for this local favorite in an old, two-level, stone building—complete with a cat sunning itself on a stool, a jumble of odd tables and mismatched chairs, and a selection of handmade clothes and handbags for sale. You can sit outside to sip coffee and fruit smoothies alongside homemade bourekas (filled pastry triangles), shakshuka (eggs in tomato sauce), carrot cake, grilled-cheese sandwiches, and apple pie. Beer and wine are available, too. Indian cuisine is served every Thursday night. From Thursday night through Sunday you can get vegetarian meals; the rest of the week, pastries and coffee are offered.

At this attractive restaurant--bar at the foot of the Baha'i Gardens, olive trees hung with blue and green lights set the tone for the elaborate interior, which contains several intimate rooms. One is a "cave" with Arabic script on the walls, low banquettes, wooden stools, and filigree lamps; another is modern with leather seats, embroidered cushions, and a changing art exhibit set against burnt orange walls. The eponymous Fattoush Salad is a favorite, consisting of a generous helping of chopped tomato, cucumber, onion, and mint and sprinkled with crisp toasted pita pieces. You might follow it with emsakhan, roast chicken topped with sumac and served on oven-baked pita.