It’s the high-end brunch you’ve been waiting for – and one that’s worth the cost. Every Friday, an exceptional eatery called The Afui Bake House pops up inside Tirza, an upscale Tel Aviv wine bar, turning one morning a week into a ritual of flaky crust, inventive plates, and superb wines.
Afui (Hebrew for “baked”) is the kind of experience that warrants a weekly pilgrimage, if only to discover what new and innovative flavors head pastry chef Or Amir and executive pastry chef Neta Morag have dreamed up.
Afui grew from the pastry department of the OCD Group, which runs Tirza. The ethos: meticulous technique meets playful Israeli influences and unexpected flavors. On most days, Afui supplies pastries to OCD venues and select partners. But on Fridays, it’s yours to enjoy at Tirza.
Feel free to grab and go. Walk in, choose from the counter of pastries and breads, and head out stocked for the weekend.
Or, settle in for brunch. Tirza weaves Afui’s fare into a seasonal, produce-driven menu, with a wine bar table laden with deeply delicious, smart bites.
Tirza’s brunch is elevated, produce-laden, and just a bit mischievous. For NIS 130 per person, you’ll get coffee, bread with olive oil and jam, plus six dishes chosen from about nine offerings.
Recent plates included melon carpaccio adorned with nuts and cheese; egg salad with caramelized onions; gravlax with herb cream cheese; sashimi with elderberry; and skordalia with tomatoes and herbs.
A bonus the day we visited was a savory bread pudding – the kind of dish that makes you consider a second reservation for the next week, on the spot.
Add Afui’s baked goods to your table, which include signature items like the apricot and ricotta pastry (NIS 17). These are seasonal and change regularly.
Pastries typically range from NIS 15 to NIS 85, whether you’re seated or taking them away, with craftsmanship obvious in every flaky layer. And, of course, you can leave with a challah to add to your Shabbat table (NIS 9).
There are additional extras you can add on to brunch if you want more padding than pastries, such as grilled cheese with Manchego and anchovies (NIS 52); steak with hot-and-cold pear (NIS 76 ); and almond cake with butter and apricots (NIS 38).
Wash it all down with a lemongrass mimosa (NIS 47) or ask for a glass from Tirza’s tightly curated wine list.
The OCD group
The OCD Group is a small constellation of culinary concepts. OCD is the flagship fine dining restaurant (Tel Aviv, established in 2016), which serves an immersive tasting menu (around NIS 700 per person). The Tirza Wine Bar, OCD’s “little sister,” is pouring great wine with a seasonal menu, small plates, and that unmissable Friday brunch.
Tenne is the group’s pantry and retail arm for homemade jams, hot sauces, and more, with goods also sold at Tirza and folded into brunch dishes. And then there’s Afui, the pastry and baking project supplying OCD venues and select partners, and starring in the Friday brunch at Tirza.
Afui is still young, with a vision for a full-time bakery in Tel Aviv, plus more wholesale partnerships, collaborations, and pop-ups on the horizon. Consider the Friday stint at Tirza both a preview and a promise.
Trust me, post-brunch, you’ll likely feel delightfully spoiled, a little sleepy, and already plotting your return for the following Friday.
Afui Bake House
3 Hachalutzim St., Tel Aviv
Hours: Fridays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Instagram: @afui.tlv
Not kosher
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.