Israeli-owned restaurant becomes one of Berlin's hottest tables Two years after Kanal 61 opened in Berlin, the restaurant has earned a place on Vogue Germany's list of the city's best restaurants. Its Israeli owners say staying away from political labels has helped food create conversations across divides.
BERLIN – Berlin's long history of immigration has shaped one of Europe's most diverse culinary scenes, where African, Asian, Middle Eastern and European restaurants operate side by side.
Kanal 61 may be Israeli-owned, but diners looking for shakshuka and hummus will have to go elsewhere. The Berlin restaurant has built its reputation around a carefully calibrated mix of European and Asian influences, sophisticated cooking techniques and one dish that has become something of a local icon.
What began as a small, relatively under-the-radar restaurant has become one of Berlin's most talked-about culinary destinations.
The mussel toast that became a Berlin hit
Two years after opening, Kanal 61 is firmly established in Berlin's restaurant scene. It was included in Vogue Germany's list of the 23 best restaurants in Berlin, which highlighted the restaurant's modern European cooking with Mediterranean and Asian influences and singled out its mussel toast as its bestseller.
"I think the publicity expanded our circle of customers," Avi Levy told Walla. "More local Germans are coming, as well as guests from Scandinavian countries and people who are simply foodies from the world of gastronomy. It's created a really nice buzz."
Walla identified Levy as one of the partners behind the restaurant alongside Yuval Tidhar and chef David Eckman.
From the restaurant's opening in August 2024, its cooking was defined as modern fusion cuisine.
"We're a kind of seasonal kitchen with influences from Asia and Japan and a unique wine list," Levy said. "Over the past six months we've also gotten very deeply into cocktails, with unique cocktails and homemade syrups."
The menu changes frequently. Eckman's background includes work in Tel Aviv, Berlin, Copenhagen and Tokyo. In Berlin, he worked at Layla, the restaurant associated with acclaimed Israeli chef Meir Adoni.
Eckman visits a local market twice a week for ingredients. Dishes have included beef tartare with raspberry ponzu, potato tortilla with shiitake mushrooms and other combinations reflecting the restaurant's cosmopolitan approach.
The mussel toast began as a relatively straightforward dish to execute and became a breakout success. Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel praised the dish in a review, describing it as a standout combination of mussels arranged over bagna cauda mayonnaise and toasted sourdough bread.
"The menu is seasonal and changes, but there are a few signature dishes that always stay, like the toast and the oysters," Levy said.
'We don't operate under an Israeli label'
Kanal 61 is located in Kreuzberg, one of Berlin's best-known and most diverse neighborhoods. Its alternative culture, large Turkish community and complicated political history make it a particularly eclectic part of the German capital.
The neighborhood has also seen political tensions surrounding Israel. In recent years, anti-Israel demonstrations in Kreuzberg have included antisemitic chants, while Israeli and Jewish businesses elsewhere in Berlin have faced harassment and political pressure.
Some Israeli-linked restaurants in the city have struggled directly with the fallout from the October 7 massacre and the Gaza war. Kanaan, the well-known Israeli-Palestinian restaurant in Berlin, became a focal point for the tensions following October 7. More recently, the Jewish-owned Babka & Krantz bakery closed after its owners cited antisemitic harassment alongside economic pressures.
Levy said Kanal 61's deliberately eclectic identity has largely kept it outside such confrontations.
"Our restaurant isn't identified as an Israeli restaurant," he said. "It's a restaurant under Israeli ownership, but it doesn't have an Israeli context, and therefore it doesn't have a political context either."
But people know you're Israeli.
"Of course. The people who know us know," Levy said. "Our regular customers, people from the neighborhood and people in the gastronomic community know us and know that we're Israeli."
He said the restaurant's approach comes from a love of food and hospitality.
"We don't operate under an Israeli label, or a Middle Eastern or Levantine one, so that context isn't there," he said. "We bring our own touch with food at a very high level. I think that's the magic, and it's working very well."
Finding common ground over wine and food
Levy said his experiences in Berlin have often included empathy and identification, despite frequent reports focusing on hostility and political tensions.
He recalled meeting a German-Lebanese customer whose family owns olive groves in Lebanon. The encounter led to a conversation over wine and food and eventually to an idea for collaboration.
"He suggested bringing us olive oil from the first harvest so that we could use it in the kitchen," Levy said. "Because of the nature of the restaurant, there's always dialogue and you can have a respectful conversation."
"The human connection that develops is much stronger than the conflicts."
Kanal 61
Erkelenzdamm 61
10999 Berlin, Germany