Who are you, and what have you done with Fedrik?
Fedrik is a landmark in Modi’in’s Einav Center. The restaurant opened 15 years ago, and for many years it was considered one of the best restaurants in the Modi’in area. For its first decade, the restaurant was proudly non-kosher. About five years ago, with the change in the local demographic, the restaurant became kosher under the supervision of the Hevel Modi’in Rabbinate.
“Aha!” We said. “At last, we can dine at Fedrik and see what everyone else is eating.” And so we did. The food, five years ago, was excellent. The portions were over the top, and the service was fast and responsive. The place was packed with folks, I suppose like us, who were checking out the new kosher version of the restaurant.
However, with all its good points, the Fedrik that we found in 2020 was a tired restaurant. The space was dated, and the furniture was worn. It was a good restaurant, but wanting. Five years after that visit, a call came from the restaurant inviting us to experience the new, improved Fedrik. This was an offer we could not refuse.
Fedrik is one of the Lagziel brothers’ meat empire family. The brothers began with a small butcher shop that grew into the well-known Meat Man factory and its popular shops. You may also know their fast-casual Beef restaurants and Gaston Steakhouse for fine dining.
Fedrik is the Lagziel brothers’ “upscale casual” restaurant. As this restaurant is brought to you by the folks who specialize in meat, expect a meat-heavy menu. The dishes are high quality, the service is professional, all in a stylish but relaxed setting. You won’t find the formality of white tablecloths, but the stylized tableware and the spiffy décor are the “upscale” part of “upscale casual.”
Saturday night is apparently out-with-friends night because the tables were filled with small groups of friends, some even with their sleeping babies, extending the joyous Shabbat atmosphere for another few hours.
Fedrik, I would hardly know ya! Gone are the dated furniture and outdated décor, replaced by a striking new and modern black-and-white design, a shimmering bar, and modern, clean, and comfortable furniture. Indirect lighting points to these features, and eye-catching stylized light fixtures abound. Gone too is the old menu, replaced by a modern take on upscale casual dining.
Let’s talk food
As guests of the restaurant, we sat back and let Eitan, the restaurant manager, do the driving. He chose three of the restaurant’s best appetizers, a salad, and a meat dish for us to tell you about. All of the appetizers and salads are in the NIS 60-NIS 70 range. The meat dishes are either a flat rate of about NIS 180 or priced by weight. The dishes are generous to a fault and can easily be shared.
There are any number of ways to prepare eggplant, but Eggplant Kanafeh is a new one on me. This unique and very attractive dish, the first of our three appetizers, suggested Moroccan cuisine. Here was a curious bowl of layered eggplant spread, tehina, and tomato salsa topped with crispy kanafeh. A slice of cake-like bread came alongside for scooping up the mix. This is a very tasty dish that I was anxious to share with the other diners at our table, but to no avail.
My dining companion dug into our second appetizer, the Liver Pâté Brûlée, with abandon. This was a lip-smackin’ chicken liver pâté with goose fat and a caramelized glaze served with a caramelized onion jam. He could not get enough of it, and there was certainly enough of it in this portion. Liver pâté, my friends, is a delicacy that is usually measured in grams. Not so at Fedrik, where it is served in a bowl.
Sea Fish Ceviche, our third appetizer, is a cultivated taste. This beautifully presented dish is a favorite at Fedrik and fine dining restaurants. We plebeians prefer our food cooked. “Eating fish ceviche is not different from eating herring,” my companion advised, trying to get me on board. This just gives me second thoughts about herring.
The Fedrik Citrus Salad is a pleasant and familiar lettuce-based dish, punctuated with steamed beets, apples, and maple dressing. Crunchy and refreshing, this is a safe yet creative appetizer enjoyed by all.
The highlight of the Fedrik menu is the meat dishes. There are grilled and pan-cooked meat main dishes, schnitzels, and slow-cooked stews. The life of the party is in the “From Our Butcher” section. Meat dishes in this section come in 200 gr. and 300 gr. portions, and cuts are measured by weight, priced per 100 gr. These cuts hover at about 1 kg. each, so they can get quite pricey when charged by the 100 gr. The priced-by-gram items are best shared with the other diners at the table, and trust me, there is plenty to go around.
The BBQ Rum Meat Special (NIS 64 per 100 gr.), sliced and brushed with a smoky BBQ glaze, came sizzling on a grill plate placed in the center of our table. Our server drizzled rum sauce over the meat and ignited it. There is high drama at the table when the sizzling meat is set aflame before your very eyes.
Not much can follow that impressive pyrotechnic display. Dessert becomes just a post-script. We opted for Crack Pie, which was sweet, parve, and anticlimactic.
The transformation of Fedrik took place in the summer. If you have not been to this restaurant since, now is the time to enjoy the warm winter atmosphere and dinner with drama. B’teavon.
Fedrik Meat Restaurant
2 HaKadar St.
Einav Center, Modi’in
Open Sunday-Thursday: Noon-11 p.m. After Shabbat until 11 p.m.
Tel: (08) 856-0644
Kashrut: Hevel Modi’in Rabbinate. Some meat is glatt
The writer and her companions were guests of the restaurant.
The writer is the founder and CEO of eLuna.com, the premier English-language website for kosher restaurants in Israel.
