Tagos: The Ashkelon Marina Sandwich Bar That Stays Up Past Midnight

The brisket sandwich lands on the bar half wrapped in butcher paper, leaking a dark slick of jus into the crease. A plate of bone marrow sits beside it, lacquered and glistening, with a small spoon balanced on the rim. Outside the window, the masts of the Ashkelon Marina trace thin black lines against a navy sky, halyards clinking in the breeze. Inside, the espresso machine hisses, a shaker rattles behind the bar, and someone at the next stool is photographing churros under a brass pendant lamp. It is half past eleven on a Tuesday night, the kitchen is still firing, and Tagos shows no sign of winding down. This is the late night kosher sandwich room Ashkelon has been quietly waiting for.

The menu at Tagos is short on purpose. Five signature sandwiches anchor the entire concept, each built around a different cut of meat with its own bespoke combination of sauces and toppings. Owners Tal Zohar and Gal Bar, the same team behind the Neapolitan pizzeria Basilika one street over, spent years developing this lineup. Tal worked in butcher shops before opening restaurants, and that hands on meat knowledge shows in every plate.