Cafe 99: Morning Light on the Mediterranean Shore

The first thing you notice is the light. It pours through floor to ceiling windows, catching the surface of the sea and scattering it across white tablecloths and polished silverware. Outside, the Mediterranean stretches to the horizon, sailboats rocking gently against the marina. Inside, a pastry counter gleams with golden croissants, layered cheesecakes, and rows of jewel colored macarons. The hum of an espresso machine punctuates quiet conversation. A waiter sets down a cappuccino, steam curling upward, and the morning at Cafe 99 begins.

This is the ground floor of the Dan Tel Aviv Hotel, the beachfront landmark that has anchored HaYarkon Street since 1953. Cafe 99 operates independently of the hotel's guest breakfast, welcoming the public into a dining room that feels more European grand cafe than Israeli hotel lobby. Chef Boris Faukman, who oversees the kitchen, has shaped the menu around a single conviction: that a great breakfast is not a buffet to be endured, but a composed meal to be savored.