“Three years back, when I discovered this perfect spot, it hit me: this was my chance to cook what's right in front of me, between the mountains and the sea.” That is Dan Zoaretz on Peigam, the restaurant he opened around 2021 in a renovated stone house above the amphitheatre in Ein Hod, the artists' village south of Haifa. After twenty years cooking in city restaurants, he built a kitchen around the catch from the Carmel coast and the seasonal harvest from the hillside. Expect about ₪160 to ₪180 a head.
The Kitchen
Dan Zoaretz spent two decades in city kitchens before he found the stone house at Ein Hod and opened Peigam there around 2021. His line is short and local: fish and seafood landed on the Carmel coast, vegetables and herbs gathered from the hillside in season, and regional growers for the rest. The food carries unconventional Middle Eastern flavours rather than a fixed menu, so the board changes with what the sea and the slope give up that week.
What stays constant is the source. Grilled Carmel-coast fish is the heart of the kitchen, set against sharp Levantine seasoning, and the seafood small plates are built to be picked at over a long table. A carefully chosen list of local wine and arak runs alongside, which is part of why the room works as well for a drink and a few plates as for a full dinner. Plan on roughly ₪160 to ₪180 a head before drinks. The setting is the other half of the story: a historic stone house above the Ein Hod amphitheatre, renovated by hand, with the cooking literally pointed at the Carmel coast it draws from. Zoaretz is usually there, on the pass and in the room.
The Room
Peigam seats guests outside, on a terrace built into the slope above the Ein Hod amphitheatre, so the room is really the hillside and the view down toward the Carmel coast. The mood is rustic and relaxed rather than formal, candle-and-lamp lit after dark, with the stone house behind you and the sea ahead. Tables are generously spaced across the terrace, and the sound level stays low; conversation carries easily. There is no dress code, though the evening cool off the sea means a layer is worth bringing. Service is warm and unhurried.
Best for First Date
Book Peigam for a first date because the setting carries the evening. The terrace looks out over the Carmel coast, the tables are spaced far enough apart to talk without an audience, and the room runs at a slow pace that suits a long conversation. The format helps too: a few shared plates and a glass of local wine is lower-stakes than a fixed tasting, so neither of you is locked into three formal hours. Picture a warm evening, the lights of the coast below, and a grilled fish between you. See our first-date guide for more.
Not for a rainy night or a winter date. Seating is outdoors on the hillside terrace, so a cold or wet evening loses the whole point of the room.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Peigam worth it?
Yes, if you go for the setting and the source as much as the food. Peigam is chef Dan Zoaretz's stone-house kitchen above Ein Hod, cooking Carmel-coast fish and seafood with a local wine and arak list, at around ₪160 to ₪180 a head. Portions lean refined rather than generous, so come for a slow evening on the terrace, not a big feed. The view down to the coast is the draw.
How hard is it to book Peigam?
Moderately hard on weekends, easier midweek. Peigam keeps limited outdoor seating and shorter open days, generally Wednesday through Saturday, so Friday and Saturday tables go first. Book through Ontopo online or by phone and WhatsApp, and give a weekend evening several days of notice. Because the seating is all outdoors, it is worth checking the forecast and confirming when the weather looks marginal.
What should I order at Peigam?
Order around the fish. The kitchen is built on the Carmel-coast catch, so the grilled local fish and the seafood small plates are the dishes to centre a meal on, backed by whatever vegetables are in season from the hillside. Add a bottle from the local wine list or an arak, and treat it as a spread of shared plates rather than a fixed run of courses. Ask the floor what landed that day.
What is the dress code at Peigam?
There is no dress code. Peigam is a relaxed, rustic terrace in the Ein Hod artists' village, and casual dress is the norm. The one thing worth planning for is the weather: seating is outdoors on the hillside, so bring a layer for the evening cool coming off the sea, and sensible shoes for the village's uneven stone paths. Comfort matters more than formality here.