By: Becca Berland

The Carmel Market offers market-goers a bustling view of everyday life in Tel Aviv. It’s always hot, it’s always busy, and it’s always interesting. While most people stick to the veggie, fruit, spice and bread vendors on Carmel Street, they would be missing some of the most spectacular vendors who find themselves nestled in the side streets of the bustling shuk.

Along Yom Tov Street you’ll find fish and meat vendors with their goods proudly on display (read: in your face meat pieces) in cases of all sizes. The hipster, Brooklyn-looking Meat Market butcher shop is located at the end of the street, opened by a young chef and lawyer looking to offer a finer aesthetic than the neighboring shops.

You’ll find the sleek black and white sign located above a group of lively men with aprons and massive knives in hand. Nati, age 32, was born in Argentina and chose to move to a kibbutz in the desert. He moved to Tel Aviv with his girlfriend (soon-to-be-wife) and began working at Meat Market in the Shuk HaCarmel.

While Meat Market stocks nearly every cut of meat you could possibly imagine (thanks to the massive meat fridge behind the working area), Nati told us that ground meat is the most commonly sold item. “The Denver cut of a ribeye is my favorite cut of meat,” he claims with pride and a gentle smile.

The latest addition to the market is around the corner from the Meat Market shop, you can taste their wares in a sit down spot where you can order one of their slabs of high-quality meat to be cooked on the spot, to order (open during shuk hours, closed in the evenings).