Kuli Alma is 3 floors of art, music and craft beer in a former warehouse on Mikveh Israel Street in South Tel Aviv. The exterior is painted floor-to-ceiling with large-format street murals, changed twice a year, which means the building is a landmark even when the doors are shut. Inside, the rotating gallery installations compete with the sound system for your attention and both deserve it.
The programming runs Thursday through Saturday from 22:00 and covers techno, minimal house, electronica and the occasional experimental music event. The resident DJs are from the Tel Aviv underground — the kind of programmers who have played across Europe without acquiring any of the airs that implies. International names appear roughly once a month. The Thursday crowd is the best in the city: creative, mixed, genuinely there for the music rather than the scene.
The bar holds a short, rotating list of Israeli and European craft beers — 8 on draught, another 20 in bottles. Prices are significantly below the central Tel Aviv average, which explains why the place fills early and stays full. The staff know their regulars and treat strangers with the same warmth. There is a small kitchen that operates until about 01:00 with simple plates of hummus, pita and mezze.
Kuli Alma closes for three months in summer when the outdoor terrace at Teder.fm a few streets away takes over as the city's focal point. If you are visiting Tel Aviv between November and April, put this on the itinerary. It is the honest version of what every city's "underground" bar scene claims to be but rarely is. Walk in, buy a beer, look at the art, find the music. For a different kind of Florentin discovery — quieter, more intimate, and built around extraordinary cocktails — Bellboy Bar on Florentin Street is a 30-seat hidden gem with no sign on the door and some of the most creative Levantine-inspired bartending in the country.
