The short answer
The most important practical rule is this: availability is address specific, not simply city specific. Enter the exact hotel, apartment or office before you assume a restaurant delivers there, what the fee will be or whether it is open on Shabbat.
For tourists, the two biggest uncertainties are foreign phone number registration and foreign card acceptance. Neither should be described as guaranteed across every platform. A backup payment card and a phone that can receive SMS or calls can save a lot of frustration.
The main delivery apps
Wolt
Wolt was active across a large number of Israeli regions at the research cutoff, including Tel Aviv/Gush Dan, Jerusalem, Haifa and the Krayot, Beersheba, Eilat, Ashdod, Ashkelon and many northern and central areas.
It supports restaurant delivery, pickup, scheduled orders, group orders, groceries, convenience stores, pharmacies and other retail categories in supported areas.
Wolt’s fees can include delivery, service/operating charges and a minimum order adjustment. Those charges are dynamic and shown before the order is submitted. There is no useful national “standard delivery fee.”
Wolt+ exists in Israel, but the monthly price, qualifying distance, merchant list and minimum basket can change. Treat those as updateable facts.
Ten Bis / 10bis
Ten Bis is both a consumer food ordering platform and a major workplace meal benefit system. Ordinary users can order without having an employer funded Ten Bis card, while corporate users may have a budget set by their employer.
This distinction matters because Apple Pay/Google Pay features documented for a Ten Bis benefit card do not automatically prove that every ordinary restaurant checkout supports those wallets.
Mishloha
Mishloha remains an active restaurant discovery and ordering platform. Restaurant level conditions are especially important: delivery fee, minimum order, cash availability, payment method and delivery radius can differ from one listing to another.
Mishloha can therefore be useful when a restaurant offers conditions not available elsewhere, but tourists should not assume foreign cards or foreign phone numbers are universally supported.
Can tourists use the apps?
Usually, yes in practical terms, but the exact onboarding can be the annoying part.
A tourist needs: - Smartphone with data or Wi Fi - A phone number that can complete any required SMS verification - A payment method accepted at checkout - The exact delivery address - A way to be reached by the courier
Wolt’s terms do not state that an Israeli identity card is required for an ordinary customer account. Ten Bis’s consumer app is open to users without an employer card. Mishloha supports consumer card payments.
What the public documentation did not establish was a blanket promise that every foreign number, foreign Visa/Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay or Google Pay configuration works in every app.
If one card fails, try a second legitimate card. Do not invent an Israeli billing address.
How to enter an Israeli address
Address entry causes more failed deliveries than most visitors expect.
Use: 1. Street name 2. Building number 3. City 4. Entrance or building letter 5. Floor 6. Apartment/room/office 7. Entry code, if needed 8. Intercom name 9. A map pin at the correct entrance
English spellings of Hebrew street names can vary. “Ibn Gabirol” and “Even Gvirol” can refer to the same street. The map pin is often more reliable than transliteration alone.
Hotels
Use the hotel’s official street address and put the hotel name in the delivery note. The safest instruction is usually: “I will meet you in the main lobby.”
Tell reception a food delivery is coming. Do not assume the courier is allowed onto guest floors.
Airbnb and apartments
Include entrance, floor, apartment and building code. If the building is hard to find, move the map pin to the correct door and offer to meet outside.
Offices and public places
For office towers, include company name, lobby and floor. For beaches, parks, hospitals or campuses, use a precise meeting point and do not expect a courier to enter a secure area.
Payment, cash and fees
A final order can contain: - Menu price - Delivery fee - Service/operating fee - Small order or minimum adjustment - Optional tip - Subscription discount - Card issuer currency or foreign transaction charges
Always compare the final checkout total, not just the delivery fee. Platform menu prices can differ from a restaurant’s direct prices.
Cash is not universal. No general Wolt or Ten Bis cash option was verified. Mishloha has restaurant specific examples where cash is accepted. Direct restaurant orders may also accept cash, but only when the restaurant explicitly says so.
Tipping couriers
Tipping is a cultural choice, not a mandatory platform charge. Do not publish a universal percentage or shekel amount as a rule without current survey data.
If the app offers an in app tip, use that feature. Cash tipping is also possible when you meet the courier.
Delivery on Shabbat
Food delivery does not shut down nationally on Shabbat.
The pattern is local: - Many kosher restaurants close before Shabbat. - Non kosher restaurants may stay open. - Tel Aviv and parts of Haifa generally retain more options. - Jerusalem often has a sharper reduction, especially in religious neighborhoods. - Arab restaurants and localities may follow different operating patterns. - Saturday evening reopening changes with the season.
The safest method is to enter the exact address at the time you want to order. City coverage alone does not prove that food will be available.
Yom Kippur is a different case: expect exceptional disruption and widespread closure. Passover can change menus, bread products, kosher status and opening patterns.
What kinds of food are available?
In large cities, delivery apps commonly offer Israeli and Middle Eastern food alongside pizza, burgers, sushi, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Georgian, Ethiopian, Arab food, bakeries, desserts, salads, vegan food and more.
Not every category is available at every address.
For kosher food, verify the current certificate and branch. An app label is not a guarantee that the platform independently verified kashrut.
For halal, look for an explicit restaurant statement or certification. Do not assume a restaurant is halal because it serves Arab or Middle Eastern food.
For severe allergies, contact the restaurant directly. A free text note in the app is not enough.
Pickup and takeaway
Pickup can be the simplest way to avoid waiting for a courier when you are already near the restaurant.
Select “pickup,” “takeaway,” “takeout” or איסוף עצמי, confirm the exact branch, pay using the offered method and wait for the ready notification or stated collection time.
Pickup can avoid a delivery fee, but do not assume it removes every platform charge or that menu prices match the restaurant’s walk in menu.
When something goes wrong
Missing or wrong item
Open the order, contact support promptly, identify the item and upload a photo if requested. Keep the bag and packaging until the case is resolved.
Order never arrives
Check the live status, verify the pin and address, contact the courier if available and then support. Do not immediately place a duplicate order while the first one still shows as active.
Cancellation
Perishable food often cannot be cancelled once the restaurant has begun processing the order. Wolt’s terms are particularly clear on this point. Check branch, address, items and delivery/pickup mode before pressing submit.
Refunds
A remedy can be a full refund, partial refund, app credit or another solution. Card refunds can take time to appear because the card issuer controls final posting.
Delivery during security alerts
Security events can interrupt restaurants, roads and courier movement by neighborhood.
Follow Home Front Command instructions. Do not ask a courier to ignore an alert, enter a restricted area or continue a delivery when movement is unsafe.
A tourist ordering dinner in Tel Aviv
A workable sequence looks like this:
- Connect to data or hotel Wi-Fi.
- Open Wolt, 10bis or another verified platform.
- Enter the hotel’s official address.
- Confirm the map pin at the main entrance.
- Choose a restaurant currently delivering there.
- Review the final price, including fees.
- Pay with an accepted card.
- Add “Hotel guest: I will meet you in the main lobby.”
- Tell reception.
- Track the courier and go down before arrival.
That small amount of preparation eliminates most of the friction.
