Middle Eastern restaurants in Melbourne
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A
Abla’s
Melbourne’s best-loved Lebanese restaurant is often booked solid, and the culinary genius of chef and proprietor Abla Amad’s is so good it’s inspired an entire cookbook. On Friday and Saturday nights there’s a compulsory 13-course banquet; BYO vino and don the elasticised pants.
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B
Rumi
A fabulously well-considered place that serves up a mix of traditional Lebanese cooking and contemporary interpretations of old Persian dishes. The sigara boregi (cheese and pine-nut pastries) are a local institution and tasty mains like meatballs are balanced with a large and interesting selection of vegetable dishes (the near-caramelised cauliflower and the broad beans are standouts). Cool décor and excellent Victorian wines are a bonus.
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C
Maha
This sophisticated bar and grill occupies a subterranean pocket on unassuming Bond St and fuses tangy Middle Eastern flavours with Mediterranean overtones and local produce. The result is delicious. Make a booking for lunch or dinner and dine on 12-hour lamb rump, onion, chick pea, mint and fazoulia salatet (salad) or park yourself at the bar for inexpensive meze – the slow-cooked tuna with capers and olives is spectacular.
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D
Mo Mo
Adjoining rooms in this celebrated restaurant are reminiscent of a ducking-and-weaving market bazaar, minus the mayhem. Mo Mo's austere service and tiled terracotta interior envelope well-spaced linen-dressed tables. Celebrity chef/author Greg Malouf's deservedly excellent reputation is built on his ability to prepare authentic ingredients with deft wizardry. Uncrinkle your going-out clothes for a night here. Enter from George Pde.
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E
Deanery
This stylish converted car park has been architecturally designed for city dwellers (with limited space) to park their wine collections. The Deanery also has its own humbling selection of wines for walk-ins, which rates among the city's best. Though the focus is on wine, food is more than an afterthought, with a range of modern bistro meals with a Middle Eastern bent on offer.
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F
Mama Ganoush
This is Middle Eastern food that remains true to its roots while being modern and new. The space is full of delicate arabesque screens; the kibbes, tagines and puddings are full of thought, passion and flavour. It’s run by the brother of renowned chef and writer Greg Malouf, Geoff, and he also knows a thing or two about Levantine flavours.
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G
Mecca Bah
This opulent hexagon-shaped restaurant serves Turkish pizza and a selection of mezze all day. Their mains – mostly tagines and grills – are hearty and spicy (welcome when the wind is whipping up the bay outside), as are the open Bedouin-style fireplaces.
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