Boosa in Bentleigh East masterfully moulds authentic Middle Eastern flavours with the Melbourne cafe scene
THEY say the best food is made with love but the bounty at Boosa is also sealed with a kiss. It’s generous of spirit and food, with the perfect proportions of hipster and home style.
Opinion
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THEY say the best food is made with love but the bounty at Boosa is also sealed with a kiss. Boosa means kiss in Arabic, which is what chef/owner Eitam Brami’s Moroccan grandmother would demand from him when he was a little boy. “Give me boosa,” she’d say.
Brami and his wife, Tammy, have taken the name for their new Bentleigh East venture where they’ve masterfully moulded authentic Middle Eastern flavours and combinations to the Melbourne cafe scene.
Having owned Caulfield North’s Einstein’s 251 and its sister, Einstein’s Relative in South Yarra, the couple knows cafes, opening Boosa at the end of June in their local ’hood.
FOOD
The panko eggs ($19.50) are a reworking of the classic shakshouka, landing eggs coated with crumbs and zaatar spice with a triangle of haloumi on a bed of red Moroccan sauce. The Cauli Power ($17.50, right) is a must-order: a thickish slab of free-range spiced bacon with a fried egg,
a tipped jar of tomato salad and three thick-shelled croquettes bursting with cauli goodness. Apply a side serve of dukkah at will. It’s a powerhouse brekkie and artfully presented.
Like it sweet? The Halva Dream ($17.50) is four generous fingers of brioche French toast you load up with halva and chocolate cream, raspberries, jelly cubes and crushed pistachios, while the Panna Cotta Malabi ($16) turns malabi, a rose-scented milk pudding traditionally used
in desserts, into breakfast. It’s made with coconut milk for a lighter finish and matches it with homemade granola, orange-blossom jelly and berries.
There’s also a brilliant kids’ menu. Little ones will especially love the egg and bacon rolls ($7) made with green and red buns coloured with spinach and beetroot.
DRINKS
Shake it up with the straw-clogging Snow White shake ($7), with proper flakes of white chocolate suspended in an ice-cold vanilla milkshake and topped with fairy floss for a proper treat.
Coffee is Five Senses’ caramel Hi Fidelity blend and there’s a new single-origin each week.
Turmeric lattes and a Kick Start smoothie ($8) with acai will please the trendsetters.
SERVICE
Welcoming, friendly and attentive service that will set Boosa apart from the rest, if kept up.
X-FACTOR
Timber warms this minimalist 60-seater in bench seating and at round and square tables, with The Block-worthy brass and matte black finishes and terrazzo flooring.
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
Good pricing given serving sizes and the layers of ingredients on each dish.
VERDICT
Beat a path to Boosa. It’s generous of spirit and food, with the perfect proportions of hipster and home style. Kisses to that.
Boosa
716 Centre Rd, Bentleigh East
9563 7885
FOOD
Middle Eastern cafe
HOURS
Mon-Fri 7am-4pm; Sat-Sun 8am-4pm
CHEF
Eitam Brami
BOOKINGS
No
TIME BETWEEN ORDERING AND EATING
12 minutes
PERFECT FOR
A reliably good feed
DESTINATION DISH
Cauli Power
NOISE FACTOR
Buzzy
ONLINE
REVIEW BY
Megan Miller
PICTURES
Andrew Tauber
REVIEWS ARE UNANNOUNCED AND PAID FOR BY WEEKEND. RESTAURANTS ARE NOT REVIEWED IN THE FIRST MONTH OF OPENING
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