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Middle Eastern

Knafeh Nabulseyeh’s chicken shawarma wrap.
Critics' Pick

I’ve waited up to half an hour for this $16 shawarma. I’d do it again in a heartbeat

Besha Rodell is a sucker for shawarma, and Knafeh Nabulseyeh’s perfectly proportioned wrap is her latest obsession.

  • Besha Rodell
Flatbread and lamb are just some of the dishes cooked over the woodfire coals at Isme.

Flame-licked flatbread and HSP bites: Your cheat sheet to a revived Lebanese diner

After closing its cosy Fitzroy restaurant in 2022, Isme is back, occupying a sleek new site in Thornbury and serving a fresh raft of dishes with contemporary flair.

  • Emily Holgate
Beit Siti puts a twist on Danishes, adding labneh and pomegranate.

Beit Siti

A homely cafe serving riffs on Palestinian dishes.

  • Kosa Monteith
Baklava ice cream sandwich at Shamiat.

Three family-run Middle Eastern restaurants with soul in spades

Get a taste of home-style Middle Eastern flavours, from bowls of cosy lamb dumplings to cheesy pastries and vibrant falafel.

  • Kosa Monteith
Falafel with tahini, pickles and zhoug.
14/20

One of Melbourne’s favourite falafel crosses the river to get to this southside bar

It’s worth coming to cocktail bar Nobody’s Baby for the crunchy-fluffy falafel alone.

  • Dani Valent
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The arayes pita with tomato salad and amba.

Kepos Street Kitchen

This cafe is a finalist in the best all-rounder category in Good Food’s Essential Sydney Cafes and Bakeries of 2025.

Nabil Hassan, owner of Half Moon Cafe in Coburg.

Half Moon Cafe

Inside Windsor’s Maha East.

Maha East

The Windsor offshoot of a hatted CBD restaurant.

  • Emily Holgate
Mohammad Ismail with the first batch of Palestinian nabulsi knafeh at his Lakemba Nights stall.

From stretchy knafeh to top-value biryani: Where to eat during Ramadan in Sydney

With feasts spanning Sydney from Liverpool to Surry Hills, try these delicious events and specials during Ramadan this year.

  • Isabel Cant
Jamsheed’s converted industrial dining room.
14/20

The mash-up of cuisines at this suburban winery makes our critic ‘giddy’ (in a good way)

Clara Luna serves bar food, but it’s also soul food; Middle Eastern and South American, but also Australian.

  • Besha Rodell

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/goodfood/topic/middle-eastern-lcv