Middle Eastern Tacos. Oh yes, they’re a thing. Well, they are now.
Lillah Kitchen in Lane Cove is mixing the melting pot that is Middle Eastern fare right up. What’s coming out are some serious showstoppers. The new restaurant from Trevor Blye and Chef Roy Ner is full to bursting with those flavours that we love – bite-sized falafel served on beds of charcoal tahini, florets of fried cauliflower dotted with pomegranate, and grilled harissa chicken. But that’s not all.
Those tacos arrive two to a serve, with bite sized pieces of smoked zaatar lamb on little beds of cultivated yoghurt and capsicum salsa. Wrap them up in the thin circles of pastry that comes all the way from Yemen and try your best to eat slowly – savour each bite because these babies are seriously good.
Behold, the Middle Eastern Taco
Then there’s Lillah’s take on the Fattoush salad – no cucumber is a little controversial for this classic, but with a medley of five different types of heirloom tomatoes, and plenty of radish, you won’t miss it.
Fresh, colourful vegetable dishes like the fattoush make up the Lillah’s Garden section of the menu – eggplant, cauliflower, spiced beetroot, even a raw root salad make this a great place for vegetarians. Meat eaters will drool over the slow cooked beef hummus bowl and the steak dishes that are cooked right up front of the open kitchen on the custom made Parilla Grill.
The grill is just one of the many custom pieces on site – originally a noodle house, it’s easy to see Blye and his team have put their hearts and souls into making Lillah somewhere special. Each table has custom-made slots for purses, wallets, phones, keys – there’s even USB chargers inside so you can recharge your phone and your stomach at the same time. These handy cubby holes get all the paraphernalia we end up popping on the table out of the way, with Blye wanting to make the focus of your feast the food, not your phone.
With kids menus, those grown up cocktails, and takeaway menus coming soon, Lillah is a great spot for families, couples, friends, groups, anyone who wants to connect over really, really good food.
Lillah Kitchen
128 Longueville Road, Lane Cove
https://www.lillahkitchen.com/
