Kazbah is a Moroccan, African and Mediterranean influenced restaurant bringing 3 cultures together. Judging from the prices I would consider this a an up market suburban restaurant. After hearing and reading many reviews about their breakfast and hardly anything on their dinners, I knew what I’d be expecting in terms of the mixed reviews on eatability.
It was luck that my social company for the night had liked this restaurant. So I had to see this for myself. Waiter brought to our attention to share a mixture of dishes rather than go for the full main course cuisine.
Dontcha just love restaurants that cater for children’s needs? Obviously, I don’t have any kids myself (thank god – way to young for that) but I know its always handy to know places that provide some sort of entertainment for kids who have the tendency to run around like tornadoes.
Mezze Plate
From memory this cost $42 for 2 people and we shared this between 4 of us. This is exactly what you would get when going to a Lebanese restaurant but bigger portions that last forever.I found this quite standard.. I think the price is very expensive and Id rather a like mezze platter at Lebanese restaurants as $45 can get you a banquet with grilled meats and dips and bread =| and more..
Crispy Chicken Wings, Honey Orange Blossom Sauce
Lamb Kafta
Lamb was tender and moist and I believe that is the most important part.
Atlantic Salmon Kibbeh Nayeh with Garlic Labne, Salmon Roe and Pickled Turnips
Amazingly yummy, it was like having a home made fish patty. The large Salmon roe explodes in your mouth when consumed.
Fried Cauliflower with Eggplant Jam, Pinenuts, Yoghurt Tahini Sauce
One of my favourites on the mezze platter but that’s because I’m a sucker for greens and salads. Cauliflower was great combination with the pinenuts and yoghurt. *thumbs up*
Tabouleh and Hummus, Babaganouj, Taramasalata
Cant go wrong with these two dishes unless your eating somewhere dodgy. Dips were beautiful.
Crispy Breads
Unusual, I’ve never eaten a crispy super fried bread with hammous and baba ganoush. It was almost like eating a huge smooth plain corn chip without any flavour. I think if the breads were similar to Lebanese cuisine (soft flat breads) it would make dips more drool worthy at tastier. Felt like I was eating a mouth filled with dips cos the breads wouldnt step up and balance it. – Dips were great!!!!
Dukkah Falafel
When I picture Falafel’s I automatically think of how big and crunchy it is. Unfortunately they were quite small. But the advantage of these being small is that its super crunchy.
Ras El-Hanout Soft Shell Crab with Lemon and Herb Toume
Soft shell crab portions were very generous and meaty I would say it was quite a good dish
Grilled Halloumi Cheese
I instantly thought of Perama and their magnificent halloumi. Halloumi is one of those things you cant go wrong with. mmm god damn I love halloumi!
Kazbah Seafood Tagine, Carrot Steamed Couscous
No point coming to Kazbah if your not gonna have a tagine. Couscous is extremely light and healthy, overall nothing fancy about this dish other than the fact its presented on beautiful decor and the dish is complemented by the seafood presentation.
Desert
Sahleb – Middle Eastern Milk Pudding with Fresh Berries and Dried Mix Fruit and Nuts
Thought we’d be different and try something out of our league. Nice pudding with the taste of rose water, almost reminding you of turkish delight. The Persian fairy-floss adds the magical touch to the presentation and the nuts and berries throughout the pudding are delicious. – Definitely give this a go if your not up for playing it safe.
Chocolate Eton Mess
Meringue was cooked to perfection and the mouse and berries were delicious when combine. The boys however found the basket quite strange. Taking a bite of it myself… it felt like I was eating a noodle basket. Definately dessert for chocolate eaters.
Date and Banana Tart with Butterscotch Sauce and Double Cream
Dish didn’t have any cream instead I could see a chunk of butter melting on the top of my tart… WEIRD!!.. This dish was way to sweet that I couldn’t salvage anything. Tart base was delicious and so was the banana.
Moroccan Mint Tea
Definitely must have while having dessert, the waiter suggested we try this tea and it was beautiful. – Definitely for those who love peppermint tea
Kazbah, Balmain
379 Darling St
Balmain NSW 2041
P:(02) 9555 7067
Efendy, Balmain
Arabella Lebanese Cuisine
Franks Lebanese, Fairfield
Ripples, Sydney Wharf
16 Comment
to “Kazbah, Balmain”
12:39 am on November 26th, 2009
great photos. last time i went to kazbah i found it quite expensive and wasn’t too impressed with the mixed entree http://simonfoodfavourites.blogspot.com/2009/05/kazbah-on-darling-balmain-8-may-2009.html but the desserts look really interesting and wish we had more room in the tummy to try. seems every restaurant has a soft shell crab dish these days hehe :-) one day i might give it another go. i’ve heard the breakfasts are better value.
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November 26th, 2009, 9:16 am
Im the same, I was shocked to have seen the mezze plate for 2 costing $42! When at a lebanese restaurant you could get a banquet including grilled meats and more variety of salads and dips for $45pp.
Same ive heard the breakfast is the bomb I always wanted to try breakfast over the darn dinner.
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8:30 am on November 26th, 2009
Soo jealous!! Ahh the haloumi. Kazbah is high on my wishlist but more for the brekkie, we have to go try their breakfast together!
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November 26th, 2009, 9:19 am
Im saving my breakfast experience with you girls.
It was pot luck that I ended up at Kazbah for dinner and I knew i didnt want to eat there cos their breakfasts seem to be a-m-a-z-i-ng. Lets dooo breaky at kazbah wit the girls, then walk around balmain and take a look at their boutique stores & markets ^_^?
Oh while we’re there try out adriano’s new collection
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8:42 am on November 26th, 2009
OOoh freaky! I was at Kazbah for breakfast over the weekend!! It was amazing! You must must try it! And how pretty are all the plates and I loved the crayons! Hehe.
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November 26th, 2009, 9:22 am
AB cant believe you had breaky there with out us LOL!!! just kidding. Definitely have to do breakky there you girls. The plates are preeettyyy and I love their water jugs.. LOLL we were havign competitions to see who could pour water the highest. Not sure if u seen the guys when they pour the water they pour it at 60cm length LOL!!!!!!
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11:43 am on November 26th, 2009
I haven’t eaten at Kazbah for ages and your pics make me so want to go there! And to finish the meal with mint tea in those pretty glasses is a must.
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12:04 pm on November 26th, 2009
Looks like a somewhat pricey place to go for Morrocan/middle eastern sort of foods. Thought the desserts looked interesting though. The sahleb looks like what I imagine a glass of yogurt would look if you left it out for a month. Thought the bird’s nest presentation of the eton mess intersting.
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2:11 pm on November 26th, 2009
Woohaaaa! the food looks awesome!!
Used to work in Balmain but I never heard of it. I must trrrrry!
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5:04 pm on November 26th, 2009
ive wanted to go for ages but will avoid said exxy mezze plate and instead go for that super delicious looking chicken and crab!!! yum!
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12:10 am on November 27th, 2009
I still havnt been! the lines are so long when I drive past heh
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1:01 am on November 27th, 2009
fantastic photos as usual dude! the soft shell crab and the haloumi look awesome oh man so hungry now
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12:26 pm on November 27th, 2009
Looks amazing as usual! Those chicken wings look so delish!!! And interesting take on Eton Mess too. Love the fried cauliflower too. Must try one day ….
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8:51 pm on November 30th, 2009
Umm…”hunk of butter melting on the top of my tart” Break me off a piece of dat!!
The tart looks incredible. I’d smother my face with that.
Man, you guys ate heaps!!! LOL
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10:01 am on December 1st, 2009
This place is my favourite for breakfast and used to be a regular local weekend brunch when I lived in the area. It’s definitely a great place for a family gettogether brunch and the brightness of the place – and the crayons never fails to appeal to me
I normally can’t go past the lamb breakfast tagine so always skip dessert, but I’ll have to try some next time – they look pretty interesting!
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7:21 pm on July 11th, 2010
Breakfast may be good but dinner is anything but. I went to this restaurant with a group of 15 and we decided to get the banquet and at $45 a head we all expected to be leaving there full and satisfied – we were neither. Firstly, it was completely bizarre to me that we had to give credit card details and fill out a form to make the booking. Secondly, we asked to book for 7:30 and were told it was fine then got a phone call telling us we actually wouldnt be able to come until 8:30 which resulted in a few people backing out. We arrived at 8:30 and they were not ready for us and when we were eventually seated it took 40 minutes for us to even get some bread with dip, which was there idea of an entree. The dip came on a plate with 4 tiny pieces of chicken and four very small kafta balls. All the food was gone within a couple of minutes and so we asked for some more bread as we were extremely hungry since it was already 9:30. A waitress then brought us 4 triangles of bread (for 15 people), so we asked for some more and got four more. After asking a third time we got a decent bowl of bread, which they charged us for. The mains then came out – we had two small lamb dishes which came out uncut and without a knife, two platters of fish, two duck and some beef which had no flavour. I was amazed to see that this was all we were going to get for $45 a head. We received no salad and no vegetables and for me, i would have liked some traditional foods like shish kebabs or fattoush. I am a young woman and i was not nearly full when i left – so i am sure the men i was dining with were not satisfied. I have been to many other middle eastern restaurants and have ordered banquets before – such as Cafe Dior in Burwood and Kadmus in Drummoyne. I paid much less and left so so full and satisfied. This place completely ripped us off and i will not be going back.
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My aim is to bring forth all the places I think are great through the eyes of a normal everyday customer hoping one day you'll try a particular place I posted.
I like to portray the experience I had using photos to capture the beauty of a dish. Sometimes people don't have time to read everything so from a visual perspective, i like to provide readers with a photographic experience that will hopefully lure and tickle their taste buds.
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