Kazbah Balmain
NileGuide Expert Says:
One of the best breakfasts in town; their coffee also rocksAddress:
Phone:
(02) 9555 7067Description:
The Middle East meets the inner west, by way of Morocco, with this bustling Balmain institution serving up innovative and inexpensive North African and Turkish cuisine. Portions are enormous, the coffee great, so you'd be well advised to fast before venturing to Kazbah.The large open room, with its ochre-colored walls, giant flower-filled pot in the centre, ornate lanterns and Moroccan artefacts positively buzzes with people and aromas, especially around breakfast/brunch time.
Do try their famous feta potato cake, with smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and red wine onion marmalade. Or if you fasted long enough, give the breakfast tagine a shot, with its lamb mince, sucuk, spinach, and roast vegetables.
Dinner is just as delectable, with the more traditional dips and mezzos plates to share. The aromatic menu changes regularly to reflect that season's produce, but look for stalwarts like the cumin battered soft shell crab with chermoula lime dressing, or goat haira soup.
Zahi Azzi and his wife Penny, opened Kazbah in 1998. It has since spawned another three 'siblings' around the city; testimony to their culinary inventiveness and gracious hospitality.
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