Sydney is a place spoiled for Lebanese food. There are so many places to enjoy this cuisine and some fairly close to us. However urged by M’s reliable food taste, we’re lured to somewhere a little further afield, in Greenacre. It’s a hot 33 degrees today in Sydney and all we can say is thank god for air conditioning on the drive. We are hungry, made hungrier by the knowledge that delicious food will soon touch our lips and settle in our stomachs.
It’s on a street lined with Arabic signs which M reminisces reminds her of a holiday to the Middle East. We’re visiting in the bright sunshine of midday and walking into the simply decorated restaurant we see crowds of not just Lebanese but other nationalities, all enjoying their food.
The menu is large with some pictures of the platters but of course we steer away from the fish and chips and calamari and chips and go for more traditional Lebanese fare. I leave the ordering up to M as she has been before and whilst we are waiting, we are offered a large plate of complimentary pickles, freshly sliced tomato and olives to go with the thick sheaf of complimentary fresh Lebanese bread stacked like crepes.
Complimentary pickles and bread
We’re pleasantly surprised at these additions, surely it must make one fuller and therefore order less. Still, we enjoy the plate of pickles and the salty olives, M and my husband particularly enjoy the zingy yellow chili.
Baba Ghanouj $6
It’s not long before our selections arrive. First come the dips, the smokey Baba Ghanouj is lovely, even though I usually find Baba Ghanouj too smokey to my taste this one is delicious with the oil, parsley and tomato in centre an inspired touch.
Hommos and Shawarma $12
The Hommos and Shawarma are exactly to my taste, the Hommos incredibly creamy, probably the nicest Hommous I’ve had and the Shawarma, shaved meat are delicious and a little crispy on the outside. I find myself going back to spoonful after spoonful of this delicious dip and the seemingly modest serve is deceptively sized as it goes a long way between the 5 of us.
Felafel $6 for 6
The felafel, one of my favourite items is piping hot and crispy and hard on the outside but gorgeously green and soft on the inside. In a word - gorgeous, and I wish I lived closer so I could buy these more often.
Fried Kibbeh $8 for6
I’ve had Kibbeh a few times before, the last time at Claude’s but obviously here it’s different. It’s decent, with the same crispy hard outer but with a dryish mince inner. Although if I had to choose between the felafel and the teardrop shaped kibbeh I would side with the felafel.
Mixed Meat Platter Medium $34
We’re full by now but they set down the last of our meals, the Mixed Meat platter featuring chicken, lamb and shish kebab. I find the lamb too chewy (it reminds me of the heart that we had in Tokyo in smell and chewiness) so I leave this behind. But the chicken and particularly the Shish Kebab are deliciously tender and flavoursome and divine when dipped in the fluffy garlic dip. It’s a tangy dip that we all love so much that we ask how it’s made and we’re told its made with potatoes, oil and garlic.
With 5 of us, we’ve barely managed to make a dent in the meat platter due to our full to the brim stomachs. S tried to convince his mum M that he has room for dessert but she’s not fooled. They give us plastic containers to take the leftovers away. Meanwhile S and In come back from the male bathrooms and report excitedly that there is a giant toothbrush behind the toilet. M tells them that it is a toilet brush but when my husband goes in to use the facilities he confirms that whilst it is probably a toilet brush, it does actually look like a giant toothbrush!
Al Aseel Lebanese Restaurant
4/173 Waterloo Road, Greenacre Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9758 6744
Open: Sunday-Thursday 9am-9pm, Friday and Saturday 9am-10pm
Vegetarian options: several
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19 Comments | Add your own
Oh jeez, now I’m tempted to go there this weekend. And I don’t even know where Greenacre is …
Glad you enjoyed it - looks like a great feast typical of Lebanese food
If you are ever in the area again, you should definitely try El-Mannarah in Lakemba. Amazing Lebanese food for ridiculously cheap prices.
As for the toum (garlic spread), it is traditionally made by throwing loads of cloves in the food processor, and very slowly adding olive oil, plus salt and lemon juice to flavour.
Adding potato to thicken it up is done commercially, and my purist mother and grandmother would be tsk tsking if they read that! They are such purists, insisting we make all our own garlic at home and refusing to ever purchase it from anywhere!
Lovely photos, Lorraine. Love the presentation of all that food. Certainly makes me wish I was going there for lunch!
I like Lebanese food because it’s very meaty. Beef…yum.
oh my god that is making me so hungry, luckily it’s lunch time! Lebanese food is the best. I haven’t been to greenacre before, but I have been to a restaurant in Lakemba called La Roche a couple of times that is so good and so cheap.
It’s quite small in there so we get platters take away and eat them in the comfort of our home so we can take as long as we need, cause you need a while to eat all the food!
If you are interested in more of this kind of food, check out Sammy’s on President Avenue in Kogarah. The food is sensational and the best Lebanese food I have had in years. Cheap as chips too and lovely service.
You do get around, don’t you? It’s great that you (and your readers) can suggest some of the more out of the way places for us to try. I just wish I had a more adventurous palate…those felafels look yum.
Such moorish food! I miss having lebanese food with dad in the outer suburbs in Melbourne. This place is on the way to my uncle’s place. Thank you for the recommendation!
Check out Jasmin’s at Lakemba. Their mixed platter is $12 or $14 and they were soooooo good! Their hoummus, garlic dip and felafels were excellent.
Mmm felafel.. I recently tried to make it for the first time, and have the remaining raw mix in my freezer, as I can’t fry things to save my life! Getting a felafel lesson when my mum comes up to Sydney for Xmas…
Oommgg the meat platterrr YUMM^^! The Hommos and Sharwarma also looks very appetizing… *drool drool*
Hi SydneyGal-I didn’t really know either but I love going to new places. It makes me feel like I’m on holidays.
Hi IllegallyBlonde-Thanks for the rec, I’ll give it a try if I am in the area next which admittedly is not often, I wish it was closer.
Interesting about the toum, I could eat buckets of the stuff it’s so good. I might look for it at a shop so I can keep it in supply orat else give it go making it at home!
Hi Y-Thanks so much! I was craving the felafels for days afterward…
Hi Kym-Certainly is, especially the meat platter!
Hi Susan-It is great food I agree. Thanks for the rec!
Ahh that’s a nice idea, there always seems to be so much food (not a bad thing at all!)
Hi jules-Thanks for the rec! I will give that a go if I am in the area
Hi belle-I love to travel for food, I look at it as an adventure and luckily so do my friends
You seem like you do have an adventurous palate though!
Hi Maria-Oh cool! Sounds like a good reason to stop off there. I should eat it more often as I love it too
Hi V-wow, that’s very reasonable. I’ve heard Jasmin is very good and the felafels at both Jasmin and Al Aseel are on par. Thanks for the rec!
Hi Reemski-Oooh can I come along? Just kidding!
Lucky you to get a lesson in making felafel though! I’d love one!
Hi FFichiban-The Hommous was so creamy and good and when you add meat, well I never complain about that
now you’re speaking my language! this is some of my absolute favorite food. that hummus in particular looks amazing–so pure and smooth. yum.
What a feast! I’ve never eaten at a Lebanese restaurant, but I’m familiar with a lot of the dishes. Everything looks fantastic, especially the array of pickles you started off with.
Hi grace-The hummous was really so good, I think I’m ruined for life now for hummous
Hi Angela-It was indeed!
I was so surprised at the big plate of pickles, it was a great start to the meal!
ACtually this is a place i really want to try!!
I love Lebanese food and ive just read so many good things about it so thanks for the blog, i think i’ll just have to convince some friends to come with me now!!
Hi Sydneyguyrojoe-It’s well worth the trip, the food is fantastic and I can’t stop thinking about the felafel
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[...] making the most of our trip Out West today. Earlier in the day we’d eaten at Al Aseel in Greenacre and later that day we find ourselves at the busy Auburn Festival sprawled across a few central [...]
[...] are shaped in the shape of triangles and spades and are the polar opposite of the Felafel at Al Aseel which were crunchy on the outside. These are so soft but delicious and I wonder how they managed to [...]
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