I always have an eye or ear out for blogging opportunities. With an ear to the ground and a loyal readership that generously share their recommendations with me, I love seeking out new places that I haven’t tried before. So this evening when we drive past Wilsons we see a cafe on the opposite side of the road which has a large crowd gathered around it. I get excited and say “Oooh let’s check that place out!” to Queen Viv and Miss America, my intrepid dining pals and we head towards Cafe Cana. Getting closer, we encounter some curious looks and it suddenly dawns on us that we’ve almost gatecrashed a dinner session feeding dinner to the homeless. Yes, embarrassing but true.
Sheepishly, we head off to Wilson’s, a Lebanese restaurant which opened over 30 years ago and is said to be Sydney’s oldest Lebanese restaurant. And why the rather un-Lebanese sounding name of Wilson’s? Apparently “Wilson” was the anglicised version of the original Lebanese chef’s name.
The sign is cracked and repaired but when we step in, it’s all retro but charmingly so. With a parachute ceiling and what we can assume to be the original fixtures and decor, it’s like a step back in time. Queen Viv recalls seeing older Lebanese men sitting outside on crates on a hot Summer’s night although this cold, wet rainy Winter’s night there are none.
Cinnamon tea $3
There are two other tables but things are quiet here. We order a range of dishes from the menu and they come out in quick succession. Meanwhile I warm myself with the cinnamon tea which is sweet and heady in cinnamon.
Mixed dips $16
We start with the Mixed dips which is not a huge serve but has babaganoush, hommous, tabouli, two crispy felafel and a pile of soft bread. It’s delicious and we learn the standout dish of the night, particularly when you mix the dips and tabouli and a bit of felafel and pile it on top of the bread.
Kibbeh $10
The serve of kibbeh arrive. The oval shaped minced lamb kibbeh are a little dry and a bit muttony in flavour and probably not the table’s favourite although they aren’t too bad when you use eat them with the dips and tabouli.
Foul M’damas $9.50
Our bowl of foul m’damas (pronounced fool). Foul has a long history in Middle Eastern cuisine and a restaurant’s Foul is said to be very important. With fava beans, chickpeas, tomato, lemon juice and plenty of parsley it’s refreshing and healthy but filling. Because it is so filling, people are said to eat this for breakfast in preparation for fasting for Ramadan.
Bamieh $9.50
The Bamieh or okra stew is the vegetarian version without meat and the tomato based sauce and the uniqely texured okra (what some would call slimy) isn’t bad although it’s not my favourite dish. The accompanying rice isn’t particularly well cooked.
Eggplant casserole $12
The eggplant casserole is flavoursome with the juicy cubes of eggplant in a similar onion and tomato sauce and it’s just the ticket for this cold Winter’s evening. Again the rice doesn’t do the dish any favours.
Baklava $3
If you didn’t know that I was a baklava addict, it’s because I’ve kept it secret from you up until recently because of the sheer number of these sweet little morsels I can consume. Queen Viv and I order a piece of this each and I bite into a piece. It’s fantastic-absolutely so. Beautifully nutty and with an almost browned butter taste we insist that Miss America try. We ask and the waitress confirms that it is made on the premises.
Turkish Delight $3
The Turkish delight is good but the baklava is a hard act to follow.
Mint Tea $3
As we leave there is one large table being fed baklava and having what sounds to be a good time but apart from that it’s empty. Perhaps they’ve migrated to the cluster of Lebanese restaurants on the Cleveland Street area. A shame as the baklava is so good, it deserves a visit for that alone.
So tell me Dear Readers, what’s your favourite Lebanese dish? Are you addicted to Baklava like I am or is it the dips? Or perhaps something a bit more unusual?
Wilson’s Lebanese Restaurant
91 Pitt Street, Redfern, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9319 6775
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35 Comments | Add your own
Looks like you had a great meal! The egglant casserole looks fantastic. If I have to pick a favorite, I have to go with the dips.
Great looking food – I fancy the foul m’damas (not something I’ve ever heard of before, but looks good). Favourite Lebanese dish?? Hmmm – anything cooked in vine leaves, and of course, baklava
We have loads of lebanese restaurants here in São Paulo – some very simple, some fancy. My all time favorite has to be the sfiha – have you tried it?
I actually had to ask my parents about lebanese food, because my only real experience of it is kebabs, which is a shame. I mean, I always go with tabbouleh and that yogurt garlic, (i know the name… but I’ve drawn a blank) and lamb.
I also am a huge fan of baklava, particularly ones with lots of green pistachio. But can only eat small amounts.
I would love to try some more lebanese food, and even have a little place picked out to try in west end. Now i just need the money and the company.
I love the parachute ceiling. I love lebanese dips & bread, could eat them all day!
The dips looked appetising but I’m afreaid the rest didnt really look all that good. I really enjoyed the lebanese fare on offer at Zenobias. I especially adore their fattoush and babaganoush
That’s interesting about the Foul, it does look very filling but healthy! Is it just me who always thinks of Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs whenever I hear someone say fava beans? :S
Oh I love a good babaganoush! I can eat that all the time (actually I love anything eggplant-y). Oh and who could say no to baklava, right? That stuff is sweet-sickeningly addictive.
Now you have me craving baklava again…. now to find time to make some more
The first dish sounds like it’d be my favourite too. It is hard to go past the dips. There used to be a takeaway Lebanese place near us in Canberra called Kizmet. They did this amazing potato salad with chilli and dill and I think it was dressed with olive oil but I’ve never found it anywhere else, I even tried goggling to make it myself. They also did fantastic zucchini balls. Then they sold it and some non-Lebanese people bought it and it was never as good.
If I could eat dips and baklava all day I have no doubt I would!
I’ll be dreaming of delicious babaganoush all day now….Mmmmmmmm
oooh i used to live around the corner from Wilsons! I have a soft spot for their felafel which i personally think are some of the best felafels in sydney.
There is a convenience store next door as well that do super cheap lebanese rolls, felafel roll used to be $4. might be a bit more now. yarrrm
Being from Lebanese background i would have to say the best Lebanese i’ve had (besides my mum’s of course) is at Arax in Willoughby and they even make good wood-fired pizza! Al-aseel in Greenacre is also at the top.
You must try the samke harrah which translates to chilli fish and has this wonderful tahini sauce, yum!
You’re very brave to have tried Wilson’s. It used to be my fave Lebanese place, in the city at least, but last time I went there it was really not good at all. And I find the atmosphere pretty depressing.
I’ve noticed that charity cafe across the road and fantasised about baking some delicious cakes and cookies and dropping them off. Any excuse to bake, for me. I wonder the what the rules around that kind of thing are? I could see me doing that a lot when the kids are gone, but I’m probably romanticising the whole thing!
the one thing that i am now absolutely addicted to is kibbeh nayeh (raw minced lamb mixed with kibbeh, onions and spices). you don’t actually taste the raw lamb, instead its the spices you end up tasting. eat it with leb bread and there’s your perfect entree
Ooops, just remembered the place near us was Turkish not Lebanese! It was yum though.
I second the rec for Al Aseel in Greenacre. Cheap and totally delish. There is an excellent patisserie next door that sells the most divine Lebanese biscuits and sweets. Baklava in wagon wheel size baking pans!
Also for a bit more upmarket experience, we head Le Sarab on Majors Bay Rd in Concord. Especially love the garlic dip called Toum at both these places.
My all time favourite Lebanese dishes are garlic chicken (bbq chicken skewers with lashings of toum), lamb mince skewers (kofta) and the dips.
I’ve never really tried much lebanese food, but your post reminded me that there are tons of lebanese restaurants around my area. I need to start trying some of these new foods!
I love love love lady’s fingers! Minced meat wrapped in pastry and ether fried or baked. Dips are amazing too, so many flavours! And I second the lamb kofta. We are lucky over here in Perth with several fantastic Lebanese restaurants and so try and go at least 1-2 times a month.
being of lebanese background, it amazes me to see dishes like the eggplant casserole and bamieh, which are cooked in our household as everyday normal food selling for $10 – $12 a plate! my mum’s pot could make $100 each night lol. I think the kibbeh that is fried probably is one of the hardest dishes to master how to make them..and which can also be made into a flat version is probably the yummiest thing as well as ’sambousek’
Oh no, fancy finding yourself accidently at a soup kitchen! I love lebanese food, but I’ve never had cinnamon tea. It sounds lovely. I like the homemade lemonade that some Lebanese places serve too.
Lebanese cuisine is one of my favourites! They use such good ingredients and it all comes together so well…mmm…I could go for some hummus right about now
I LOVE and if its on the menu MUST order- tabouli and hommous with lebanese bread. The bread has to be fresh.The best way to start any lebanese meal!
I made a mistake by reading this post on an empty stomach and am now cajoling (well, more like browbeating) colleagues into going out for Lebanese or (at the very least) Persian food for lunch today.
Baklava, baba ganoush, and kebabs – yeah, I could live on those.
I love the shish kebab place in Auburn – I think it’s called All Star Kebabs? Can’t quite remember off the top of my head now.. but Helen covered it once in her blog.
It’s the best place for shish kebabs I reckon! Plus, their baklava’s good too! I think you’d enjoy it.. but you might have higher standards than I do. 
good to hear this place is still going. i used to work in Redfern and visit it for lunches and get takeaway falafel rolls. one of the better places i’ve come across in Sydney for falafel. i always judge a lebanese restaurant on their falafel.
I’ve never seen foul like that! I’ll have to have you over and taste what I know to be traditional foul…pureed broad beans, a dash of oil, a squeeze of lemon, cumin, and freshly crushed garlic….yum
I say the name is a bit misleading haha but the food sure looks good and authentic. What is the original name may we ask?
“If you didn’t know that I was a baklava addict, it’s because I’ve kept it secret from you up until recently because of the sheer number of these sweet little morsels I can consume…”
you and me both, lorraine. i would make even the biggest eater blush with what i can put away.
I can’t imagine having to drink tea to warm up. It’s so freaking hot here.
If you love Baklava, the best place in Sydney is:
Abla’s Pastry
48 Railway Pde
Granville, NSW 2142
Tel: 02 9637 8092
They are the freshest with the biggest variety available. Ask to try the Kanafee!
Hi lisa-We did and great company always helps
Yep me too, the dips were great!
Hi Cakelaw-That was a really nice, healthy looking dish too
Ahh yes vine leaves, love those and baklava! 
Hi Paula-Lucky you!
I don’t think I have tried it but I’ll look out for it, thanks!
Hi Tara-Ah well kebabs are good!
Oh yes toum, oh yes that stuff is amazing! 
I wish I had that issue. Sadly I can eat loads of it! 
Hi Betty-Me too! It made me want to get one for one of our rooms!
Me too! 
Hi sandra-Yes I don’t know whether it was what we chose though. We might have missed the best of the menu although I think we tried to get a bit of everything. Thanks for the rec!
Hi Steph-Haha no you’re not the only one!
Hi Trisha-Yes although I find some too smokey for me, I prefer it less smokey
It is isn’t it! 
Hi Anita-Hehe sorry!
Hi Gab-Oh sounds great! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a potato salad at a Lebanese place but perhaps I haven’t been looking hard enough! Ah what a shame when that happens!
Hi Gillian-They’re so easy to graze on aren’t they!
Hi sarah-Oh really! How cool
Their felafels are great-nice and crunchy on the outside which I love 
Sounds like a great neighbourhood to get food! 
Hi Wasfieh-Oh cool! I will look them up. I really liked the food Al Aseel too (I reviewed it too). Thankyou so much for the recs, that is great!
Hi SydneyGal-Hehe brave? Why is that? An empty restaurant isn’t very inspiring true. I don’t know but I’m sure that you could call them and ask! Who knows, they might welcome that sort of thing!
It’s a great idea!
Hi addicted-Ahh yes that was on the menu but Queen Viv wasn’t sure whether to order it here or not. I remember seeing it on Food safari and thinking that it looked fantastic!
Hi Gab-Hehe oh ok! I’m sure heaps of people get the two confused
Hi Shants-Yep been there and loved it. We went to the patisserie too although I haven’t yet blogged about it after all this time which I should. Oh cool! A place that has good toum is definitely a place to visit, thanks so much!
Yum, you’re making me hungry!
Hi Sophia-definitely! I think you’ll really like it as there’s lot of yummy dips
Hi EL-Mmm yes! Lady’s fingers are so great. That’s great that you have so many near you! When we move we’ll have more so we can have it more often
Hi sandra-Hehe yes that is true! I know Reem said that her mum says the same thing
hehe your mum must have a bit of a chuckle over that! Ahh interesting! I didn’t realise it was so hard to make 
I’ll look up sambousek too! 
Hi Arwen-Hehe it was so funny!
it was really nice-I think Celestial Seasonings make a cinnamon tea which could be quite similar 
Is it very different from regular lemonade?
Hi Alexandra- it does doesn’t it!
yes hummous is a universal crowd pleaser I think!
Hi Alfie-Absolutely fresh lebanese bread with tangy tabouli and creamy hommous is a wonderful way to start a meal
Hi midge-hehe sorry! Persian food is lovely too! I’ve been lucky enough to try homemade Persian food on occasion
hehe yes! I would love a place close by where I could pick these up for a quick dinner :_
Hi Min Ai-Ahh yes! We got some takeaway from there once. We got some of their pizzas and some kebabs and it was really nice! Hehe I am a baklava freak
Hi Simon-Yes their felafel is really delicious I have to say. I wish we had gotten more than 2 of them!
Hi Reemski-Ahh you see I was wondering if this Foul would be similar to the one you have as I recall talking about it. Pureed though is quite a difference!
Hi FFichiban-hehe I know, I had to do a double, or triple take when Queen Viv told me the name
I don’t know!
Hi grace-hehe I think we could both happily indulge in a eat off featuring baklava!
Hi Blond Duck-hehe I know! I can’t believe it’s so hot over there!
Hi Muna-I’ve tried another Abla’s-are they related at all? Thanks for the rec!
I think they were once related years ago but Dulwich Hill’s Abla is nothing compared to the one in Granville. It’s definitely a must try!
oh wow! i used to live right across the road on pitt st! i would see that fellow sitting on his chair all the time. it made me scared to go in thougiht because i don’t like it when the owner sits out the front. it’s a shame cause the food looks yum. silly me.
Hi Muna-Ahh ok, thanks for letting me know!
Hi holly-hehe yes it’s like walking into a shop where the sales assistant is standing outside. I just don’t!
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