Aambra, Rose Bay review Levantine Dining Restored Church

Aambra is a Levantine restaurant set inside a beautifully restored 120 year old church in Rose Bay. The menu draws inspiration from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus, Egypt and Turkey with dishes designed to be shared. Find out what the must order dishes are that are not to be missed!

It's just before New Year eve when Mr NQN and I arrive at Aambra in Rose Bay. The Levantine restaurant is housed in an historic 120 year old church on Old South Head Road. Prior to becoming Aambra, the church had fallen into disrepair but was snapped up by the owner Cristian Gorgees.

It took three years of restoration before it was given its first lease of life as a restaurant. Everything was restored according to research by DS17's Paul Papadopoulos (the only original things are the door handles). That includes the stained glass windows that served as inspiration for some of the dishes by head chef Gianluca Lonati who formerly worked at Nour and with the Esca hospitality group.

The restaurant seats 140 people with a breezy outdoor section dotted with olive trees as well as an indoor section with plush booths and tables in the centre opposite the open kitchen. There is also a glass fronted mezzanine private dining room for up to 32 people above the main indoor section. A display of fresh seafood sits on ice and marble and there's also a wood fired oven. Three ducks hang from the display - they are Aambra's signature dish. Service is friendly and attentive.

We start with cocktails: a Passion Souk for Mr NQN made with vodka, passion fruit and barberry while I opt for a Ruby mocktail with Lyre's Dry London, pomegranate and rose water. Both cocktails are fantastic but if you're more a wine drinker, the wine list has plenty of options including Lebanese wines.

With a menu that spans Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus, Egypt and parts of Turkey there are a lot of influences to draw from. We start with some freshly shucked oysters topped with fermented onion and isot oil. Isot is a Turkish chilli pepper from the Urba region and lends a complex, low growl of spice to the oysters. It's a lovely change from mignonette with the spicy pepper and diced sweet onion.

This raw scallop dolma pairs sesame leaves with a nubbly textured spiced and vinegared rice with raw sliced scallops on top. It's fresh and with a satisfying array of textures to each bite.

I confess: tarama anything and I am in. But especially smoked oyster tarama that comes ringed with green herb oil. This is silky smooth, light and gloriously creamy. Make sure to get some bread to go with it.

There are two types of bread on the menu: a molasses flat bread or this Kubaneh bread. We opt for the latter which is like a small, soft, downy savoury cinnamon bun that comes with a bitter, burnt black cumin butter on the side. We mostly enjoy this with the smoked oyster tarama. Tip: get one per person and don't be forced to share this! ;)

The Moreton Bay bug borek is a gorgeous, little, delicate spiral of warm, buttery filo pastry filled with Moreton Bay bug with dagga gazawiya which is a tomato and dill salsa from Gaza. It's another must order among a menu of must orders.

I have to do a double take when I see the whipped feta as it's so pretty. On the base is a layer of light, fluffy feta spiked with dried mint and thin crisp slices of compressed rockmelon, honeydew and watermelon. It's creamy, fresh and moreish all at once and is perfect for hot days.

Another must order dish is the macaron or macarona laban which is a Lebanese pasta made with a creamy garlic yogurt and pecorino sauce. The noodles have a wonderful texture to them and are made for them by a Chinese couple who make the manti dumpling wrappers and noodles for them incorporating some yogurt in the noodle dough. This is paired with delicate hand picked spanner crab meat and Aleppo pepper chilli oil.

For our main we decide to share the duck crown. The duck has been dry aged for 2 weeks and then cooked in the wood fired oven and brushed with blackstrap molasses and carob. The duck has a lacquered skin sweetened by the carob, and whilst it's large and really feeds four people, it's magnificent. While it isn't as crisp as say a Peking duck, it definitely has similar tones. It comes with a Mujadara lentil and rice, with soft cooked onion, yoghurt cream and cloves.

The cauliflower is first roasted and then deep fried so it is caramelised. It sits on a bed of goat areesh cheese (similar to cottage cheese). To finish it off they add barberry jam to sweeten it. This goes perfectly with the duck and rice.

There are four choices for dessert and we go with their recommendations. The first is a gorgeous gelato made with kaymak (similar to clotted cream) with dates. It is finished at the table with their first press Lebanese olive oil and crunchy flaked salt. It literally hits the salty, sweet, creamy flavour points so well, and we end up fighting over the last of this. I'd suggest getting one all for yourself especially if you love gelato.

The Sour Cherry Om Ali is like a bread and butter pudding topped with sour cherries, blackberries and pistachios with a vanilla chantilly cream on the side. This is soft and comforting and I like that this isn't too sweet although you can make it sweeter using the chantilly cream.

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever dined in a former church before? And have you tried much cuisine from the Levant?