Zanobia opens at The Streets of Barangaroo this week, bringing a new Middle Eastern restaurant and bar to the waterfront precinct.
The opening represents a long-held vision of Founder Jorge Ballas and his wife Jo-Anne, who operated sister venues Zanobia in Leichardt and North Strathfield.
Ballas, who is also the founder and director of Beirut Street Food, spent his childhood in Iraq, Dubai, Syria, and Lebanon where he learnt to cook alongside his mother. Those influences, including food serving as a centrepiece for family gatherings, will continue to shape Zanobia’s menu and approach to hospitality.
The menu celebrates traditional flavours and cooking techniques, spanning hot and cold mezze, salads, and meats cooked over the restaurant’s charcoal grill. The beef, lamb, and chicken, which is all certified 100 per cent halal, is marinated for up to 48 hours in house spice blends.
Highlights include baked halloumi with raisin, pine nuts, and spiced honey; Jordanian lamb mansaf with yellow rice, goat yoghurt sauce, and roasted almonds; chicken fesenjan with walnut, pomegranate molasses, tahini, sumac, and saffron rice; and kibbeh sajiyeh with minced lamb, onion, pine nuts, and pomegranate molasses.
Desserts include rose milk cake, pistachio tiramisu, and saffron rice pudding.
The beverage program takes inspiration from the region, and cocktails feature flavours such as Za’atar, pomegranate, and aniseed.
As part of the beverage program, the restaurant will also feature Lebanon’s national spirit, arak, which is distilled from grapes and infused with aniseed. The spirit is a Lebanese drinking tradition tied to mezze, and is prepared tableside with water and ice.
Ballas says he has wanted to open a version of Zanobia in the city for many years.
“We loved the Leichardt community so much but we saw a huge opportunity in the CBD dining scene for a Middle Eastern restaurant,” says Ballas.
“Our food is all about community and shared experience, and we want Zanobia to be a celebration of that.”
Zanobia opens Friday 28 August. The restaurant will open Sunday to Wednesday from 11am to 10pm, and Thursday to Saturday from 11am to 12am.
Photography by OneCut.
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Dining and Cooking