Abla's Carlton, Melbourne

Abla's Details

Abla's Address

109 Elgin St
Carlton VIC 3053
Map
Abla's Website

Abla's Contact Info

Phone (03) 9347 0006

Cuisines

Lebanese, Middle Eastern

Chef

Abla Amad

Prices

Average Meal Price $34 - based on one entree & main course only
Entrees $8.00-$15.00
Mains $22.00
Desserts $3.00

Set Menu
$38-$43 for 13 courses, compulsory for 2 or more Fri & Sat nights

Rooms & Capacity

No of Seats 90

Hours

Lunch
Thurs-Fri Noon-3pm
Dinner
Mon-Sat 6-11pm

BYO

Wine Only
Corkage per bottle $5.00

Classifications

Restaurants

Payment Types Accepted

Amex: Visa
Mastercard: EFTPos
Diners

Help us correct a mistake or add more info!

Abla's Awards

2012

The Age Good Food Guide 2012 - One Chef's Hat

2011

The Age Good Food Guide 2011 - One Chef's Hat

2010

The Age Good Food Guide 2010 - One Chef's Hat

2009

The Age Good Food Guide 2009 - One Chef's Hat

2008

The Age Good Food Guide 2008 - One Chef's Hat

2007

The Age Good Food Guide 2007 - One Chef's Hat

more…

Overview of Abla's

Abla’s is a multi-awarded Lebanese restaurant in Carlton. This iconic restaurant has been serving good food and warm service since 1979. The food is home style through and through. The ambience, relaxed. This humble venue is perfect for sharing with a group or your family. Experience authentic Falafel, Tabbouleh, Kafta and Halwa and Baklawa for dessert at Abla’s.

User Reviews of Abla's, Carlton

Page: 1 2 Next

Displaying: 1 - 10 of 18 reviews

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 10

Unpretentious and authentic, great value for money. Beautiful cooking, with less than half amount of fat in the original cuisine. Exquisite balance of flavours. Highly recommended.

Jun 09, 2011

Bbbbb
1

7.3 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 6

A nice range of food. Service was good and unobtrusive. Little expensive for what was served. Dishes were good but a little Australianised, needed a little more spicing up. Will go again though.

Oct 19, 2010

piari
7

7.5 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 6

A good standard continuing over years.

Oct 07, 2010

pete73
1

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 9

I could go on and on about Abla's, but to sum it up. Sit down with friends/family. Order the banquet. Enjoy great food and a great night! Nothing more to say, but wow!

Aug 27, 2010

ael000
3

6 Average

Food 6 Ambience 6 Service 8 Value 4

This place is welcoming and the service was good. However, the food was not as good as I expected and definitely overpriced for basic Lebanese food.

Aug 01, 2010

mt334
5

4 Below Average

Food 3 Ambience 5 Service 4 Value 4

Food were ordinary, not appealing, I ordered chicken and rice, no salad and dry. My husband were ordering Kibbeh, it was disappointing, few pieces with no salad nor appealing presentation.

Jun 23, 2010

nurmawan
1

6.5 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 3 Service 8 Value 8

A recent return trip explains the beauty of this little place. It was less frantic on a Thursday night, and a look in the kitchen revealed a trio of women preparing everything by hand. Mea culpa. Service and food were far better than last time. Nominal BYO charge.

A trio of dips, then chicken wings, tabouleh, runner beans in stock, merguez sausages, lamb kibbeh, skewers of chicken and lamb. The famed chicken and pilaf was moist and aromatic. I still think the fish special is spoilt by being smothered in tahini.

Desserts miniscule, though we are quite full by the end of the banquet. Coffee strong. The dining rooms remain boring, with our group crowded in on uncomfortable chairs. A good value-for-money BYO for the locals, made special by an owner who cares, but not to my mind the final word in this cuisine.

Feb 12, 2010

merlot
248

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 10 Value 10

I have been coming here since it first opened, but hadn't been for about ten years. Am very happy to say that it was just as soul satisfying as I remember. Beautiful food and Abla the wonderful host. Next time I won't leave it so long.

Jul 27, 2009

Sarah F
2

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 10

The delivery of food and service exceeded my expectations 1000 times. I had heard so much about this restaurant for years but never managed to get a booking each time I was in Melbourne. This is traditional Lebanese food. This is what you would get at any Lebanese household in Australia or Lebanon.

The ba ba ganoosh was smokey and didn't have too much garlic. Abla's tabouli is the best I have ever eaten. Just the right consistancy of burgal and parsley topped with a lemon-oil dressing that wasn't overly salty. I am convinced that Abla grows the parsley in her own backyard. It is so fresh.

Other highlights include her perfectly skewered lamb. The meat was beyond tender and was accompanied by a lovely fresh onion salad that set the meat off perfectly. Her chicken and rice dish is the best I have ever eaten. This is my favourite Lebanese dish. The chicken was not dry and the almond pieces on top added a lovely crunch which you don't often get when you order this meal at other restaurants.

Coming from a Lebanese background myself, this is the closest you will ever get to authentic Lebanese food. The value is my opinion is worth it. Lebanese food takes a long time to prepare and all of Abla's ingredients are fresh and of great quality. I have eaten at some Lebanese restaurants where parsley is floppy, mutton is used instead of lamb and you leave drinking 100 tones of water because they have put too much garlic in their food. I only wish she would open a restaurant in Sydney.

Jul 26, 2009