MELBOURNE | Roza Restaurant is one of those places that I put on my list years ago, having driven past countless times. I’d forgotten about it until recently, when talking to a Pakistani-Saudi work colleague about mandi, and he mentioned that Roza was one of his top places in Melbourne for it. Memory sparked, and armed with the additional info, I finally paid Roza a visit, and was rewarded with a fantastic meal.
Roza is a small family-run spot, popular with those in the know for its affordable, quality halal Middle Eastern Gulf and North African food. Originating as a pop-up almost 20 years ago, Roza have been at their current Sydney Road digs for just over a decade. It’s a welcoming space, with homely furnishings and arabic music playing on the speakers. To the right, it’s low, majlis-style plush seating, and to right, Western-style seats and tables.
The menu’s a compact one, featuring classic dishes like mandi, zigni, and kabsa. While you’re waiting for your order, you can help yourself to Yemeni adana tea at the counter. You’ll also be a wonderfully flavoured, complimentary bowl of aromatic, spiced lamb broth soup.
Mandi is Roza’s signature item. A fluffy bed of saffron rice, cardamon rice, or both, cooked with onion, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon, and coriander. It’s topped with your choice of tender, slow roasted lamb or chicken, and served with chilli sauce, yoghurt sauce, and salad. It’s absolutely divine, and a must order.
Other dishes that I enjoyed were the lamb kabab, served sizzling on a claypot with pita and ful medames. The ful medames are particularly noteworthy – cumin spiced stewed fava beans topped with a handful of grated cheese that are bursting with flavour.
Drinks wise, it’s all non-alcoholic. There’s the aforementioned complimentary tea along with other tea and coffee, Arabic sodas, ayran, and malt beverages.
Roza Restaurant
131 Sydney Road
Coburg
Victoria 3058
Australia
Telephone: (03) 7014 4264
E-mail: n/a
Website
Open
Sun – Mon, Wed – Thu: 2:00pm to 12:30am
Fri – Sat: 2:00pm to 1:00am