Abla's

Haven’t been to Ablas in ages! Managed to find a foodie who love Lebanese food to go with me
We ordered the tasting menu which consists of a variety of food that you eat it was so much food!

Most of the food was delicious, the dips, sausages, beans, lamb skewers and tabouli salads were amazing. I wasn’t a big fan of the very skinny and slightly dry chicken wings and their signature chicken rice which was a bit dry as well. Their dessert was fantastic- I am not a huge fan of Turkish delight so they gave us halva and baklava and it was a perfect match w their mint tea w cinnamon.

Easily the best Lebanese restaurant in Melbourne. Takes me back to my Teta's kitchen. Highly recommend.

Food was great, service was awesome.one of the most authentic Lebanese food I've had in Melbourne. We had mixed Dips, batata harra, chicken and Rice, cabbage rolls, chicken and Rice, and fattoush salad.everything was perfect (fattoush salad could have been a bit better). For the dessert we had Aish El Saraya and it was AMAZING. I'd go there again for sure

Visited the lovely little eatery for a group dinner recently.
We had to do the banquet as we were over 8ppl.
The food was all really lovely and enjoyable. The service was nice, nothing overly exciting just good all round service. (More on this in a sec)
The wine menu was limited and quite pricey.
The room got incredibly hot with all those bodies tightly packed and heater on hot. This started to affect the group as it was actually uncomfortably hot.
The food was really good and recommend going with an empty belly.
The most negative aspect and reason for my star rating: at time of paying I went to tap my card on a $700 bill and it wasn’t going through - the server said ‘if you want to. ’ I’m thinking of course I want to pay… went to tap again and she said the same thing (twice more) until I realized it was asking for me to enter a tip amount… I was actually ready to tip cash that we had put in together. I told her as such and she pressed the button so I could pay the bill.
I left a very generous cash tip - but - here’s the thing… on a $700 bill for 2 hours of service we more than covered any costs and generous wages on a weekend for Australian staff. Don’t add tipping to eftpos. It doesn’t sit well to feel pressured to tip in our culture.
I probably won’t be going back again unfortunately.

Exceptionally tasty Lebanese food in a cosy and inviting restaurant with friendly staff. Could not fault this venue at all and look forward to returning!

Abla’s an institution. Been coming here for years on and off, but first time actually writing a review.

The experience is like being invited over to a friends for dinner - homely and humble.

The food is lovingly prepared and authentic, so much so it feels homemade.

The banquet is a great way to go if you’re not sure what to order or what’s what, but for me I know what I like so simply ordered our favourites off the menu:

Mixed Dips - Combination of Labnee, Hummous, Baba Ghannouj

Ladies’ Fingers  - Filo pastry cigars filled with minced lamb, pine nuts and spices and also the veggie version containing feta and mint

Makaneek  - Grilled home-made spiced lamb sausages

Fattoush Salad

Kibbee

Cabbage Rolls

Kafta Mishwee  - skewers of minced lamb, seasoned with parsley, onion and spices, grilled and served with tabouleh in a lettuce cup

Chicken and Rice  - Exquisitely flavoured rice pilaff with minced lamb, chicken, almonds and pine nuts

Highly recommend dining here if you haven’t already, the most intimate dining experience you will have in Melbourne.

I had been wanting to try Abla’s for years and was a little disappointed. Everything we ordered was very tasty, but not as amazing as I had expected!

I love their chicken and rice dish - such intricate beautiful flavors! Every dish was great and baklava and halawa desserts too. Highly recommend for a dinner. The prices were good too and the service was friendly and quick.

Just delicious. Go the banquet if you’re unsure. Can’t go wrong. Friendly service. A Carlton institution!

Unfortunately, I think Ablas has been a victim of its own reputation, and perhaps has gotten too comfortable with its cult status. We spent around $180 for food and 1 drink per person, and the quality simply wasn't there - for entrees we had lady fingers, pickles, and falafel. At $17 for both entrees and $7 for pickle they used to give for free, the servings were pretty small. We got 4 falafels, and they were good but not great. The ladies fingers tasted mainly of oil but were also okay. The mains were chicken pilaf and cabbage roles at $32 each and the pilaf was delicious! But $32 seems steep for something that is chicken breast and rice with raisins and pine nuts.the cabbage rolls were a let down since they tasted of very little. The baklava for dessert was very good though, would definitely recommend! In sum - felt quite overpriced for dull food, not like the Ablas of old.

Knew this place cos the owner of this restaurant was one of our patients. She kept saying she wanna feed the whole team for free. This was a few years ago. Finally went one day and was completely obsessed. Everything was so well done. A definite must visit if you are in Melbourne.

Best food I've ever had. Also the Amad family are the best family going around and I'm so proud to know them. Chez x

Everything was fresh and delicious. Kids loved it. Aishelsaraya was superb. The food was fast and the bad part was leaving!

Excellent Lebanese food in a lower key mother's kitchen atmosphere. Good service priced well.

Had the banquet, plenty of food for 6 adults & 2 kids

Cosy little restaurant, beautiful welcoming staff and super delicious food. Loved it, will definitely return

Overrated. Overpriced. Falafels were extremely salty. Portions were kids sized. Overall not an enjoyable experience.

I found this place nice but not spectacular. Feel like most of the items we ordered were very mild tasting so if you're looking for something more bold this isn't it.

Staff were lovely and there was nothing wrong with our experience. Ablas was a victim of its own reputation. We felt a little underwhelmed but maybe due to so many people speaking so highly of it before our visit.

Always an amazing experience going to Abla's. Consistently good no matter how busy. Great menu with an excellent variety for meat and non-meat eaters, Authentic middle eastern food, and excellent service and ambience. Bonus points if you recognize any of the 90s arabic pop songs playing. Very nostalgic and a true gem of a place.

Great service and delicious food, staff were extremely attentive and made us feel very welcome the range of food available on the menu is also unique and caters for a wide range of people. Must try the fried liver absolutely delicious!