Summerland Restaurant

By Franz Scheurer

Located on the quiet side of Bankstown the first plus is that there is parking on site (and plenty more in the street). A bright, rectangular room with mirrors running down one side, a bar and a serving area on the other, this is a utilitarian room decorated with a few Lebanese coffee pots and water jugs, with decent tableware and glassware and very comfortable chairs.

Tables are spaced generously, giving you privacy and the sound damping is excellent. It is a kid friendly place and happily caters for large groups.

The menu is full of easily recognised Lebanese dishes and the banquet offers the most value for money. For a paltry $ 30 p/person they offer 18 different dishes and the only advice I can give you is eat slowly and don’t be greedy or you’ll be full even before half the banquet has been served.

The food is excellent with the bread, baked on the premises in an imported wood-fired oven from Egypt, the star of the night. Fluffy, puffed up, crunchy and soft it is a marvel of centuries of baking tradition. Similarly the pickles are what every Arabic mum would be proud of, especially the beetroot-juice pickled cabbage. Salads are so fresh it’s astounding. Try the ‘Fattoush’ (bread salad), the ‘Salatata al Za’atar wal Gargir’ (rocket and fresh oregano salad, or the ultra-clever ‘Shanklish’, sun dried, spiced aged yoghurt-cheese, cut into slivers served with pieces of ripe tomato, dressed with lemon and olive oil. Dips are good and the only ho-hum dish is the ‘Baba Ghanouj’ (char-grilled eggplant and tahina dip), which is not as smoky as it could be. For the more adventurous there is ‘Kibbeh Nayeh’ (finely ground raw lamb with burghul topped with a mixture of fresh herbs and olive oil) or ‘Asbi Nayeh’ (slivers of marinated raw lamb’s liver).

The outstanding entrée had to be the Felafel. Crunchy on the outside, beautifully airy, squishy and light on the inside, they are balls of utter delight. Both the hot and mild sausage (Soujok and Makanek) are good examples of what one might expect and the mains, Shish Tawook, Kefta and Lahem Mishwi (chicken skewers, grilled minced lamb and lamb skewers) are good albeit a little dry.

The service is friendly and swift, the wine list predictably adequate (BYO allowed) and the baklava and the Arabic coffee best left for the tourists. By observing the local clientele it becomes quickly obvious that coffee and sweets are consumed somewhere else, and rightly so.

Conclusion: terrific Lebanese savoury food, authentic, fresh and at times outstanding.

Score: 6/10

For more information or bookings:

Summerland Restaurant

457 Chapel Road

Bankstown

Tel.: 02 9708 5107