Za'atar Bellingen — Restaurant in Bellingen

My partner and I were very hungry after a hike and decided to give a try to the vegan platter. In the menu it just says it comes with mushrooms, fried eggplant and cauliflower, so we decided to order 6 falafels on top of that. When the food came, which was quite fast, we noticed that the platter already came with falafels, but the young cashier seemed very unbothered to let us know before hand.

The food was below average. The falafels were just deep fried and oily, and no taste at all. You can’t say they’re falafels if they’re not green inside. The baba ganoush and hummus were so tasteless that we couldn’t differentiate which one was which. The salads were lacking in salt and seasoning. We didn’t understand why the mushrooms were there cause they didn’t add up to the other flavours. And to finish, the cauliflower was just oily and the eggplant was oily and a bit burnt.

For all those that understand a bit of Middle Eastern cuisine that felt like a tourist trap, a fast food restaurant that pretends to be high cuisine and with proper restaurant prices.

If you’re on a road trip, go to Ya’Man in Mullumbimby (near Byron Bay), they know what’s Middle Eastern food...

My husband and I had dinner here today and, honestly, it was our least enjoyable meal during our 3 day trip to Bellingen. The service (courtesy and speed) were both fine. But the tables were quite sticky and there was food on the floor around most tables that no one had bothered to clean up.

Based on the reviews we had read, we were hoping the food would be the saving grace, but we were wrong. We ordered grilled chicken malawach, baba ghanoush with pita, and a kofta pita pocket. The baba ghanoush was decent, not bad. But that’s kind of where the good ended. The kofta pocket was very average. The malawach, though, was just straight up burnt (see photos). And it was so soggy that by the time we were half way through it just fell apart. And, to make matters worse, this place was not cheap! For a fast food / kabab shop type place, the prices were super high! $18 for a very medium sized pita pocket (no sides). $3 for a single pita bread! Definitely...

Delicious food.....And let me tell you about the service!!! We had the spiced chicken malawach and the hummus felafel take away!! The guy was on his own taking orders, preparing and serving so we thought we'd give him some space and went next door to browse while waiting for our order to be made. We were on our way back to check and as we were walking out of the shop to go back to Za'atar, he was on his way to us to bring us our order. That was so special!! He obviously did not want our food to go cold. Realising that we had a handful of shopping, he went right back into his kitchen, put everything neatly into a paper bag and handed it to us....all this with a heart warming smile!! What a service!! We thanked him and walked to the park by the river to have our lunch!! It was absolutely delicious. We inhaled it, literally! My partner had to go back and thank him and let him know!!! If you are ever in Bellingen, do yourself a favour and...