Balha's Pastry — Restaurant in Melbourne

I wish I had taken the time to read the reviews a bit more, before deciding to visit this store last Sunday(07/02/21) at around 6:30pm

I bought $90 of baklava and other sweets as a gift to take visiting family I hadn't seen in years. I'm new to Melbourne (a week now) and thought this would be super simple task.

Although the sweets were passable in taste and quality, I wouldn't say they were value for money (and I have come from Sydney where prices are pretty high). I had to ask three times for extra cream on the sweets (very stingy).

However, what lead me to give this place a one star rating was the service I received. The customer service attendant was rather rude, snappy, unprofessional and her body language and facial expressions were one of complete disregard and disengagement. I had to repeat my order several times, probably because she wasn't interested in the slightest about assisting me with my order.

There was no enforcement of other customers not wearing a mask inside and it seemed like there was no system to queuing up either.

I have never seen customer service like this before - and can I say, I always begin engagement with only respect for workers.

Sadly this employee seemed to lack even the basic skill set and training in customer service.

I walked out feeling very annoyed and disappointed, before even trying the sweets.

Do yourself a favour, google their competitors and give them a go, that's what ill be...

You know you have stumbled on a good thing when the locals are arriving here in droves to get their sweet fix, and buying them up in bulk. First you take a numbered ticket, then marvel at the selection of goodies while waiting for your number to show up on the screen or to be called by one of the staffs behind the counter.

I must admit my knowledge of Lebanese sweets is quite limited, so I relied on looks to help with my decision, and also the help from the friendly lady serving me. So lovely she was, she even gave me of the offcuts of the knafeh for free when I enquired what they do with them.

I had a walnut pastry, which was filled to brim with delicious crushed walnuts encased in flaky pastry, and a kaak knafeh which was knafeh sandwiched between a bread roll. Never had a knafeh that way before so I was pleasantly surprised by how well it went together. Delicate yet indulgent, the crisped knafeh crust gave way to a layer of gooey cheese.

I took away some half moon pistachio for my friend and he really enjoyed them. What I really love is that the pastries here aren't too sweet, which is often not the case with these syrup-soaked pastries elsewhere.

Can't wait to be back to try the rest of the...

Balha’s Pastry is not a place you can miss. It’s massive, double-storey and always busy no matter what time of day you visit. They have an incredible range of Lebanese sweets, chocolate, ice cream, cakes, savoury options, hot and cold drinks including their own coffee! besides the food being good, the atmosphere is so lively so it’s a great catch up spot.

I don’t know exactly what the ingredients were for each dessert 😅 but nothing we tried was overly sweet despite most desserts having rose water syrup drizzled on top. They reheat some of the desserts for you so that they’re warm but obviously because they just grab them off the trays, they’re not made fresh. I personally wouldn’t recommend the Cheese Knafeh for this reason because you won’t get the same melted cheese texture you’d get if it was fresh. That’s the only downside but considering how tasty everything else is, I can personally overlook that. I know that might not be for everyone though.

If you’re looking for authentic Lebanese sweets, this is definitely where you’ll find them. There is just so much to try here, it’s unlikely you won’t find something you like. Even if you just go for a hot drink and sit upstairs, it’s...