Maha Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

Excited to be at Shane Delia's Middle Eastern @MahaRestaurant and stepping in this seems quite opulent. The dimly lit interior creates an interesting ambience as your eyes adjust to the surrounds. Excellent service follows from the moment you're greeted to the very end and is a highlight to what follows as a superb dining experience enjoying a variety of superbly crafted dishes across the Soufra.

Non-alcoholoc Za'atar Margarita Sweet, spicy, salty, fruity, tangy, lots going on this tasty concoction

Meze Maha house bread & za'atar The za'atar bread is very unique, freshly warm out of the oven, soft, many layers, flaky on the outside with those spices and so delicious.

Whipped hummus, asparagus, smoked paprika, toasted sesame Smooth, creamy, not rich, lovely smoked flavour, this is quite something. I've never eaten hummus like this and it wows.

Chicken 'makanek', whipped eggplant, smoked chicken fat & date vinegar dressing Love the chicken sausage, the compressed nature of the meat creates a density in each bite, lovely flavour, and I like the dehydrated pickles and the sauce, the sauce, is amazing!

Warm olives, fel fel The marinated olives are juicy and have a subtle hum of chilli, simple but so yum.

Cured Spencer Gulf kingfish, burnt squash, green olive Unlike the other dishes, the cured kingfish is delicate, light and a taste of the sea, a lovely vinaigrette ties it all together.

A towel with a rosemary sprig is presented while hot water is poured over, let it sit, then wipe your hands which is much needed as some items are a little oily

Mains Smoked aged rice, sauteed greens, toasted fennel seeds Soft long grains, slightly buttery, very tasty and enjoyed with the lamb.

Slow roasted lamb shoulder, fermented capsicum burnt butter Super soft, falling apart, extremely tender and full of flavour via that delicious capsicum butter sauce, crunch from nuts, creamed eggplant, yoghurt, this is quite something to savour.

Cos, radicchio, braised fennel, tahini & honey dressing Tasty light salad with a lovely dressing. Much needed to counteract against the lamb.

Dessert Whipped yoghurt & chocolate tart, raspberries, sumac, arak, and lime A subtle dark chocolate flavour (fantastic choice) against creamy yoghurt with a touch of sourness, this is a well balanced creation of different flavours. For me, though, the superb almond ice cream steals the show.

I was eying the supplemental dessert, doughnuts and decided to end on that. Turkish Delight doughnuts, walnut ice cream, rosewater honey Two delicious doughnuts were served that were golden brown on the outside, soft and spongy on the inside, encasing a cube of Turkish delight, enjoyed against the crushed pistachios and rose petals. The combination of honey and walnut in the delicious walnuf ice cream is a masterstroke elevating it to another level.

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Where do I even begin? This so-called high-end Middle Eastern restaurant promises an experience of culinary excellence, and while the venue itself is stunning – a sleek, modern space with an air of sophistication – the actual dining experience is a farce that left us questioning our life choices and bank accounts.

Let's start with the price tag. Over $450 for a meal for two?

For what, exactly?

Sure, the chef might have a laundry list of awards, but those accolades are rendered meaningless when the execution falls flat in every possible way. The dishes were presented well but underwhelming at best – bland, flavourless, and lacking the richness, depth and sophistication you'd expect from a renowned chef.

The mains, which should have been the star of the show, tasted like it had been thrown together in a rush.

Then there’s the service. You’d think that with such a steep price, they’d have polished professionals attending to your every need, right? Wrong. Instead, we were greeted by a group of college students and part time shift workers who clearly thought they were too cool for this job. They bumbled through the evening, fumbling with menus, and offering up disjointed recommendations that only added to the disarray. Class? Suaveness? A basic level of charm? None of it. Service is EVERYTHING when you’re billing customers that kind of money. This is an area where they really need to investigate their strategy.

Watching them rush around trying to act sophisticated only made the whole experience feel like a school play with a $500 ticket price.

But wait – the real kicker was the crowd. This place was packed with affluent yuppies, more concerned with posting photos of their food than actually enjoying it. The kind of people who wouldn’t know a hummus from a mustard sauce if their lives depended on it. They clinked their overpriced cocktails and pretended to appreciate the art of fine dining, all the while giving off an air of desperation that made us want to leave before the check even arrived.

In sum, this place is a textbook example of style over substance. The only thing that’s truly “high-end” here is the price – everything else feels like a cheap imitation of sophistication. If you want to drop half a grand on mediocre food served by amateurs to a crowd of clueless elites, then this is the place for you. If you have a particularly special occasion, no one will acknowledge it except you - or it will be acknowledged by someone who has ZERO life experience.

Save your money and your dignity -GO somewhere that actually understands what fine dining is all about.

Try Abla’s in Carlton as an example.

There are literally food trucks in Melbourne that are way better for the food and value for money.

All that said, the venue/lighting/mood/ambience is a winner albeit the small tables and the complete lack of privacy.

If you’ve got extra $$$ to spend and want a $500 ambience centric environment to make yourself feel you’ve got some...

So where do I start. The menu is limited to 2 choices, with optional extras! The 90 dollar 3 course can be upgraded to 5 courses and the 125 dollar 5 course menu can be upgraded to 7 courses. So we took the 3 courses and my wife added a Scallop, just one lemony scallop for an extra 9.50. I added wagyu beef strips at $28 per person. Big mistake. But I'll get to that later. Entrée was great, excellent warm Lebanese bread rolls that were spiced and lightly oiled the star of the evening. We got extras to mop up the nice hummus , which was very substantial! Kalamata and Australian green olives and delicious small chicken sausages in delicious and delicately spiced sauce. If you could go to MaHa's and just order the entree for $30 to share that would be perfect. Then the beef strips arrived, 2x 20 grams of Luke warm. one rare and chewy and the other marginally better, arrived on a salty jus. Nothing Lebanese about this dish, although the outside edge of the meat was seasoned black, but thanks to the excessively salty jus, I couldn't taste the spices. A complete waste of 56 dollars. The white asparagus and Terri thin slither of roasted garlic were the best part of this dish. Main arrived shortly after that had a nice hot piece of tender lamb shoulder. Mine has a crisp skin with soft juicy fat layer. It come with an oily aged rice with sautéed greens that we thought was unpleasant and a side of cooked whole flat beans and leaves (stringy, no thanks) that my wife liked but l thought was bit fibrous, probably the beans inside. Dessert was great, big server of lovely walnut ice cream, Turkish delight donuts (enjoyable but could have been hotter) and half a raspberry topped tart made of whipped yoghurt and rose water (ok dessert) in a dark chocolate casing. I wish I didn't buy the wagyu strip loin My other gripe was the price of alcohol, OMG, wine by the glass started at 24 a glass and it was a 100ml of your lucky. Poor assortment of beer and I'm not into cocktails. Yes the wine list is extensive but really guys, you didn't even offer a taste of wine to ensure I could buy something I could at least enjoy! All up 300 for 2 people, overpriced in my opinion but without the wagyu it would have received a much better review. It was all but up and down. Atmosphere was a little cramped, small seating, dark but not romantic at all. Nice fixtures etc, but we were stuck in a booth we didn't get to experience the restaurant. Service was snappy and professional but after the entree they never once asked if we enjoyed the dish. And while they were quick to top up your glass and ask if you would like more drinks, they took away menus and empty plates and glasses instantly, the courses come out back to back and i felt rushed. Yes we were late to arrive due to storms and city traffic, and yes there was a second sitting but please don't over do the expedience! I probably won't go back. I did love that bread! I've had better experiences of middle eastern...