Rumi — Restaurant in Melbourne

Checked out Rumi on a Saturday night. Banquet seemed like a good mix of dishes and a good deal, so we went for that with the drinks pairing.

Starters were solid with the Sigara Boregi being the highlight - nice and crispy fired phyllo dough with a melted cheese filling. Dips were quite good too.

Second course was a little hit and miss. The 'Persian meatballs' didn't really scream Persian to us - more like something you'd find at your local trattoria. They were served in what was basically a marinara sauce which drowned out the presumably Persian style seasoning of the meatballs themselves. The fried cauliflower was well done - crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and went well with the caramelised onion garnish. Cabbage salad had a nice tang that played well with the other dishes and the wine. Overly not a very middle eastern course.

There’s an adage in sports that ‘your best players need to be your best players’. That held true with the mains. The lamb shoulder was the star of the whole meal - super tender, nicely spiced and a good charr on the outside. The spice mix used for the chicken wings was amazing but a bit let down by the wings being slightly over-cooked. Overall really good though.

A little block of Turkish delight was a nice way to cap off the meal, plus the Pennyweight Gold dessert wine was an really interesting touch - tasted a bit like a cinnamon donut or even pancakes with maples syrup. I'd never had a wine like this before, but I actually didn't mind it.

The drink pairings were a steal at $30 for four drinks, and the service was good, albeit a bit too eager to clear our plates and glasses.

Overall, Rumi was a great dining experience with standout dishes and great value for the...

Came to Rumi for the first time to celebrate my 21st birthday with some friends. The Persian meatballs, the Labne and Macdous yoghurt dip, the Sigara Boregi, the lamb shoulder and Freekeh salad are some of my top picks. Oh and the Macadamia Baklava Ice Cream Sandwich. I’d try ordering à la carte but the dishes on the menu tasted as good as they sound. I’d be so undecided or I would’ve ordered the whole menu. For first timers like I was, I suggest the banquet (set) menu. We ordered ‘The Rumi Feast’ and every course was an experience. Shoutout to the one who attended our table also. Great service. He recommended some of the specials, and was very attentive with table upkeep as we got through each course. And we had water for the table, standard at most restaurants of course, but it was about the pour. Highest pours (with such skill) I’ve ever seen, done from a pretty unconventional, though unique piece of glassware with really good laminar flow (reminds of that one teapot comparison video where they compare pots with different price points by pouring water you’d know what I mean). We also had this drink called ‘Arak Fakra’ which contained 55% alcohol. It’s pretty high but when we ordered, we were informed how we should drink it (hint: not straight up and it’s not wine, but more so spirits). It was not all to our tastes, but it added to the experience. I was designated driver in my group so I had the Rumi Mocktail. Nicely presented, sugar coated rim, sweet and tasty. Overall ambience was good, the decor is very nice, not over the top, clean throughout, and not at all generic. Would love to come...

Rumi only wanted us to go to google review if we had good things to say. In their follow up post meal email they asked if we had bad experience to contact them directly. We did so. They never responded back, so I guess that's their way of making sure only good reviews get on google. But then google asked us to review Rumi and since Rumi never bothered to respond to us, we decided we would. The food is good, we have been going for years, mostly at old location. The problem we had was with the waiter. He was annoyed at the start, as we only order ninety dollars worth of mains between the two of us (as we planned to have dessert and coffee instead of starters). Then he was doubly annoyed we weren't going to order wine. He was so annoyed that, after telling us we would have a really long wait, he just ignored us, no service, little water, ghosted. Once we had our food we were left with the dirty plates in front of us, the waiter did no follow up, even taking the table order next to us while we sat awkwardly. He then waved the menu at us and shouted while our plates were, finally, been taken away, "you want anything else?" Given how obviously unwelcome we were we just got up and paid. Told the manager, who just said "really?" Obviously Rumi don't want to do two person tables at $70 a head. We were a quick turn around quiet guests, easy business but UNWELCOME. So, don't go if you don't want to be dominated by what Rumi wants to you do, rather than what...