Tabla — Restaurant in Melbourne

We thought we would try a local Middle Eastern restaurant so we booked a table at The Coal Pit in Nunawading. When we arrived we were greeted warmly and with a smile and shown to our table. The restaurant decor is simple but pleasing. It has an exposed brick wall and another with a train mural on it. In front of the restaurant is an outdoor sitting area which would be lovely on a warm night. We ordered mixed dips and warm Lavash bread. Three dips in good size bowls and good serving of the bread arrived very quickly. All looked home made and very nice. The beetroot dip was a little sweet but nice. For mains we ordered chicken kebabs and mixed grill with Middle Eastern salad. Our mains arrived in good time and well presented. The chicken kebabs were very tasty and you could taste the grilled over charcoal taste. They were very enjoyable as was the lamb kebab. Service was very good and lovely friendly staff. We thought prices were very good and woukd recommend for anyone looking for a good, well priced and friendly local Middle...

The staff are lovely here & very attentive. The ambience is relaxed & the dimly lit atmosphere further promotes a nice intimate vibe. Tried the chicken grill skewer platter which came with pilaf rice, salad, dipping sauce & skewer. The meal was light & full of subtle flavours. The serving size was alright, not too big so might need sides to fill you up if you prefer a decently sized meal. The Mango & Lychee Mocktail was so refreshing & the subtle sweet flavour paired nicely with the meal. Their side of bread & hummus dip was actually quite good. There was enough pitta bread which also was seasoned & crispy & the hummus dip was pretty big which compliments the quantity of bread served. Would go here again just to try more food options as the first time was a pleasant experience. Should check out if...

Very disappointed with our evening at Tabla. Chose to celebrate my dad’s 70th birthday here as we’d heard good things from several friends. We had a larger group (8) so thought it would be easier to do the banquet, however had a vegetarian in the group. Explained this to the waitress who said they could bring out the cauliflower dish with the mains - great! However when the bill came at the end of the night we’d been charged an extra $24 for the cauliflower dish, meaning the vego paid $59 for some dips, a couple of halloumi fries and rice... To top it off service was extremely slow, and in the 2.5 hours we were there we only managed to get two rounds of drinks. They’re obviously extremely understaffed but this really ruined the mood of the whole evening and we left frustrated and disappointed....