Being doesn’t stop Abla Amad from being at her restaurant several days a week. She’s either overseeing the kitchen or greeting customers in the dining room. “People ask me when I’ll be done, but I love it – I love people,” she tells SBS Food.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, is one of Melbourne's longest-running and most beloved restaurants.
Abla’s story
Abla Amad developed her cooking skills after moving to Australia from Lebanon at 19, thanks to her .
“Everyone used to come to my house , there were so many people,” she says. Convinced by family and friends, she opened Abla’s in Carlton in .
“Back then people didn’t know much about Lebanese food, there were not many Lebanese restaurants around,” she says. But it didn't take long for the food and hospitality at Abla’s to attract customers, Lebanese and beyond.
Abla Amad received a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 for her contribution to the community and the hospitality industry. Source: Abla's
While Abla Amad is still very much present at the restaurant, she now gets help from daughter-in-law Rae and daughter Margaret-Anne.
The chicken and rice is a much-ordered classic at Abla's. (Audrey Bourget) Source: Audrey Bourget
Tradition and simplicity
One of the most popular dishes at Abla’s is the , simply named “chicken and rice”. It’s usually served on special occasions – but here, you can get it any time, a la carte or as part of the banquet. The recipe is traditional, a mix of spiced minced lamb and long-grain rice topped with cinnamon-dusted shredded chicken, pine nuts and almonds. The twist is the way it’s presented: it looks like a cake.
“It’s quite a festive dish. When there’s a big function, it comes out on a huge tray and it’s decorated beautifully. Because of the way it looks, it’s quite impressive, people love it,” says Margaret-Anne Amad. “Quite often, when we take it out at the end of the banquet, people think that it’s dessert.”
Abla Amad’s favourites are the dips (, and ) and the (stuffed with rice and mince lamb, and then cooked with tomato, mint and lemon juice).
Both Margaret-Anne and Rae Amad love the simplicity of the , a lentil and rice dish topped with caramelised onion.
“I went to Lebanon last year and a lot of the dishes we’re making, you don’t even get them there anymore. The early immigrants have brought them here and they kept the tradition going,” says Margaret-Anne.
The baba ghanouj at Abla's. (Audrey Bourget) Source: Audrey Bourget
A lot of love
Few restaurants in Melbourne can boast four decades of success, so why has Abla’s stood the test of time?
“I think people love it because the food is traditional, beautiful and fresh. The ladies in the kitchen cook like they cook at home. It might not be trendy, but it’s a guaranteed good meal,” says Margaret-Anne.
“A lot of Lebanese come in and say it’s like sitting at their mum’s or grandma’s table. A lot of them only eat things like the raw lamb [] at home or at Abla’s.”
I went to Lebanon last year and a lot of the dishes we’re making, you don’t even get them there anymore. The early immigrants have brought them here and they kept the tradition going.
But people don’t only come to Abla’s for the food. There’s something about Abla Amad herself. “She’s such a warm spirit, a generous and giving person, it radiates through her and to people,” says Rae Amad.
She makes everybody feels like they’re family and it’s obvious that she enjoys what she does.
“My mother loves it so much, it’s such a big part of her life. The older she gets, the more important the restaurant becomes to her,” says Margaret-Anne Amad.
Filo pastry cigars filled with mince lamb and fattoush at Abla's. (Audrey Bourget) Source: Audrey Bourget
“We have to tell her when it’s time to go, we can’t get her out of there, she loves it!”
109 Elgin Street Carlton, Vic, (03) 9347 0006
Mon – Wed 6 pm – 10 pm
Thu – Fri midday – 3 pm, 6 pm – 10 pm
Sat 6 pm – 10 pm
