It's fair to say that Goodwood is undergoing a bit of a facelift at the moment.
Yellow Pumpkin made way for popular breakfast haunt Trouble and Strife. The dreary adult shop on the corner of Gilbert and Goodwood recently became hole-in-the-wall bar, Two Sisters. And the long suffering Brown Dog has finally been euthanised and reincarnated as Kazbah.
This rebirth was instigated by the former owners of Lunch on 9, further down Goodwood Road in Wayville. Kazbah is an ode to their Lebanese heritage. Lunch on 9, with its businessey surroundings, and with its double-cut-roll-or-focaccia-at-a-push patronage, wasn't well positioned to for the owners to express their passion. Kazbah is, however.
The menu is short and tight, with strong middle-eastern themes. At the moment Kazbah is only serving breakfast and lunch as it awaits for its liquor licence transfer. Then, it will be serving meze into night, alongside local wines and a range of beers.
For those of you who remember the old dog, the first thing you will notice when entering Kazbah is the extensive renovations. Everything has been touched with the paint brush at the very least, and custom carpentry using beautiful historic timber in places. The new owners have certainly breathed life into the old shell, and this extends out into the beer garden too. I'm not quite sure about the two big screen TVs.
But how does the food stack up? I recently lunched on their spiced lamb pizza. It was everything I hoped for. Beautifully cooked flakes of lamb that had been generously kissed with middle eastern spices, sat on a crispy housemade base. The tomato sauce was sweet and well seasoned. Diced tomato was added for an extra burst of freshness. I wonder how pomegranate would go in its place for a more authentic twist? In the middle sat a rich pool of particularly-cucumbery tzatziki. On top of that a plumb of rocket for a bit of colour. Each mouthful was met with the toasty, slight bitterness of a generous sprinkling of pine nuts.
The coffee isn't quite in the league of some other places in the area (Trouble and Strife, Ginger's, Dear Daisy, and Pollen) but was completely satisfactory. What's more, like any cafe worth its stripes nowadays, they offer up Bonsoy for the soy drinkers.
Service is as warm and homely as you could possible get.
Welcome to the area, Kazbah. You're sure to make many a new friend in the coming months
To the late Brown Dog... let there be plenty of tennis balls and sticks in doggy heaven. read more