Had very high expectations for this place based on all the reviews, but ended up pretty disappointed. The food was OK, but not nearly amazing as we'd expected. Possibly that's because we ordered their vegetarian options, which were all side dishes -- maybe they're more known for their meat options? Either way, they should really up their vegan and vegetarian game! We went for my boyfriend's birthday -- so, yeah, it was a special occasion, which made our experience even more disappointing because our expectations were set so high. For starters, even though we'd made reservations two weeks ago, we were squeezed into a tiny little table with four patrons on either side and very little elbow room. We could hear all of the conversations of the two tables next to us and they could hear our conversation. Didn't make for a romantic birthday dining experience, that's for sure. On the plus side, the service was very attentive -- a French girl who knew exactly what was and wasn't vegan. She pointed out the various sections of the menu and our various options. My boyfriend started with a drink (arak gantous/abou raad), a strong aniseed-flavored liquor. He enjoyed it but I stayed far away based on the smell alone, haha. Then for our entree we ordered: - taratoor (almond and tahini dip) - hummus dip - crudites (fresh veggies to dip in the tahini and hummus) - pickled veggies to dip in the tahini and hummus This was probably the highlight of the meal -- I really loved the taratoor and the hummus was good too, although the flavour got a little repetitive compared to some hummuses (hummi? lol). The portion sizes of the entrees were good so we were actually starting to fill up. So next we ordered: - 1 serving of crunchy potatoes seasoned with garlic and coriander - 1 serving of rice pilaf - 1 serving of freekeh None of these wowed us. The crunchy potatoes were very very dry and honestly needed a sauce of some kind. My boyfriend ate three potato cubes and flat-out refused to eat the rest, leaving me with a very bloated potato-belly at the end of the evening because I hate wasting food so I had to eat the rest of them :/ The rice pilaf was nice enough with barberries and pistachio, a traditional Persian sort of dish, but like the potatoes, it was very dry. The freekeh with pomegranate dressing and almonds was just not very nice. My boyfriend ate most of it and I avoided it. Ultimately I think the problem is this is the type of restaurant designed for share plates, and the vegan options were all side plates to share, not mains. And as side plates they didn't go together well as a cohesive whole. There were literally no vegetarian mains available (much less vegan mains) and I think this is a real shame. It forces veggos to select these side dishes that don't really form a complete meal, and everything ends up tasting very dry and odd together. Rumi should definitely make more of an effort to come up with a vegetarian (preferably vegan) main so that nobody misses out. So. Yeah. Probably avoid this place if you're vegan or vegetarian. We spent $86 altogether and for that amount of money (and a birthday celebration dinner!) we expected to be much happier with our food and experience. read more

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Bear and I came here because we had seen Anthony Bourdain's visit. Though the food here was good, everything felt incomplete. Like we ordered the lamb and got a delicious lamb shoulder, completely on its own. Who just wants to munch on red meat? As a Middle Eastern, may I make a quick suggestion? Please add back in the flat breads, the rice, the potatoes. They are needed. We ordered the: Crispy fried school prawns - Delicious, needed more sauce 'Batata Harra' - Really good, needed a (any!) sauce. Advieh marinated lamb shoulder - Needed something to accompany it. Shaved Cabbage Salad - Really underwhelming. Don't recommend. I can't remember the rest. It's a shame because the potential is definitely there, but it definitely misses the mark. Ambiance and service could improve too. read more

Ever read a rumi poem or quote and felt at bliss after, well, a food experience at the Rumi Restaurant surpasses this blissness. I had easily booked a table via opentable and confirmed it via SMS on the day. I arrived 5 minutes to 6pm (my booking time) and was only let in at 6pm (there seemed to be a waitstaff briefing). As soon as my friend and I walked in, we were asked if we were celebrating an occasion - I told them it was my birthday. When we sat down, we were poured water from a beautiful Middle Eastern looking jug. I asked for hot water due to feeling under the weather, and the waitress quickly obliged by giving us two turkish glasses with a steaming teapot of water. I felt at home right away. The dim lighting was quite calming. We were given the drinks menu, the banquet menu (Starting at 45-50 per person each) and the a la carte menu. We were told that between us, we should get two mains, and one medium and one starter. I had previously read awful reviews about the portion sizes being too small, or lamb being too tough, but I must disagree as my experience was quite the contrary. we started off with the sigara borek, which were delicately crispy but soft filo pastries in the shape of cigars/spring rolls encasing warm melted haloumi with a touch of oil on top. The persian meatballs (four of them) arrived with some labne(?) yoghurt on top with a side of pita bread for two. Again delicious and quite satisfying. for our main, we had the lamb shoulder, which literally fell of the bone. It arrived with some mint consomme sauce which was a tad sweet but the lamb was so good that we forgot everything. It was brilliantly black (charcoal) and a sizeable portion for both of us. The fatooush salad with cripsy pita, chickpeas, rocket, and pomegranate was quite refreshing and satisfying too. We thought the portion sizes were great and 4 dishes plus a cocktail came up to 72 dollars with our bellies super full. the waitstaff were quite lovely and came to inquire about our meals multiple times. through the stencils on the wall, we could see the kitchen staff hard at work. And at the end, our bill arrived in a pretty tin with a helping of four most scrumptious turkish delights - a birthday treat from the restaurant. I am going back and adding it to my top dining list. Rumi - is definitely a secret treasure of Brunswick - hidden amongst the Italian establishments. read more

Rumi - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brunswick East, VIC

First visit back to Rumi for four years. Somehow this fantastic restaurant has got even better which I would hardly have thought possible. I brought along two good friends with me for our traditional end of year get together. They are from the inner south and east. Both get edgy in the inner north beyond Northcote. Brunswick for them is unfamiliar, Coburg somewhere utterly foreign and potentially dangerous, Fawkner a war zone. So, going here was a brave and possibly reckless choice. But, both friends went crazy over Rumi. Gobsmacked at the succession of amazing dishes being rolled out at our $60 banquet, one declared in between mouthfuls with typical steely authority, "...amazing, it's a 4.8...". We sagely agreed. It's hard to know where to start on the magnificence of the meal and overall experience here. Maybe I'll start with the thing that was most extraordinary to me. It's an unusual observation too. The salads here are exceptional. I've never had anything like them. Incredibly simple and fresh with the most thoughtful composition and such lovely flavour. My taste highlight of the night was a slice of Lebanese cucumber with mint, both seeming like they'd just been picked from the garden, quickly chilled and then served. I could not do justice to the elegant simplicity of the dish and the delicate and cleansing taste. It's one of my culinary highlights of the year That early dish set the tone of the meal for me. Dish after dish of extraordinary food continued to come to the table. Beautifully creamy labna, gorgeous soft pita bread, delicate cheese cigars, superb meatballs, huge beautifully cooked king prawns, the best quail I've had for years, superb roast potatos and so on and so on. Just this succession of incredible dishes. The whole trout we had was cause for much discussion. We'd rarely seen the likes of it. Beautifully flavoured we marvelled over this dish for some time as the level of skill that had gone into cooking it was a matter of deep awe. It's one of the best cooked fish meals I've ever had. The fish was still incredibly moist and tasted beautiful. A second salad sent me into heaven again. I could go on and on about more of the dishes but won't. They were all exceptional. The wines we had were lovely too. One a Turkish wine, the other from Lebanon I think. We enjoyed the first one the best. I like the restaurant space and decor here. It's open, modern and it works. Service was excellent. Our prime waiter was a lovely young man who reminded me a little of a better looking Harry Potter. Very good at his job and with an impish sense of humor. He really helped make our night. To conclude, Rumi is one of the true jewels of the inner north. It is a true culinary experience. It is not to be missed under any circumstances. read more

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OH MAN IS RUMI GOOD. We're lucky to have Rumi down the road from us. It's a cool venue where one can dress up and have an incredibly fancy anniversary dinner, or just pop by after work and have an indulgent meal. Either way you will feel comfortable and welcome. On our first occasion, we kicked off with a cocktail (because why not?) I had a watermelon based cocktail using West Winds Gin. It was utterly refreshing and a wonderful apertif. The Middle-Eastern menu is split into three sections - small, medium and large - with all dishes designed to share. Of the smaller plates we had: + pita bread + Crispy fried cuttlefish (SO SO moorish. I couldn't stop.) + Charcoal chicken wings + Persian Meatballs (delicious, and with lots of sauce to mop up with the pita bread) Of the larger plates we shared: + Freekah salad with almonds, ewe's milk feta and pomegranate dressing. (This was so amazing and I am hoping to recreate it at home. SO SO GOOD.) + Advieh marinated Lamb shoulder (So soft, it literally fell off the bone.) The service was spot-on. Very attentive without being annoying. We were never without a drink (which is extremely important to me, ha!) and they were kind in recommending dishes to us. Rumi is a winner all-round. read more

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This is my first Middle Eastern restaurant in Melbourne and I love it. Literally there is nothing that I don't like about it. *food: We ordered Freekah salad ($13.5), Persian meatballs (13.5), and apricots with labne (7.5) for dessert. The salad is exceptional! I don't know every ingredient but all the flavors are so well blended and satisfying and the texture is interesting. The meatballs is good, but not very outstanding. Apricots and labne is a weird combination I thought, but turned out to be an excellent choice. *service: staff are polite and friendly. We at first order the 4-course banquet and thought we could share a one person portion into 2. Then when we figured out it is actually $48 eah person we had to cancel it and the waiter was totally cool with it. *ambience: cozy and classy at the same time:) it's a small restaurant with nice interior design and furniture. *price: a little expensive but as I said, it worths every buck I paid :) read more

Rumi - Freekeh salad and Persian meatballs - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brunswick East, VIC

My girl has her finger on Melbourne's restaurant pulse, so to speak, and as soon as Rumi opened in East Brunswick she was very excited. And with good reason! It's simple... Rumi does fine Middle Eastern cuisine. It is better than any I've had anywhere else. The best thing to do here is engage in the banquet. For around $40 per person you get a taste of everything and the food just keeps coming and coming. It starts with olives and breads and pickles (do not overdo this course, you will want to as it is delicious as all hell but there is better to come). You then move into this shrimp dish and some delicious meatballs with the best cauliflower I've EVER eaten. Then it gets hazy -- the stomach fills beyond capacity before... Bang! They hit you with this lamb shoulder that is so large, and so exquisitely cooked that you are forced to devour it despite the screaming in your gut. We ate with some vegos and their food looked awesome too!! Treat yourself. read more

Rumi - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brunswick East, VIC

I've now been to Rumi three times over the past 2.5 years, thanks to one Anthony Bourdain and his introducing me to the place. The first time, in 2010, it was absolutely fantastic. The second time, in 2011, it was woefully disappointing. After the second visit, I was starting to think that I enjoyed the first visit simply because of the hype. After a few beers at the new Alehouse Project up the street (recommended), I finally decided I would give Rumi another try, despite my previous misgivings. It was about 6:30pm on a Sunday and there was already a 2 hour wait. To get past this, and since I was solo, I grabbed a seat at the bar, where I had eaten my previous meals here. I was helped immediately and ordered a Rumi Red (house red) wine, which was a fairly tasty though not quite excellent wine. For $8 it was fine. It appears they no longer have a Shiraz to order by the glass, which is incredibly disappointing. For the main, I ordered the quail skewers (with citrus, carrot...a few other things I forget) and the pickles, which i always enjoy. The quail was beyond delicious. At first, I thought I could only pick up the citrus. Then, I picked up the carrot, then the other flavors. Every single flavor listed on the menu came through, but in perfect balance. The pickles were, as always, light and delicious, with just the right amount of snap and bitterness. Throughout the meal, service was absolutely perfect - efficient and friendly. Rumi, I'm back...you have won yourself back in to my good graces now! Just don't disappoint me again... read more

I had heard some very good things about this Middle Eastern restaurant - so decided to book in a group of six of us for their famous 4 course banquet. At a cost of $40 per head we figured it was a pretty good deal - but then again no small change to fork out for a meal. We had done our homework and knew that corkage was $10 per bottle (a rule they have since changed - there is no BYO at Rumi anymore), which we thought was pricey - but I had been given a few bottles of Organic wine by a winemaker and was keen to give my friends a taste so we enquired about getting some glasses. The waitress gave us a look like we were naughty school children and said that they did allow BYO if you have a very special bottle to drink otherwise to buy off their menu. We informed her that they very clearly stated they were BYO so to go ahead and get us some glasses. You are probably thinking at this point why I am making a deal of BYO rules that have since changed. Well this is my way of pointing out the general feeling that this place had i.e. one of innate stinginess. For our the four course meal they would bring out two small plates of each course which was about enough food for four people. In fact one of the courses consisted of lamb skewered kebabs of which (you guessed it) they gave us four. Now I am not a mathematician but I am pretty sure it is hard to divvy up four small kebabs amongst six people. Anyway the food was of a high standard. Which is a pity because with a little bit of a hospitable vibe this place could be great. read more

Rumi - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brunswick East, VIC

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I preferred Rumi's previous address just up the road from where they are now, but I understand that they probably had to move to slightly larger premises in order to cater to their every increasing fan base. The new restaurant lacks a certain intimacy and warmth but it's still a lovely spot for dinner, and the middle eastern hospitality is as abundant as ever. The Levantine and Persian inspired dishes are reason alone to come here. The sigara boregi, cigar-shaped cheese-filled pastry, is a must-have, as are the spiced school prawns with tahini sauce. The lamb shoulder is falling-off-the-bone tender and the order isn't complete without their winning freekah salad. Choose from a refined wine list (including Lebanese wine) to wash this down with or sample the anise-flavoured arak if you dare. Make sure you book ahead because Rumi's reputation is known far and wide, and there are enough people in this neighbourhood who come here regularly, let alone people who travel from further afield simply to see what the fuss is about. read more

Rumi - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brunswick East, VIC

Loved it. I've been living in Melbourne for 6 months and going out to dinner every week, and from all I think Rumi is the best. The yummiest food on earth. Woah. What a flavour, never experienced something like that (Actually I did, in Jamie's Italian in Sydney with one of his pasta plates). But I definitely will back one time and over and over. Ideal for taking friends out from out of the city. Promess, they will love it to! After having that 8hrs cooked lamb and those little wonderfull precious things (everything is a single way to paradise), you just can't not do it. PD. Ask for the banquet ($45). You'll never see so much and so tasty food in one night. read more

Only me and my wife visited Rumi so we only had a few of their dishes so I can only comment on what we had but in a nutshell the food is not great. Rumi is a really slick, clean looking joint and the service we recieved was fantastic but as I said the food really let's the place down. The pickled veg we had was excellent but the chicken skewers we had were boring and dry without any sauce. We ordered slow cooked lamb which although nice and tender the outside was way overcooked and lacked flavour. This was a shame because slow cooked lamb shoulder can taste fabulous when done right and we really looked forward to a middle eastern take on it. Our deserts were a lil chocolate cake and turkish delight. The turkish delight was good but seemed exactly the same as the stuff you get from the supermarket. The choc cake needed to be warm or needed something to list it, it was also quite dry. read more

Had an amazing vegan degustation the other evening. Every course was delicious and the paired vegan wines were an amazing compliment! Favourites were the eggplant, stuffed zucchini, and the leeks with roasted pepper. Would highly recommend, especially vegetarian/vegan. read more

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DO NOT GO TO RUMI! Overpriced for what you get. You will leave hungry and underwhelmed. There are plenty of other options on this street... We dined at Rumi on Saturday night and was very let down by a few things. First of all - there is a huge problem in both toilets that needs attending to - the smell was abominable. Hopefully that will be attended to. Secondly - I requested a nice table, as it was mine and my husbands wedding anniversary and despite there being a slightly better table available, we were given the worst one in the entire place. We were considering leaving based on these first two points alone and wish we had, in hindsight . Following our decision to stay, we decided to order the $70 per person banquet and expected that it would adequately feed us and include some of their lovely warm signature dishes that are posted on social media and that appear on the website. We were mistaken. Yes, the raw vegetables were somewhat plentiful, however we waited for the wow factor that never came. For example - a small serving of soup each is one course. (it was served in a ramequin size dish). Four people are expected to share TWO small skewers of meat and ONE small fish. What was also surprising was that the plates were not cleared between these so called courses and replaced with fresh plates - at one stage the waitress cleared and replaced just one plate and cutlery at the table randomly for just one person. Back to the food - we are wondering whether the people who order the banquets are just given the leftover items that do not get ordered and the stars are left out deliberately. The fish wasn't even on the menu. The cheapest banquet looks more impressive than the mystery rubbish they served us. In the end, we all left hungry and my husband and I left disappointed that our anniversary dinner was so average. We would never recommend Rumi to any of our friends, nor would we return. We were at a loss to discover why Rumi is so popular at the moment (if this is what they serve, it won't be long before this changes) and concluded that perhaps the overpriced banquet was not what these returning customers ordered, or they would be out of business. I know this review is harsh, however it's fair based on the disappointing experience we had on Saturday night. read more

This is my favourite Banquet in Melbourne. Just order it and enjoy .....little birds and lamb what more does a man need.

It is rare in Melbourne to eat out and feel that you got more than what you paid for. This is one of those rare places $45 for five courses with each course more impressive than the last. What an establishment. read more

Middle Eastern food is always my bf's food of choice. I'm no expert on the matter, but I know I like the smell of all those spices. We went to Rumi in Brunswick East and were pleasantly surprised of how yummy all the foods were. They're all sharing plates and we ordered the pickles, curly haloumi salad (totally recommend), quail skewers (my obsession continues) and baked baby snapper (yum!). The waiters were all super nice and the food was ridiculous fast. We recommend getting around 3-4 plates for 2 people and the staff are nice enough to suggest ones if you really can't decide. I would definitely recommend this place for good Middle Eastern. Brunswick is the metropolis of all things in that region, but you'd be hard pressed to find a place that had nice ambience as well. Definitely a winner in all respects. read more

Lebanese with attitude(not Persian), a good sample of Arak (think Pastis), service needs improvement. Food quality varies. Best dish for me was cauliflower and all appetizers. Lamb Shoulders were tender, could cut with a spoon - and memorable taste but not amazing. No banquet deal when I was there, but still came to about 40 dollars a person with me chugging 2 glasses of arak. read more

Went here a few months ago and the memory is still very strong as it was delicious! The banquet is great enjoyed every dish :) nice service to as they are always busy read more

Been to several middle eastern restaurants before and this feels way to hipster. limited selection of food. non alcoholic drink selection was severely lacking. had to wait forever to get our meals (30 mins between entree and mains). food was great once it came. we also felt rushed since we had to be out in an hour due to a booking even though it was half full. read more

Absolutely delicious meal and experience at rumi. Awesome service and everything in our banquet 'with the lot' was perfection. If you love a beer, have the Hawkers pale ale. Yummy! read more

Without a doubt one of the best restaurants I have ever been too. The food is unreal. All of it. Not one bad dish here.

Overall we were pretty disappointed. The shoulder of lamb was absolutely delicious I must say, and prices generally reasonable, BUT - the labne with cold flatbread starter was utterly tasteless and boring, as were the potatoes we ordered to accompany the lamb. They should serve the lamb with some vegetable side dishes that go with it or give diners unfamiliar with Persian cuisine better guidance as to dishes to choose to accompany main plates like the lamb. Also the restaurant was very noisy, and we didn't feel like staying for sweets. read more

We have been wanting to try this place for a while and made our way there last Saturday. Excellent sums up our experience. Tried the banquet for 2, the smaller one and had trouble getting through all the yummy food. Not sure how anyone can get through the larger banquet. The grilled prawns were superb. The eggplant was incredible will definitely be coming back. read more

Arrived on a Thursday night and were greeted warmly by the staff. We had no reservation but luckily there were seats available for our group of 5. Some of my friends are vegetarians (which is sad for me because I eat anything) but we were able to select a bunch of items to share, some from the server's recommendations, and overall, the meal was delicious! The recommended sigara boregi (a crispy cheese and herb filled pastry roll) is a must-have. The mushrooms and fried cauliflower were also great. The non-vegetarians shared the fish of the day, and that was tasty. The spiced school prawns were good but they were small and I probably wouldn't order them again. Can't remember what else we ordered but I would love to go back and order everything else on the menu because that's how great it was. Service was excellent and the water vase was a nice art piece addition to the table. read more