Sabbaba

LOCATION
On the dining strip of King Street.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
Where do you look to find a Middle Eastern, vegan, fast food joint with a liquor licence? Why, Newtown of course. New addition Sabbaba brings age-old falafel recipes together with Corona beers and graffiti. Having started in Bondi, this quirky eatery is sharing the tabouli throughout Sydney with new siblings soon to open in Darlinghurst and Bondi Junction.

Starry-eyed faces are scrawled across the walls of the Newtown digs in splashes of blue and red, while glowing menus trumpet home-made hummus, freshly baked pita pockets and a kaleidoscope of salads. The menu mixes earthy elements like mustard seeds, pomegranate jewels, sweet honey and coarsely chopped herbs with red cabbage, sautéed eggplant, crisp salad leaves and textural haloumi. Meats and fish are grilled to form juicy slices while all vegetables - from fresh tomatoes to vegetarian falafels - never come in contact with animal products.

Bite-sized falafel balls flecked with sesame seeds become a crunchy satisfying mix of crumbling morsels and herbs. Colourful plates come piled with an array of tabouli, baba ghanoush, salad and hummus. The vibrant mix is ready to be stuffed into warm pita pockets along with succulent meat, haloumi or more falafels. There are even plump dolmades, grilled haloumi plates and 100% vegan hot chips wrapped in recycled paper to take away.

But before stepping out the door, a gleaming cabinet bestowing sweet, honey-soaked baklava cannot be resisted. It presents the sticky sweet in a million different variations – stuffed with pistachios, lined with sultanas, or folded into charming little flaky packages.

Sabbaba collides the humble flavours of the Middle East with some Sydney street cred to offer much-welcomed grab-on-the-go, healthy meal options.

Edwina Storie