The Moor’s Head – Pide and Pizza with Variety!

The Golden Terrace Pide – Minced Beef, Fresh Tomato, Chilli, Almond, Lemon

The Moor’s head is the latest venture of Joseph Abboud and John Farha and is the sister restaurant to the well known and delicious Rumi (check out my review here – https://thegrazingpanda.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/rumi/). The Moor’s head specialises in Lebanese – Turkish pizza’s and has the tag line “inauthentic pizza” – combines their love of Italian pizza’s with their Lebanese heritage.

 The restaurant was previously an old warehouse and has high ceilings with black interior and wooden tables together with Arabic styled posters around the place. This all adds to the casual and comfortable atmosphere that makes you want to return.

The menu consists of starters, pizzas (manoushe and pides), salads and sweets. Manoushe are your standard type of pizzas – round and flat, and Pides are canoe shaped with raised crusts. When you look at the menu, you are greeted with wonderful and quirky names staying true to their Lebanese heritage such as The Golden Terrace, Omar Sharif, The Bosphorus and Sultan Mehmet.

I ordered the Golden Terrace which comes with minced beef, topped with fresh slices of tomato, the perfect amount of spiciness in the form of fresh chilli, coriander  lemon and almonds. The dough is perfection – soft and crunchy all at the same time. The mince beef was perfectly seasoned with spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, and the lemon and almonds added an extra tang and texture. It is a pity I didn’t get to stay for dessert – I definitely want to come back and try the dessert menu and dessert pizzas.

There are also many vegetarian options available using various combinations of interesting ingredients.

The Moor’s Head uses simple and well put together flavours, with greatly made dough for a very reasonable price. Together with the friendly service, this is a place I will be coming back to.

Rating : 4 Pandas
Price: $$
Menu – Consists of Pizza’s and Pides – can be found at http://www.themoorshead.com/?page_id=87
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Vibrant, Lively and Casual
Standout Dish: The Golden Terrace, Omar Sharif
Service: Friendly and Informative
Online Booking: No, but they do accept bookings via phone
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://www.themoorshead.com/
Rear 774 High St, Thornbury (Enter via Collins St)
Tel No: 9484 0173

Opening Hours:
Dinner only
Monday to Sunday: 5:30pm – 10:00pm

Takeaway also available.

Rumi – Persian and Lebanese Cuisine

 
Persian Meatballs, Tomato and Saffron Sauce, Labne, Cos and Herb Salad,  BBQ Baby Broccolini, Egg and Lemon Sauce

Sigara Boregi, cigar shaped pastry filled with haloumi, feta, and kasseri
BBQ Whole King Prawns, fennel salt
Beef Fatteh, Chickpeas, Pine Nuts, Yoghurt, Paprika Butter
Almond Pudding and Persian Tea

Rumi is medium sized restaurant that is decorated with Arabic calligraphy and paintings. The waiters are friendly and impress you with the funky shaped jugs and their fine pouring skills. Not all the dishes were great but there were some really tasty dishes. The Persian Meatballs were full of flavour, however the Spiced Lamb Shoulder we ordered wasn’t so nice. I found that it came out a bit burnt and wasn’t as soft as it could have been. The BBQ Whole King Prawns with Fennel Salt was once again flavoured just right and although it sounds simple, the dish was nice and one of my parents’ favourites of the night.

Rating : 3.5 Pandas
Price: $$
Menu – A la Carte – can be found at http://rumirestaurant.com.au/dinner/
Fullness: 80%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Comfortable and Bright – Perfect for Famliy dinners
Standout Dish: Persian Meatballs
Service: Fantastic and Attentive  – and the waiters have funky water pouring skills
Online Booking: Yes via website – http://rumirestaurant.com.au/reservations/
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://rumirestaurant.com.au/
116 Lygon St, Brunswick East
Tel No: 9388 8255

Opening Hours:
Open 7 days for Dinner