FOOD REVIEW
MALIK
277 Elizabeth St, North Hobart 6236 9056 www.malikrestaurant.com.au Open Tuesday to Saturday, 5pm to 11pm
Asimple summery salad made from a medley of tomatoes topped with salty tendrils of haloumi and fresh basil is a late entry into my favourite food experiences of 2018. It comes from the kitchen of one of Hobart’s newest restaurants – Malik.
As the North Hobart strip continues its march south to meet up with Midtown, Malik opened just seven weeks ago at 277 Elizabeth St, right next door to Sweet Sassafras cafe.
At the helm is Ali Assi, who many will recognise from modern Middle Eastern eatery Syra in Salamanca Square. His brother Ibraham remains at Syra, also making an appearance in the Malik kitchen each Tuesday night to help his sibling out. Ali and Ibraham were both born in Australia to parents who migrated from Lebanon in the 1970s.
When Syra burst on the Hobart scene in early 2016 it was a revelation for lovers of Lebanese fare who had pretty much been starved of such delights since the closure of George Haddad and Anne Ripper’s Ali Akbar many moons ago.
Ali says Malik – meaning “king” – is more Mediterranean in style. Converting what was an electrical shop into a 40-seat restaurant that oozes urban cool took him about eight months. As an interesting aside, Ali once worked as an electrician but is clearly well suited to the hospitality trade.
With a polished concrete floor, dark timber tables, exposed brickwork, funky tubular lighting and a predominantly grey colour palette, Malik is livened up with a lion artwork that fits with the eat-like-a-king ethos.
Our Saturday night dinner for three is to celebrate the imminent graduation of my number one niece, who managed to achieve first-class honours in law and score herself a junior solicitor’s job to boot. I secretly suspect she gets her brains from her aunt.
We opt for a 6pm sitting. Just like at Syra, the fare is designed to share and there’s also a four-course feed-me option.
We start with kebbe — a Levantine croquette that’s made of bulgur, spiced lamb and pinenuts. The accompanying capsicum-rich sofrito sauce is vibrant and delicious.
We then share the squid, kiwi and fennel salsa and the baby carrots. The latter is the standout, featuring sweet baked carrots luxuriating on a bed of baba ganoush scattered with fresh mint leaves and pomegranate seeds. So good.
As you can’t visit the Med without eating lamb, we order the lamb shoulder with cucumber and yoghurt, which is fall-apart tender, and the Black Angus beef with romanesco. Charred on the outside and beautifully pink on the inside, the beef is the bomb. The meaty feast is devoured with the aforementioned tomato salad, lightly dressed with balsamic and olive oil, and a side of potatoes in spiced butter.
The pick of the desserts is a deconstructed vanilla cheesecake with cherry compote and chunks of honeycomb, which remind my other half of bakers toast he happily snacked on as a child. The service is spot on — helpful, friendly and efficient without being intrusive.
As we depart to make way for the 8pm crowd, I note the long-vacant Sons of Baja is about to reopen as Saigon District. Promising to deliver Vietnamese food with a modern twist, it’s to start trading in the new year after a soft opening of sorts at the Taste of Tasmania.
Ali believes the area is going through a revival, with relatively recent arrivals including Bar Wa Izakaya, Shambles Brewery, Boodle Beasley — and, of course, Malik — adding to the appeal. Indeed our night out at Malik is a great way to finish 2018 on a high note.