Rumi Restaurant

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

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.

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.