Lucy likes food.

Byblos
WTC Wharf, World Trade Centre
18-32 Siddeley St,
Melbourne, 3000

Website: http://www.byblosbar.com.au/melbourne/

Needed a good catch-up with some friends, so we went out for dinner in the city - and after Ryan decided he wanted something ‘Mediterranean’, I stumbled upon Byblos on Urbanspoon. Seemed like the perfect day for a nice outdoor meal, overlooking the Yarra River.
It’s in a pretty understated location, across the road from Crown opposite the Exhibition Building and South Wharf, it’s a place you wouldn’t necessary find unless you knew where you were looking. But really, it’s quite accessible by tram (anything that passes Southern Cross) and train - Southern Cross Station.

The staff were extremely friendly, and the whole experience was really enjoyable - and I would go back again. Outdoor seating is mainly on wicker chairs and spans over quite a large area; whilst the inside seating is more about couches and comfort which seems really cosy for wintery periods.

The food at Byblos is mainly to share, which is how I like to eat out so I can try more of what’s on offer! The menu covers a range of food - dips, salads, grill and individual snacks.hommos, baba ghanouj and labneh

To start, we ordered the Trio of Dips($13.90) -baba ghanouj (eggplant), hommus (chickpeas) and labneh (soft homemade cheese) which came with a whole lot of pita bread (not toasted though sadly). The baba ghanouj and the hommus were just average and normal which was a bit saddening as I had high hopes for the hommus. However, the labneh was amazing and easily our favourite dip; it had mint and garlic weaved in through the cheese which all tasted amazing together!

Next, we had the Falafels ($3.50 each) - (Ground chickpeas, broad beans, onion, parsley, garlic and traditional Lebanese spices) as I was really craving one, and good thing we got them because they are probably the best falafels I’ve eaten. It wasn’t dry on the inside and the blend of spices they had wasn’t too overpowering.

The three main items came together on a stand to save space on the table and consisted of:

• Koosa ($14.90) (Baked zucchini stuff ed with grilled lamb and spiced rice, served with a rich tomato sugo) - We weren’t sure what to expect when we ordered it but it was really something different in a good way. I would have preferred a bit more lamb as opposed to rice but overall the flavours were really strong and enjoyable.
• Quail ($18.00) (Whole roasted quail marinated in pomegranate molasses and served with eggplant and yoghurt) - This one split us, Karolyn didn’t quite enjoy it but Ryan and I did. The molasses gave the quail a sticky sweet initial taste before the sourness kicked in, which I enjoyed - seemed to give it the kick it needed. The eggplant that accompanied it was simply amazing, I wouldn’t have minded a dish of that by itself - they were mixed in with the yogurt so had an overall creamy texture and taste.
• Halloumi Salad ($15.90) (Pan-fried Cyprian halloumi served with fresh mint, mixed greens, tomato and avocado) - Presentation of the dish was great, and the halloumi had a great salty flavour though it became a bit overpowering after awhile. The salad lacked the ‘wow factor’, but was overall a nice dish though they were very stingy on the avocado.

Overall, the meal was an affordable Mediterranean dinner which I’d like to visit again to try the other options available.