I don’t usually venture out to the Northern suburbs, but I found out about this place through a friend on Facebook. Banking on the fame of the two cartoon characters is Tom and Jerry, a small Middle Eastern eatery, which is located straight down Main North Road as you head out of the city. The place opened just 5 months ago with the furnishings still relatively new. The brown and orange colour scheme is a prominent feature and the straw ceiling adds a point of difference.

The menu is simple, offering charcoal chicken and shawarma. For those that don’t know, shawarma is an Arabic way of preparing meat by putting it on a spit. The meat can be cooked for as long as a day. Shavings are cut off the meat and served, while the remainder continues to cook. It’s no different to what you see at a Greek take away place, although this place does use charcoals to cook their meat. This place also offers 15 different flavours of shisha if you want to give your lungs a work out.

Today, I ordered the Lamb Shawarma on a Plate. The meal was ready after a 15 minute wait and was nicely presented. The lamb was well seasoned and full of smokey flavours. The meat was dry and over cooked. Some pieces were so over cooked they had turned into charcoal. The coleslaw style salad contained vegetables that were fresh and provided a nice crunchy texture. The dish came with pita bread which I felt could have been lightly grilled prior to serving.

The staff were friendly and welcoming, and the service was good. The atm0sphere was relaxed with no other customers in store during my visit. The pricing is slightly on the high side. The Lamb Shawarma on the Plate was $14.90 with a serving size that was just satisfactory. I’ve read reviews raving about the juiciness of their meat but I just didn’t get that. I suspect I may have received yesterday’s reheated batch.

I don’t think I’d come back to this place.

WHERE: 470 Main North Rd, Blair Athol