My friends and I try the $70 banquet from Lebanese restaurant Azima in Civic. There are plenty of tables inside and it’s quite spacious with a bar in the middle of the restaurant. We’re told all the food is served simultaneously, so there’s no staggering of dishes/courses.
I start off with the Shia Zahra ($12) mocktail of hibiscus tea syrup with ginger, mint and sparkling water. There are an assortment of alcoholic drinks from cocktails, beers to Lebanese wines too. I want to try the mint tea ($8 a pot) but it will have to wait for another visit.
Soft flatbread and crispy fried zataar bread is brought to the table, with accompanying dips of labneh, hummus, baba ghanoush garnished with pomegranate seeds, and a freshly tossed tabouli.
The hot starters feature fried kibbeh stuffed with beef mince and onion, hot mixed cheese sambosek in a crispy pastry, fried falafel balls, and hot chips in a garlic dip. I really enjoy all the well-seasoned hot foods and the garlic dip is exceptional. I could easily be satisfied with just these hot mezze as my whole meal.
Mains included are the shish tawook (chicken) skewer and lamb kafta skewer served with garlic dip. These are served with a side of onion which I barely touch – I’d personally prefer a side of greens. We’re told the metal in the meat skewers are very hot while they arrive steaming on the plates. Each serving comes with a generous portion of well-seasoned, flavourful meat. The lamb kafta is my favourite of the two types of skewers.
Dessert is your typical assorted baklava that come in different shapes.
I recommend the Azima banquet as a first taste option. Various groups of friends have also tried and loved it! I see they’ve recently introduced a lunch special for the office crowd during the week too.
See my reel of the experience below:
Azima
1/222 City Walk, Canberra ACT
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