RESTAURANT REVIEW Kamel Restaurant, Albert Park

April 2012, Albert Park, Melbourne.  

Is it just me or would you also have expected an Indian place with a name like Kamel? Yes, Ok as soon as I arrived and saw the sign hanging outside with a camel on it, it dawned on me that maybe it was Middle Eastern cuisine, and I'd missed a pun somewhere along the way. Though not an expert in Lebanese-type food by any means, I do know my hummus from my baba ganoush, and my fava beans from my falafel. I also know that foul mudammas isn't as bad as it sounds. But only just. We did live in the Middle East for four years after all, and I had to have something to show for it.


I am very pleased to report that Kamel also know a bit about Arab, North African & Turkish fodder, jazzed up with a bit of a Melbourne twist, and they do it all rather well. I arrived in a group of five and we simply let the chef decide what to bring, which stretched to about seven courses or so. Highlights were the zucchini, corn, feta & chickpea fritters, and the grilled peppered watermelon with pomegranate molasses feta & dill. Yes, you read that right... grilled watermelon. You need to try it, I promise, marvellous. My companions were kind enough to accommodate plenty of vegetarian choice, as were the staff, but they did seem to get a few extra dishes to themselves, and yes, I was counting. What I missed out on in the mains, I made up for in dessert with the very English sounding apple, berry & almond crumble, which was divine. The rest of the table shared a plate of pișmaniye – a type of Turkish candy floss, which they raved about. Total cost with drinks and desserts was around $50 a head.


I do submit my reviews on trip advisor, where I am classed as a contributor. I'm almost a senior contributor. Woo-hoo. You can find my reviews by clicking here.