Tom Sarafian's hummus isn't the only hero at Zareh, the unmissable new opening coming to Collingwood this month.

Zareh has been a while in coming, but all signs point to it being worth the wait. Tom Sarafian has long had a fire in his belly to take the appreciation and understanding of Middle Eastern food to a new level, and this new Collingwood restaurant – Sarafian’s first of his own – is primed to do exactly that.

The picture includes a grill and oven from Samuel “The Brick Chef” Fraraccio, the artisan behind most of the biggest names in wood-fired cooking in Australia, a peerless collection of Armenian vinyl, a wealth of premium food products imported direct from Lebanon by Sarafian and his partner, Jinane Bou-Assi and a banging Middle Eastern-leaning drinks list. And orchestrating it all is a chef with a singular background – counting both the likes of St John and Moro in London and Melbourne Middle-Eastern landmarks Momo and Bar Saracen among his ports of call – and a burning desire to follow in the footsteps of his late mentor, Greg Malouf, and take it to the next level.


“This restaurant is a new chapter in a story that began generations ago. I’ve always wanted to create a space that captures the warmth of Middle Eastern hospitality and the richness of Arab and Armenian traditions,” says Sarafian.

On the plate we’re talking a bastourma toast that showcases thinly sliced Armenian air-dried spiced beef, we’re talking lamb tartare dressed Lebanese-style with toum, chilli, onions, kibbeh spices, parsley and mint, and we’re talking Tunisian brik pastry filled with tuna confit, potatoes, capers, parsley and harissa, served fresh from the wood-fired oven.

Kafta nayeh
Zareh’s kafta nayeh (image: Kristoffer Paulsen)

Vibes-wise, the room feels more driven by a Smith Street sensibility than classic Middle Eastern restaurant styling, with the timber bar, Pitt and Giblin speakers and open kitchen setting the scene.

“I’ve worked in too many kitchens where the chefs are hidden away in basements or behind stainless steel walls. At Zareh, the kitchen is open. It’s part of the dining room, because it is central to the experience,” says Sarafian.

“My grandfather [Zareh] set the tone for all us Sarafians to follow a career in the food world, some tried to steer away but we’ve all ended up working with food in one way or another! This is a place for our family to show our true love of hospitality.

Drinks? Arak is the name of the game on the back bar, where Arak Farid, an arak distilled in Lebanon by a Lebanese-Armenian family makes its Australian debut. Matt Linklater of Black Pearl fame, meanwhile, takes care of cocktails with inventive riffs on classics. See the Gilda Martini: doing what it says on the label, spiked with arak and adorned with a signature Sarafian Gilda, a skewer of olive, pickled pepper and anchovy.

Tom Sarafian's hummus.
Hummus served at Zareh (image: Kristoffer Paulsen)

And if the question on the lips of Melbourne’s Sarafian stans is “will his signature hummus, the one branded four times by the prongs of a fork, make an appearance on the menu?” Then the answer is very likely “yes”.

Zareh opens for dinner from 5.30pm, Wednesday to Saturday, on Wednesday 20 August at 368 Smith Street, Collingwood. Book now at zareh.com.au and follow along at @zareh.melbourne for more.