It’s been a long time coming, but one of the country’s most dynamic young champions of Middle Eastern food is finally opening a restaurant of his own. After a planning 2024 CBD opening didn’t pan out, Tom Sarafian has announced that Zareh, which is named for his grandfather, will open at the ES Smith Building on Smith Street, near Easey Street, in Collingwood.
“It’s been a journey with a few ups and downs, and I’ve learnt so much,” he says. “This is finally my chance to create something that really reflects who I am, what I believe in, and the food I’m passionate about.”
Sarafian’s plan for 2024 was to open two separate venues, a provedore and a restaurant. Now Zareh will do it all at a single site, offering his take on the cuisines of the Middle East, the Caucasus and North Africa across casual breakfast and lunch menus and a small retail offering from autumn 2025 and then more ambitious dinners to follow later in the year.
It’s exciting news for lovers of the region’s food. Sarafian was inducted into the MFWF Legends and Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2024, and his perspective on Middle Eastern food is unique and compelling. On the one hand, his restaurant chops are considerable, with his CV taking in time spent working with local greats Greg Malouf and Joseph Abboud as well as at Moro and St John in London. On the other, there’s his passion for all the details beyond the plate – he scours markets and garage sales for gear, dives into the books for deep cuts from regional cuisines, and returned from a fact-finding trip to Glendale (aka Little Armenia) in East Los Angeles last year with three suitcases full of Armenian and Arabic vinyl. If there’s quality fresh za’atar or whole sumac berries to be had in Melbourne, there’s a good chance you’ll find it on the plate or on the shelves at Zareh.
The menu is still a work in progress, but you can bet signatures such as king prawn and spanner crab hummus and fresh cheese ma’amoul with fig jam are a lock, and if it’s going to feature anything like the sort of food Sarafian has been dreaming up for his events and pop-ups lately, there’s plenty to be excited about.
That could mean milk-fed Meredith goat stuffed with dolma and roasted, perhaps, or his grandmother’s recipe for ful medames made with fresh broad beans, or trout done kafta nayeh-style, the fish served raw and finely chopped, dressed with toum, onions and harissa under a herby nest of radishes and tomatoes. We’d also like to put our hands up for the likes of Sarafian’s fish fatteh, and fried eggs with awarma, Lebanon’s lamb confit.
“I’ve always dreamed of creating a place that feels like home, and shares the generous and rich hospitality of the Middle East for everyone who walks through the door,” he says. “Smith Street feels right. It’s always been one of Melbourne’s most exciting locations and I feel so lucky for the opportunity to express myself in such an exciting, vibrant neighbourhood.”
Zareh, 368 Smith St, Collingwood, @zareh.melbourne.
By Pat Nourse