At Zareh in Collingwood, the dip king and ex-Bar Saracen head chef will intertwine his Armenian and Egyptian heritage – and share his “death-row dish” with diners. (And it’s not his famed hummus.)
One of Melbourne’s most anticipated restaurants in recent years finally has an opening date. Zareh, the long-awaited debut of young-gun chef Tom Sarafian, will open in Collingwood next Wednesday, August 20, spotlighting his Armenian and Egyptian heritage.
Part of what makes it so closely watched is, yes, the lengthy lead time. It also marks Sarafian’s return to restaurants after four years of pop-ups and running a successful condiment business.
But mostly, it’s the former Bar Saracen head chef’s refusal to take the path of least resistance in his pursuit of perfection. (This is a man who still insists on hand-peeling garlic for his eponymous dip.)
“We do everything the hard way,” says Sarafian.
He’s the first to bring mouneh (Lebanese pantry staples) from south Lebanese brand Droubna to Melbourne. From quality sumac to supersized pine nuts, they’ll be used across the menu and also available to buy, alongside Sarafian dips, in the deli section.
He’s also struck out on his own to open the restaurant on Smith Street. It was initially meant to be part of the Mulberry Group stable, but that changed when an appropriate site couldn’t be found.
Named for Sarafian’s grandfather, Zareh is an elegant 40-seater with deep connections to home. Sarafian will work alongside his brother and cousin, helping out with dips production and front-of-house, respectively. The fit-out emulates their grandparents’ house, from burgundy tiles to an identical amber-glass sliding door.
The ever-evolving menu will traverse Sarafian’s roots, weaving in influences from the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean, as well as his training in London.
Sarafian’s “death-row dish” is manti, Armenian style. Here he’s baking the teeny-tiny, meat-stuffed dumplings until crunchy, then splashing them with a tomato broth that the bottom soaks up while the top stays crisp. They’re dressed with garlicky labneh and Aleppo chilli from Tasmania’s Fat Carrot Farm.
Ghapama – an Armenian dish “so iconic they sing songs about it” – is a hollowed-out heirloom pumpkin filled with rice, nuts and dried fruit that’s cooked in the wood oven. “Magical” chicken wings are charcoal-grilled then wood-fired in a claypot, with copious amounts of Sarafian’s own toum, lemon and coriander.
The chef describes the oven and charcoal barbecue custom-built by The Brick Chef as “more important than salt”.
It wouldn’t be a Sarafian restaurant without his signature hummus, adorned with Fraser Isle spanner crab and Mooloolaba prawns.
“This food is [often] seen as cheap and cheerful. We eat it a lot at home … and at kebab joints. We felt like we needed a room to show off the pinnacle of what [it] can be,” says Sarafian.
Completing the equation is arak, the anise spirit, specially imported from Lebanese producer Farid. There are three – OG, coffee, za’atar – to have neat or with a splash of sparkling water, which isn’t traditional, Sarafian says, but enhances the flavour. A bracing arak-spiked martini comes with the optional (but arguably essential) add-on of a gilda.
It’s dinner-only to start, but Zareh will soon add lunches and grab-and-go options to the deli.
Dinner Wed-Sun from August 20.
368 Smith Street, Collingwood, zareh.com.au
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