Shila Kitchen
325 Darling St
Balmain, Sydney
It was quite a treat to walk into this lovely tea house in Balmain with its fresh white décor. The room is bright and airy and everything looks clean and well-organised. The display cabinets looked amazing, stacked with tempting house-made condiments, pickles and oils.
Sidewalk dining was an option so we took a table outside and ordered our drinks from the impressive beverages menu. There were lovely tea blends and coffees to choose from and we ordered a Persian coffee and English breakfast tea. No tea bags here – the tea arrived in a glass pot. The Persian coffee was really good – strong and milky with that exotic mouth-feel but nice and smooth.
From the menu, which is designed mainly to be shared, we chose an all-time favourite, Baba Ganoush with crispy pita bread. Wow. This was one of the best we’ve had – a generous serving and it was so delicious!
The Kuku Sabzi was our next choice. It was a frittata made from selected green herbs, walnuts and barberries served with a shallot dip, fresh tomatoes, cucumber and Afghan bread. This was also a tasty dish which was certainly a fresh and healthy option.
Next up was the Persian Koofteh. A big ball of rice, split peas, minced beef and herbs on a tomato sauce base. This came with a side of olives and Afghan bread. The flavours in the Koofteh were so interesting and went so well together. We really enjoyed this dish. This was quite a big dish considering the sides.
We couldn’t go past a couple of baklava! The traditional and the white chocolate looked so good. They were absolutely wonderful too – such crispy, flaky pastry with pistachios, smothered in that rich honey – to die for! We couldn’t decide which one we liked best because they were both perfect.
A sweets cabinet showcased a delectable range of goodies such as baklava, Turkish delight and halva.
The vibe here is very welcoming and owners Saba and Zoya have worked hard bringing their passion and traditions to the table. There is so much more to be sampled here, so these Dames will be back! Shila Kitchen is open Mon- Fri 10am until 6pm and weekends 9am until 3pm.
Those Dames visited as guests of Shila Kitchen. Special thanks to Claire and April from CPM Online Marketing for arranging this visit.