PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAChurch Street has long been one of the most densely populated food streets in western Sydney, always lively with diners crowding its umbrella-shaded footpath tables, enjoying everything from cafe fare to noodle soup. One of the more up-market options is El-Phoenician. It’s a beautiful space, sleek and modern, with a floor to ceiling glass frontage ensuring diners can see and be seen. Inside it’s chocolate brown and starched-linen white, with long tables crowned with silver baskets of fried Lebanese bread.
As Lebanese-style dining is a highly social affair, dishes here are constructed with sharing in mind. You’d be amiss not to order the mixed dips – tangy, lemon-scented labna, smoky babaganoush and smooth, garlicky hummus. An entire meal can be had sharing a selection of the mezza, including shankleesh (smoked cheese on mixed leaves and tomato, drizzled with olive oil), and batengen shawarma (slices of eggplant topped with minced lamb, pine nuts and fresh mint). For those less inclined to share, there are individually portioned mains, from the beautifully spiced shish kebab to whole snapper stuffed with lemon thyme, oregano and semi-dried tomato. El Phoenician does have a (not unwarranted) reputation as a party venue, and on weekends you get the full deal. Girl – and boy – belly dancers gyrate around the dining room to hypnotic Middle Eastern rhythms – and by all accounts, they put on quite the show.
Fiona Davies, October 2007
