After months of (not so patiently) waiting, Middle Eastern kitchen and bar Za Za Ta has finally opened inside Ovolo The Valley, and is set to majorly spice up the Brisbane dining scene.
The interior vibe is Queenslander-styled with a Victorian influence, with the two smaller rooms, The Parlour and The Library, taking on their own eclectic personalities and the main dining space, The Conservatory, dripping in inspo straight outta Tel Aviv.
Za Za Ta’s fare is a flavour bomb of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean profiles carefully curated by Israeli-born executive chef Roy Ner and head chef Dario Manca. With sharing at the heart of each dish, a brief raw and cured menu leads you into nibbles and snacks on which you can find the likes of fried goats cheese pretzel with house lamb bacon and yolk aioli, wagyu bits with pickled sugarloaf cabbage and crispy prawn bites.
Small plates will give you a taste of butter bread with goats curd and zhug chilli, Fremantle octopus with camel nduja and eggplant, and whipped hummus with abalone mushroom shawarma and potato pita bread (with the option to add foie gras), just to name a few.
Let your inner carnivore roar with the large plate offerings, from which you can feast on Black Onyx steak, seven-day aged spiced duck breast with black garlic and mom’s cream, and golden snapper with chraimeh freekeh and butter-poached celeriac. With vegetarian offerings equally as jaw-dropping, this is one dinner table everyone can get around.
Time to talk bevs: what we stan is a bar that’s not just a bar; it’s a starting (or ending) point to a great feast, a cute stop for nibbles and a cocktail, or the main event for a night big or small, and Za Za Ta is ideal for any and all of the above.
The cocktail list is more like an expedition to exotic lands (sans jetlag), with punchy, fragrant spices from the famous markets of Jaffa forming the backdrop to cold-pressed juice cocktails, plantation rums, Mediterranean-style g&ts and spirits infused with fruits prominent in Israeli cooking.
The drinks list doesn’t end there, though–as an Israeli restaurant, you know that he brews. Guests at Za Za Ta can also look forward to a stellar list of Middle Eastern craft beers alongside an eclectic mix of biodynamic, organic and skin-contact wines.
Put this divine dining mecca down on your to-do list stat, because she’s sure to be a knockout!
