Sahara by the Park restaurant is a Middle Eastern delight located in Burwood Westfield overlooking Burwood park. Due to the interesting design of the restaurant, Sahara's has a variety of services to offer to guests depending on their needs at the time.
One section of the restaurant is what I would compare to being similar to a takeaway bar, where you can drop by and order a doner kebab or a variety of other middle eastern takeaway dishes, or if you choose too, their are a few seats and a couch to sit on to enjoy your meal.
Char Grill
If you are after more of a sit down meal, you can walk into the dine in section of the restaurant which is separated by the kitchen and bar, centred in the middle of the venue. I had purchased a kebab a couple of times from the takeaway section, and had dined in the restaurant a few years ago, but most recently when we last visited we were seated in the upstairs section which I didn't even know existed. The layout of the upstairs section was quite small, which could probably seat between 20 to 30 people but would be perfect as a function room to host a small birthday or anniversary.
Dip Platters
During this visit, we were provided with menus and my partner and I both decided on the Banquet 1 option which included a selection of three dips, a selection of one type of pide and a Char Grill that serves two. Sounded good to me. The three dips that we decided on ordering were the Hummus, Babaganoush and Chilli dips. As I'm a big lover of spicy food, the Chilli dip was my favorite one out of the three that we chose. While not being overly hot, the dip had enough bite to it to add it to my order list again.
Once we were finished the dips, next we were served the Char Grill, and shortly after that, the Chicken and Mushroom pide. The Char Grill consisted of three different skewers being adana, chicken and lamb. In addition the skewers came served with some rice on the side of the plate as well as a side salad, including a small amount of diced tomato which personally I have enjoyed some more of to go with the skewers. All of the skewers were all cooked to perfection, but when it came to flavour I'd recommend the chicken skewer as they tasted fantastic.
Chicken and Mushroom Pide
When I thought things couldn't get any better, I tried the Chicken and Mushroom pide and was shocked at how good it tasted. The pide was smothered in mushroom and chicken, I couldn't find a spot which wasn't covered, all held together with melted cheese. I couldn't get enough of it.
The wait staff were friendly, courteous and made sure they we had finished each course before the next one was brought out. Something that I really appreciate as it avoid the food getting cold quickly. Having been to Sahara's a few times now, each time I have visited I have been more and more impressed by the quality of the food, as well as the service that I received. I believe over the years the restaurant has grown, adapted with the times and most importantly focused on satisfying their patrons.
