Old City Kitchen & Bar

Old City Kitchen & Bar brings a collision of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours to Newtown, influenced by rediscovered family recipes from places including Jordan, Lebanon, Israel & Palestine.

Tucked away a short walk down Missenden road from King street, the recently opened venue offers a tasty array of share plates in a stylish modern interior. This too - the decor - is influenced by the region from which the food also comes.

Capturing your initial attention from the street is the small outdoor terrace, a charming spot to enjoy a first beverage or two before moving to a table. Speaking of which, the drinks list offers Italian prosecco and selection of (mostly Australian) wines, or there's a couple of beers on tap and a few more by the bottle.

Inside it's a versatile space, with options for standing room by the bar or the multilevel seated areas, which can be made private for functions.

On the menu are an impressive number of dishes all designed for sharing, ranging from Hommus ($11) and Mixed Pickles ($5) through Falafel ($10), Fried Kibbi ($13) and Grilled Haloumi ($15) to larger plates of Schwarma ($22+), Grilled Skewers (vegetable $18, meats $22+) and Kousa (Zucchini stuffed with rice and lamb mince,  $22)

The Baba Ganouj ($13 and a generous serve) is divine, deliciously smokey and full of flavour. Drizzled in olive oil and topped with pomegranate seeds, our plate is quickly devoured with the wonderfully fresh flat bread and a second plate ordered. While the Hommus also is appreciated as being of very good quality and a cut above many you'll find on restaurant tables, it's that smokey chargrilled eggplant Baba Ganouj that Scoop recommends as a must-try.

Chicken Skewers ($24) are another standout, marinated to perfection in lemon, garlic and "special spices" and served with garlic dip.

A taster portion of Tabouli seems slightly dry, but we're guessing the full sized salad serve ($14) comes with bigger lashings of lemon juice.

For something a little different, try the Sambousek ($12) pastries, stuffed with either meat or a mix of ricotta and feta cheese. It's hard to compete with a good serve of Kibbi or Falafel, but we say it's worth adding some Sambousek to your share plate order if you're up for another round of nibbles.

Vegetarians are catered for with most of the smaller plates being meat-free and several of the larger dishes as well.

It's definitely a great venue for group dining, but smaller groups aren't forgotten, and are looked after by having the option of mixed Old City Platters for two ($45, vegetarian $40) or banquet menus for groups of 2+ ($49pp).

For those with room for dessert, the menu has two options to try: a Rice Pudding ($10) or Knafeh, which is three types of cheese melted and topped with semolina, sugar syrup, whipped cream and crushed pistachio ($10). 

Old City Kitchen & Bar is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week and can organise larger groups and private functions.