Layla

Middle Eastern$$$$

Shane Delia’s Layla is set inside the heritage-listed end of the Thomas Dixon Centre. Melbourne-based architecture firm Studio Y has lent the restaurant a moody, dramatic interior, with the space’s original 1908-built brick walls (replete with graffiti) complemented by lavish, tactile materials such as blue velvet upholstery, walnut timber, brass accents and blue terrazzo flooring.

Delia is known for his Middle Eastern food at his celebrated Melbourne venues, but Layla takes a slightly different tack by introducing influences from traditional spice trade routes, and in particular the Indian subcontinent.

Expect dishes such as Brisbane Valley quail with pistachio crust, served with a fiery tahini tarator; and Turkish beef dumplings with a mushroom XO, sujuk, yoghurt and spiced burnt butter.

Larger plates includes a ras el hanout-spiced “Habibbi” butter chicken; an eight-hour slow-cooked lamb shoulder with smoked eggplant, roast lemon and za’atar sauce; and a coal-grilled swordfish T-bone with burnt orange and saffron. For drinks there’s a seasonal cocktail list and a globe-trotting 150-bottle wine list.

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