The sky is evidently not the limit for Melbourne venue operators searching for a name out of this world.
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sky → search → world
One flying under the radar is Lebanese-leaning Brunswick East bar The Rocket Society.
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One → fly → radar
It’s coming up to three years since it opened as a sibling for Middle Eastern restaurant Rumi, which chef-owner Joseph Abboud had just relocated from Lygon Street to East Brunswick Village.
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Abboud → come → Village
The slick development on Nicholson Street has gone on to become as much of a hub for housing as hospitality, now home to a Hagen’s butcher (which doubles as a hot chook shop), a To Be Frank bakery, the Korean Dodam, and more.
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which → go → shop
Anchor hospo tenant Rumi marks a milestone in 2026, celebrating 20 years of expanding Melbourne’s Middle Eastern dining horizons (and impressing Anthony Bourdain along the way).
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Rumi → mark → way
But next door in The Rocket Society, Abboud has spawned a spin-off that’s also worth raising a glass to.
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that → spawn → glass
If word of mouth is anything to go by, you might think this particular rocket had failed to launch as astronomically as Abboud might have hoped.
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Abboud → go → mouth
It feels like there’s been little chatter about it until recently.
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It → feel → it
But you could say The Rocket Society’s fans are less talk, more action.
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fans → say → ?
Sauntering through East Brunswick Village, I’m overtaken by a couple on a mission, beelining straight from their apartment building to The Rocket Society.
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I → saunter → Society
They order just in the nick of time for “happy habibi hour”; between 5pm and 6pm every day, a handful of sips and barbecue sticks are half-price.
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handful → order → sips
Around them, alfresco tables of (more-punctual) locals lounge with their wallet-friendly wines in the late-afternoon light.
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tables → lounge → light
Meanwhile, I’m having apple pie.
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I → have → pie
Lady Cedar, the headline cocktail, makes dessert drinkable (and night-starting instead of night-ending).
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dessert → make → ?
It’s warmly spiced and supercharged by Melbourne Moonshine’s Apple Pie Shine, while Abboud’s own Big Jack’s Arak, a new small-batch collaboration with local distillery Bandesh, invites anise to the party.
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Arak → spice → party
(As does a dedicated section of the drinks list, spanning arak, Turkish raki and Greek ouzo.
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section → do → arak
The wine program covers even more ground, so why not venture somewhere you’ve never ventured before?
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you → cover → ground
We find Croatian and Slovenian expressions by the glass.
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We → find → glass
But to get to Lebanon, we have to go by the bottle.
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we → get → bottle
Our coy, casually dressed server kicks into gear, their intimate knowledge of the list leading us to an earthy, amphora-aged white from women-led lo-fi wine label Heya, based in Dimane, a village in Lebanon’s north.
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knowledge → dress → north
Expect the drinks to pique your interest, but this isn’t a place to skip the snacks.
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this → expect → snacks
Small plates and charcoal-fired skewers come fresh and fast from the Rumi kitchen, upholding the same finger-licking standard.
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plates → fire → standard
The hummus game is strengthened by the utter unctuousness of barramundi awarma (cooked down in its own belly fat).
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game → strengthen → fat
you must add on to scoop it all up.
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you → add → it
Falafels resemble mini meteorites, fried until intensely brown but gloriously herby-green once cracked open.
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Falafels → resemble → meteorites
Rumi’s famous chicken wings are on the menu too, with the acronym “IYKYK”; if you know, you know, and if you don’t, you should definitely find out.
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you → know → acronym
Things you could also get threaded on sticks: sumac-spiced chicken hearts (“entry-level offal”, my dining partner quips), and Meredith Dairy goat kofta.
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partner → thread → sticks
By day, many of the menu stars are wrapped into Lebanese flatbread sandwiches (or “sondwishes”) and sold for $10 a pop – or $19.90 with fries, tahini mayo and a drink.
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many → wrap → fries
It’s increasingly rare for a neighbourhood bar to trade every night of the week, let alone every day – from 11am.
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bar → ’ → am
It’s not rocket science, but The Rocket Society should get more credit for its dependable hours, on top of the lunch-to-dinner deliciousness, and drinks that break the mould.
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that → ’ → mould
More of us ought to add it to our regular wine-bar rotation.
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More → add → rotation
Three bars with Lebanese energy
No.100
Beiruit Not To is the name of the anise-y arak-spiked spritz at Flinders Lane’s slice of Lebanon.
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Beiruit → spike → Lebanon
The owners of this Southbank bar are “born and bred Lebo-terranean”
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owners → bear → bar
the offering reflects that cultural mash-up.
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offering → reflect → up
At $59.90, the set menu is great value, including a medley of meze, something from the rotisserie and a drink.
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menu → include → rotisserie
Later this month, Sama – the family-fuelled Lebanese restaurant hidden in Fairfield’s Grandview Hotel – will add a more casual meze bar to the mix, transforming the pub’s old pokies room into a 30-seat space for Lebanese-influenced drinking and snacking.
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Sama → hide → drinking
429 Heidelberg Road, Fairfield, grandviewhotelfairfield.com/sama
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently.
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reviews → book → ?
A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
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restaurant → pay → Guide
The Aporia
