Rumi

Posted by: klezmatic1 | 16 June 2010, 5.56pm

I haven't been to Rumi since the shift of premises, but I was captivated after the first visit & go each time I'm in Melbourne. I thought people who see value for money in terms of quantity went to RSLs. I always find the staff friendly & I always call in to the kitchen afterwards to compliment the (small)team. Overheads dictate 2 sittings I gather, so I always go late. I love it but I'm not a rootless wanderer searching for novelty. The team do an excellent job presenting a restaurantified version of the chef's family cuisine

Food:			Visit: Wed 16 June 2010 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: AlbionWM | 11 April 2010, 9.30am

The other reviews online seem mixed and, after my first experience of Rumi, I now know why.

There are several fantastic middle eastern restaurants in and around the inner city, many of which will welcome you like old family, and coerce you into halva for dessert after eating your bodyweight in meat. If this is the experience you crave, Rumi's not for you.

The food is great quality and delicious. Yes, the servings are small, but seem designed for grazing rather than gorging. Given how rich some of the dishes are, this probably isn't a terrible crime, and leaves you with enough room for Persian fairy floss at the end.

The menu is simple, but well presented and diverse. Given it was a printed A4 sheet, it's reasonable to assume that there are regular updates, rather than supporting a 'specials' list. The wine list is similarly brief and solid, and is accompanied by a reasonable arak selection.

Unfortunately, the service and atmosphere does little justice to the kitchen.

Rumi is loud. For a Saturday night and only a small number of larger groups, the place felt much busier and we had to raise our voices at several points. Even listening to the wait staff was difficult. The restaurant layout and decor is probably more akin to a cafe than a restaurant. I suspect the owners were hunting for a more relaxed atmosphere, but have achieved the opposite with their layout; it's almost stressful.

The place was clearly short on floor staff and their knowledge and attention was limited. Asking advice at a restaurant should garner a gleeful response from the staff of a favourite dish, or a recommended combination. Instead we received a look of disbelief accompanied with "You've never eaten here before?" The following explanation of the menu was brief and had to be deciphered over the din. The rest of the meal's service lacked flair and, by its end, our waitress was clearly glad the evening was drawing to a close. Perhaps we have been spoiled with good service elsewhere, but this was a real let down.

It's possible that on another night, or with a bigger group, Rumi would have been a wonderful experience. I don't think I will be rushing back any time soon.

Food:			Visit: Sat 10 April 2010 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: crmelb | 3 October 2009, 2.25pm

We were a bit apprehensive about Rumi's move to its new location, and indeed, the atmosphere has suffered a bit. It feels somewhat slick and more corporate now, but I guess that's the trade-off for being able to actually get a reservation! I'm happy to report though that the food is great as ever. There were four of us, and we shared the labne (2 serves), chicken liver, cheese in deep fried dough sticks, cauliflower, and pickled vegetables for starters, and all was excellent. Especially the labne and the chicken livers stood out, but of course the cauliflower (which is one of the signature dishes) was great too. For mains, we shared the duck, rack of lamb, rice pilaf, and broad bean salad, and they all were very good, especially the salad. For dessert, we had tea, coffee, yummy turkish delight, surprisingly complex fairy floss, and somewhat mediocre shortbread stuffed with dates. For drinks, we loved the pommegranate cocktail. All up, it came to $200, which is not bad at all given the quality of the food and how full we all were!
We were in the 8 pm sitting, so didn't feel rushed, and service was competent and fairly attentive, though servers were clearly very busy.
All in all, great food, good atmosphere, decent service at a reasonable price.

Food:			Visit: Fri 2 October 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: evry1's acritic | 6 August 2009, 10.23pm

I gauge a great restaurant based on if I could cook something similar at home.I want to eat out at a place that is beyond my own culinary ability. A group of us went to Rumi for tea recently. I don't deserve to write a review about this place. The people who cook and plan the food here clearly know so much more about the details than I do. We scoffed at the simplicity of the cauliflower dish until we tasted it.! How did they create this taste.? ..after an omelette, a lamb dish and the goat we were sold. Rumi,I could not do any of this- we will be back.!

Food:			Visit: Wed 5 August 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: jeremy52 | 13 May 2009, 9.59am

After reading reviews about this restaurant we thought we'd give this place a try. However, we were very disappointed. There were a number of reason why: 1) Prices were overpriced for very small portions (I would have paid the same price at more nicer, tastier tapas places in Melbourne)l; 2) food was bland and 3) serivce would have been better if waiters were able to explain the dishes to you before you ordered. It appeared they didn't know the food that well.

Food:			Visit: Wed 13 May 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: tricky4000 | 21 April 2009, 8.21am

A group of friends and I ate here on Sat night. Great food...would have liked to see a meat platter (like lamb off the spit or something a little more substantial), but what came out was reasonably good anyhow. We were asked if there were any special dietary requirements for anyone and the waitress was informed of a guest who was a vegetarian. The vegetarian got a superb omelette. How lucky was she!! Although she still had to pay full price on the set menu, mind you.

The goat dish was really nice, rices were fine and the meatballs were really good too. The fried haloumi however took the cake, this was fantastic! The set menu did not include any dessert nor coffee. Salmon skewers were so so; they were a bit dry and tasteless.

On a downside, the restaurant interior was quite boring, however there was a nice wooden screen up at the bar which had some kind of Arabic text. The timber coloured screen gave the walls and white crockery a soothing honey glow. Chairs and tables were quite ordinary (looks like the same furniture from the last restaurant in that building, I believe it was called The Vault or De Vault).

The thing that really made this place fail (and it did fail in my eyes) was their constant reminder of arrival and exit times. We had to be there at 6pm (no later). This was stipulated three times before our actual arrival, twice on the initial booking and once on a reminder phone call that afternoon. We had to be out by 8:30pm. These were captain's orders. We were reminded of the exit times twice. Mind you the doors didn't open until 6:05pm, and we had to wait outside the front door to be let in as we were too scared to arrive late! We are in Brunswick - not New York. I think they were more than happy when we said we weren't ordering dessert because they obviously had the table booked for others. This is fine, I can understand this, but dish out your meals quicker guys. We probably would have eaten dessert if we hadn't just finished our last plate of food only 5 mins prior. I've never seen a bill printed so quickly. I must admit, the table service was quite good. There was no attitude that I could sense. The staff were friendly and presented well. It was management that made this boat sink. If management is reading this, you may need to change your procedures. Have 2 sittings, 6pm and 9pm this way your guests don't have to be bombarded with your tight schedule. It's plain rude! Your guests will respect this. I will not be visiting Rumi again. Although most of the food was great, there are many, many great restaurants in Melbourne one can visit and Rumi is not one of them.

Food:			Visit: Sat 18 April 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: West Brunny Boy | 16 March 2009, 8.29pm

I've never really understood why a place that serves food that lends itself so naturally to sharing would have opted for a restaurant whose size couldn't accomodate a larger group so I was happy to see these guys move to bigger digs up the road. They've done wonders with this space and it still feels like the same old Rumi. We went with the $40 banquet which was a good showcase of what Rumi offers.The 14 dishes we got was suitable for us,but if you want to pig out go elsewhere.

Food:			Visit: Tue 10 March 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: Nos86 | 8 March 2009, 7.30pm

My friends and I went to Rumis to have a banquet... We were given 2 tiny bowls of rice to share amongst the 8 of us... 1 meatball per person... 1 skewer with a lamb rib on it that had more fat than meat... 1 sigara... we weren't told that if you order more servings of a particular product, you will be charged extra... I felt extremely guilty about spending that amount of money given we were technically given 1 serving of finger food per head for over $50 (including the extras that were ordered) I honestly recommend that people save their money and go elsewhere... Some of the dishes were not up to standard... It was as though the pickled vegetables were dipped in vinegar and kept in a jar for 2 days - for it to be infused with flavor, the vegetables need to be there for a longer period of time... the best dishes are definitely the persian meatballs (the only persian tasting thing on the menu - you'd hope so with a name like persian meatballs) and the sigara... go elsewhere if you want value for money...

Food:			Visit: Sat 7 March 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: interestedobvr | 7 November 2008, 11.37pm

Food is interesting and tasty. Service is friendly and relaxed. Management need to take a reality check:they think that they know it all and everything they do is right. If you should think of questioning anything, such as their corkage policy, they will defend their policy and refuse to listen to your point. For a business this is a short term policy. They have been lucky to be in the right place at the right time. With their attitude and the current financial climate I doubt that they will survive another twelve months. I you visit, be prepared to be disappointed.

Food:			Visit: Fri 7 November 2008 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: marlowe | 22 May 2008, 12.26pm

I have one problem with Rumi - every time I go there for dinner I spend the following days completely disatisfied with almost everything I eat. Nothing compares. Nothing has the same freshness, the same flavour, the same magic. I love Rumi.

Food:			Visit: Thu 3 April 2008 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: svm18 | 28 February 2008, 12.34pm

We had a reservation for 7.30pm, and we were a little early, and were able to be seated promptly.
Our initial waitress was a little stiff, but evetually loosened up throughout the night. The food was magical.
My friend and I treated the night as a mezze-style banquet, sharing everything. We both picked an entree and main each. Starting with the cheese cigars and the Persian meatballs, each as delicious as each other. Then moving onto the rainbow trout, with incorporated subtle flavours of dill, coriander, onion, & sumac (but needed a little more sumac for me). The lamb casserole was divine, and was eaten with the pilaf on offer. Couldn't fit in dessert as we were too full.

All I can say is we had a very pleasant evening, and the portions were just right.
Value for money... yes! And would definitely go back.

Food:			Visit: Wed 27 February 2008 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: Cocoa Jackson | 30 November 2007, 2.15pm

From the beautiful sanskrit excerpt from The Profit hand written across the wall, to the apple-green aprons of the wait staff and the gold trays adorned with Riedel glassware, Rumi is one classy joint.

But it's not all window dressing. The food is seriously good. The menu changes regularly but I'm always happy to see that some favourites, such as the Persian meatballs and tasty pilaf are always on offer. The labne is to die for and although I'm always too full to consider dessert I find it hard to go past the vanilla bean Persian fairy floss.

It took me a while to pluck up the courage to try one of the white dried berries that come with tea or coffee but I'm soo glad I did. You have to try them!

Having been to Rumi at least five times, usually on a Friday or Saturday night, I have never come across the attitude described in other reviews. I've always found the staff to be attentive, helpful and friendly - especially Natalie who manages front of house.

I'm just sad the woodfired pizza oven was ripped out to make room for more seating because I quite enjoyed ordering a pizza from the Alderman next door and having it delivered through a hole in the fence!

Food:			Visit: Fri 30 November 2007
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Posted by: Local gal | 24 September 2007, 5.15pm

I have been to Rumi twice and I have to say it is a strange place. I like the food very much, it is interesting, yummy, had nice presentation, and small portions mean you can eat lots of things.

Unfortunately, the staff were just too weird for me. They had a strange manner, speaking down to us and making comments about our order. We too were rushed outta there. It was also pretty expensive for such small little dishes.

We haven't gone back since because we don't know if we can stand such treatment just for the food.

Food:			Visit: Mon 24 September 2007 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: srbei1 | 4 July 2007, 9.09am

We had dinner at the frequently reviewed restaurant Rumi, Lygon St Brunswick. Although we had a booking, we felt rushed by the staff. They were particularly unfriendly as we did not fit the hip 20something 'Rumi' mould.

The Persian meatballs were mediocre at best, bland and flavourless and the tiny portion sizes were laughable. The pomegranate cocktail was quite good.

Food:			Visit: Fri 12 January 2007 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: Hungry Girl | 29 June 2007, 9.45am

The resturant is in a great location. Easy to find, great parking on Lygon street.
The sitting felt rushed - 6.15 table, out by 8.15pm for next service.
Staff attention to detail - drink orders, quick removal of plates, knowledge of menu and delivery of food great.
Portions very small for entree prices.
We were encouraged to share but left there hungry and a fair whack out of pocket for what ultimately was a great glass of wine and nibbles.
Quality of food excellent, taste incredible. Value for money, no. Great unusual dishes, yes.

Food:			Visit: Thu 28 June 2007 Mealtime: dinner
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