Mr. Lawrence is a middle-eastern restaurant in Port Melbourne that brings the relaxed vibes from the beach across the road. The décor is colourful and inviting just like their menu. Their signature Turkish style pizzas and their Turkish delight rose cocktail is a good way to start any winter night.
We started with dips. We tried the hummus with Aleppo mushrooms and the beetroot, dill and walnut dip. They were both delicious and came with two types of bread. A thick fluffy one and a thin grilled flat bread.
The Egyptian falafel was one of my faves. Super crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle with a creamy labne dipping sauce.
The basturma cured beef was thinly sliced and served with colourful saffron pickles and marinated feta. It had a good salty, sour balance.
The ricotta fritters were gently cooked with tomato braised beans and dukkah.
The Lebanese potato salad was creamy and indulgent with beautiful pieces of house smoked trout throughout.
The chermoula salmon pieces were cooked perfectly with the fennel and spinach tagine. It had bold flavours and was served on a bed of mograbieh, which is delicious giant cous cous pearls.
The haloumi and feta boureks were little pastry triangles that oozed cheese as you bit into them. They had a beautiful sweet date jam to eat it with. Yum!
Kissir was a lovely nut and grain salad with cauliflower and pomegranate. Lots of texture and spices.
Mr. Lawrence is popular for it’s Turkish pizzas. We tried the spiced mince lamb with mint yoghurt and almonds. The meat was encased in a thick pastry like an open pide. Perfect with a glass of wine.
The Moroccan mess was like a smashed pavlova. An eton mess but Moroccan style. It had rose water meringue, berries, double cream and pashmak (Persian fairy floss).
We ended on the Iranian Date balls. They were mildly sweet and rolled in toasted sesame and coconut.
Mr. Lawrence is a great casual place to catch up with mates and share some tasty middle-eastern food.
I heart Mr. Lawrence!
Olives x
Mr. Lawrence
Address: 67 Beach St, Port Melbourne VIC 3207
Website: mrlawrence.com.au
Phone: (03) 9077 4992
Trading Hours: Mon-Sun: 12pm-11pm
