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World famous pita arrives at Miznon in Melbourne

Gemima Cody
Gemima Cody

Ratatouille pita at Miznon.
Ratatouille pita at Miznon.Anatoly Michaello

Brace yourself for pita and tambourines. For tahini and whistles and more good vibes and celebrity Israeli street food than you can poke a chickpea at. The sixth branch of chef Eyal Shani's Tel Aviv pita haven opened in Hardware Lane on Wednesday, August 23.

Miznon is Shani's answer to Belles Hot Chicken or Benny Burger. His background was in fine dining for 23 years. The pitch is fine dining you can eat with one hand. Read: high-end ingredients swaddled in soft pita pockets backed by service that's aggressively upbeat.

You'll find the store in the menu-spruiking strip of Hardware Lane. It's a two-level entity with a bar upstairs and the open kitchen on the lower decks. It's order-at-the-counter-service right now with your order shouted out as it's fulfilled. The team dances. The hot plate sizzles. Shani is currently in house getting things straight.

Eyal Shani's Tel Aviv pita party arrives in Hardware Lane.
Eyal Shani's Tel Aviv pita party arrives in Hardware Lane.Supplied
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It's not all vegetarian but some of the best things are. In pita, the signatures are a rich ratatouille with tahini and hard boiled egg, and cauliflower (also available as whole, roasted heads soaked with oil, herbs and tahini) with more tahini and garlic chives. Sides include bags of mixed chilled beans (broad bean pods, peas in the shell and sugar snaps), all doused in lemon and garlic, and there are chickpeas in a house-made hot sauce with boiled egg.

But they're serious about meat. You can get steak and egg; chicken livers cooked down with onion and served with tabouli. Instead of the bourguignon they serve in the Parisian outlet, here you can get a wagyu beef stew crammed in with pickled chilli, excellently called "intimate wagyu".

The systems will take a few days to come together so prepare to wait a little, but the liquor license is good to go, so you can have a Fat Yak or a Campari soda and blow a whistle while you wait.

Chicken salad pita at Eyal Shani's world famous pita palace.
Chicken salad pita at Eyal Shani's world famous pita palace.Anatoly Michaello

Open daily 11am-11pm.

59 Hardware Lane, Melbourne

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Gemima CodyGemima Cody is former chief restaurant critic for The Age and Good Food.

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