Tahina Bar offers popular Middle Eastern cuisine with an appetising twist. All food is plant-based and fuses the flavours of Israel to create unique, delicious meals, drinks and dessert. Tahina Bar has been in operation for the past five years from two locations in Melbourne and has developed tried and tested business systems, with innovation at the core.
Shalom!
Let me introduce myself. My name is Roy Sassonkin. Born in Tel Aviv, I grew up around Israeli food. In 2011 I made the big move Down Under to Melbourne and trained as a chef at the William Angliss Institute in Melbourne, then worked as a chef at well-known Melbourne restaurants including Chin Chin and Hellenic Republic.
I always had the desire to open my own cafe and share my passion for the fragrant flavours of Israel, so in 2015, together with my Australian partner Natalie, we opened our first Tahina Bar in Northcote. Our menu was full of affordable, nourishing and healthy Israeli street food. We wanted to create a relaxed eat-and-go style cafe serving fresh and tasty plant-based food with a Middle Eastern twist.
Our signature dishes include shakshuka, served in a spicy tomato sauce served with a pita pocket, salad and pickled cabbage. Other specialties include falafel pockets or platters for two; a crispy eggplant with kale chips and tahini; and a six-hour roasted cauliflower, cooked in lemon juice and garlic until very soft and served with tahini. We also offer innovative desserts including tahini affogato and Medjool-date ice cream.
Within six months of opening our first location, we had increased from three staff per shift to five as the demand rose. Fast forward another 18 months and we were opening our second location in Fitzroy. This had the same indoor space as Northcote but was twice the size in the outdoor eating area. Soon we were being invited to cater festivals, private functions and even weddings. We’ve also been nominated by top food magazines as one of the best Middle Eastern restaurants in Australia’s food capital, Melbourne – something we are very proud of.
The Tahina Bar Difference
Tahina Bar offers four distinct differences from other Middle Eastern cafes:
– Our food is all plant based. We offer a huge range of vegetarian and vegan menu items. In contrast, most Mediterranean restaurant menus are predominantly beef, lamb and chicken dishes with vegetarian dishes as sides. With the move towards the vegetarian and vegan palate, Tahina Bar is well positioned to be attractive to this expanding market.
– Very few Middle Eastern restaurants offer specifically Israeli food. Until quite recently, most people didn’t even know that Israel has a unique and distinct flavour, but in the last 10 years this has changed, and Israeli food is trending.
– Like Australia, Israel is a multicultural country with influences from Africa, Europe, and Arabia. This combination has created some of the most diverse and flavour-packed street food cultures in the world. Even though Israel is only one-third the size of Tasmania, the variety of foods available creates a colourful story with big flavours and age-old cooking techniques. Tahina Bar captures this spirit of adventure and exotic street food and makes it accessible.
Why partner with Tahina Bar?
– Tahina Bar offers popular middle eastern cuisine with an appetising twist.All of our food is plant-based and fuses the flavours of Israel to create unique and delicious food, drinks and dessert.
– Support from experienced operators Tahina Bar has been in operation for the past five years from two locations. During this time, we have developed a tried-and-tested business system. This means franchise partners won’t have to figure things out by trial and error, fast tracking your success.
– Streamlined back-end systems Innovation is at the core of all we do at Tahina Bar, so not only is our approach to food and drinks innovative, but so too are our business systems. From our point of sale to our bespoke app, all systems are online and easy to access. At the click of a button, you can see staff rosters, manage inventory and track sales.