Shay Kelley spent four years managing Levant Eatery, falling more in love with the space each day. She left the business in 2022, but always hoped to one day have the chance to buy it. Now, alongside her partner Sam Scott, she has. The pair reopened the space as East Mediterranean Eatery earlier this month.
“I wanted to purchase Levant Eatery when the original owners sold it, but the timing wasn’t right,” Kelley tells Broadsheet. “[I] never thought I’d have the chance [again]. It truly feels like everything has come full circle.”
Her time at Levant gave her an “insight into the operational and managerial aspects of running a business” and an idea about “what the corporate CBD customers want”, she says.
The result is a menu of fuss-free street food: pita pockets, salads and rice bowls. Dishes are built for speed (a must for time-poor city workers) without sacrificing quality.
Signature dish The East is packed with grilled chicken, lemony yoghurt sauce, and crispy fries. Two other standouts have also proven popular: The Beef, made with grilled meat, pickled cabbage, feta and garlic sauce; and The Baba, a pita pocket loaded with grilled veg, haloumi, baba ganoush and pomegranate sauce.
“All our dishes can be turned into a meal with a side of fries or our signature zucchini chips, which have been a huge hit,” says Kelley. “We bake our pita and make our sauces and marinades in-house daily. We cook and grill everything to order [in keeping with] our philosophy of fresh and fast food.”
You can still see the bones of Levant, but the fit-out has been given a facelift with pink accents, pops of lush greenery and an open kitchen. There’s plenty of room to pull up a seat inside, as well as al-fresco seating sheltered by pale pink umbrellas on the footpath.
Since opening, East has been buzzing with regulars from Kelley’s days at Levant, who have made visiting the spot a part of their new routine. “The feedback on our food has been fantastic, and it’s great to see people returning and working their way through the menu already.”
For now, Kelley and Scott are focusing on refining the menu, keeping service fast, and ensuring every pita pocket hits the spot.
“This is just the beginning for East. We’re already working on new dishes and planning to enhance the experience with more dine-in options [and] expand our drinks menu. We have so many ideas in the pipeline,” she says.
East Mediterranean Eatery
70 Pirie Street, Adelaide
No phone
Hours:
Mon to Fri 7am–3pm
Sat & Sun closed
