Middle Eastern Meets Southeast Asian at Shane Delia’s Layla – Here’s What To Order

Shane Delia is a fixture of the Melbourne dining scene. Known for his strong Middle Eastern cooking, the award-winning chef is a familiar face on TV as well. But he’s also a self-confessed fan of Queensland and eventually hopes to relocate to Brisbane altogether. Layla, which opened last year in West End’s heritage-listed Thomas Dixon Centre, was Delia placing his foot firmly in the door.

Running the kitchen is head chef Caleb Bilewicz, who’s spent the past year building a menu that leans into Delia’s Middle Eastern roots while pulling in plenty of Southeast Asian brightness.

The result is a menu that doesn’t belong to just one person, but is an ongoing conversation between Delia, Bilewicz and executive chef Daniel Giraldo. “Shane will go on trips, bring back ideas, and it’s a collab between all three of us to bring something new to the Brisbane dining scene.”

For those who do some menu homework before arriving to dinner, Bilewicz has picked his top five things to order. Better yet, Broadsheet and NAB have teamed up for Bookings With Benefits, a dining program that gives you $50 off the bill when you spend $250 or more and pay on your NAB credit or debit card at selected venues – like Layla – nationwide. Here’s what to order.

Habibi butter chicken

Layla’s take on butter chicken has been on the menu since day one, and it’s the dish Bilewicz reckons best sums up the restaurant. “It’s not your traditional Indian butter chicken,” he says. “There’s Aleppo [pepper] through there, a little bit more fresh chilli, and a lot more fresh herbs. We’re lifting it, rather than that sort of creamy, more Indian-style butter chicken. It’s a little bit lighter, a little bit brighter.”

Toasted cashews and a hit of black Aleppo pepperround it out. “That sort of ties into the transition from Middle East into Southeast Asian for us,” he says.

Shared feast

For those who want a bit of everything, the shared feast is Layla’s signature dining experience, built to walk you through the kitchen’s hit dishes in one sitting. It’s anchored by an eight-hour slow-braised lamb and aged rice and lentil pilaf. Before that, though, come the meze dips and breads, which are the most technically demanding of all the courses.

“There’s more probably effort put into our dips than there is our mains, which you wouldn’t think,” says Bilewicz. “But it’s important because that’s one of the first dishes that hits your table. It sets the scene for your whole dining experience.”

The feast scales to whatever table size you’ve got, whether you’re splitting between two, four, eight or 20.

Wagyu sirloin

The sirloin at Layla is special. It comes from Westholme, a north-west Queensland producer Bilewicz has worked with for years – and Layla’s one of only a handful of Brisbane restaurants given access to Westholme cattle.

“They don’t kill all the cattle and then try to offload it,” Bilewicz says. “You need to be ahead of what you’re doing and order it, because there’s only a certain amount you can get. It’s grain-fed for a minimum of 330 days, just to achieve its rich marbling.”

The Wagyu is grilled on the hibachi and served with an almond hummus (chickpea-free, so it works for guests avoiding Fodmaps), a grilled baby cos brushed with red vinegar, beef-fat mayo and a beef jus made from the trim and bones.

Turkish dumplings

Manti, or Turkish dumplings, are parcels of beef enclosed in house-made wrappers.  Individually, they’re small enough to eat in one bite, but they’re served in a big bowl covered with sauce, landing them somewhere between wontons and tortellini. “We shake it up with a mushroom XO,” Bilewicz says, “which gives a strong umami through it and just ties it all together.” They’re finished with smoked pepper oil, yoghurt, red Aleppo and fried tarragon.

Mooloolaba swordfish

Anthony Bourdain gave swordfish a bad rep in his memoir, Kitchen Confidential, but Bilewicz is repairing its public image with his popular Mooloolaba swordfish. It’s hit with a burnt orange and saffron marinade before it goes onto the hibachi, caramelising as it chars. It’s finished with a saffron and orange sauce and a touch of makrut lime.

“It’s quite versatile,” Bilewicz says of the fish. “It lends itself to a lot of flavours – it’s like a blank canvas, but a good eating fish. There’s not much room for error, though. If you overcook it, it becomes dry. It takes a bit of skill.”

The Broadsheet Dining Program Special Offer of a $50 discount when you spend $250 or more is available when you dine at a Participating Restaurant between 13 January 2026 and 16 December 2026. To be eligible for the Discount Offer, you must make a booking via the NAB Exclusive Booking Link for the Participating Restaurant which is found on the Broadsheet Booking Page and spend a minimum of $250 on your NAB credit card. Between 2 June 2026 and 16 December 2026, Select venues will also accept NAB debit card payments. The Discount Offer will apply at the Restaurant when you pay the final bill amount including GST and service fees and charges (if any) with your NAB credit card (includes a digital NAB credit card) or NAB debit card (includes a digital NAB debit card) at select venues. The Discount Offer is only valid once per booking and will not apply to any split bills and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. For the full Terms and Conditions of this Offer, please click here.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with NAB.