Lebanese Restaurant Sama Is Hidden Inside Fairfield’s Grandview Hotel

There was a time when Fairfield’s Grandview Hotel was a typical pub with cold beers and parmas, serving as a reliable stop for pre-drinks before heading into the city. Now, behind the 1888-built facade, there’s charcoal smoke, pomegranate, arak in a dining room telling a different story.

“As the area shifted – with Station Street thriving and High Street expanding, the venue had to evolve,” says Grandview co-owner Norah El-Fahkri. Her family has owned the pub since 2000, and is now running Sama, a Lebanese restaurant that nods to their heritage, in the dining room. 

The front bar remains a classic local, but Sama adds to the pub’s offering. It’s a reflection of how pubs have grown to become cultural hybrids, much like Southeast Asian restaurant Past Port at The Waterside and Happy Valley, the Chinese restaurant inside The Albert Park Hotel.

A trio of Rumi alumni worked with the family to bring Sama to life. Eddy Hasbany, who ran the floor at Rumi for more than a decade, and Wakim el Moussa, who still works as a manager at Rumi, were both involved in developing the Sama concept, which opened in November, and continue to consult on Sama. Chef David Gonnella, (Rumi, Lilac, Supermaxi) leads the kitchen, and drew inspiration from a trip el Moussa took to Lebanon, where he visited villages and explored the country’s culinary traditions. “David transformed that emotional and cultural insight into a menu filled with authenticity, heart, and innovation,” says Hasbany.

Gonnella’s menu reads traditional at first glance, but there are small twists throughout it. Whitebait fatteh layers pita with fish, tahini yoghurt, pine nuts and dill. Lamb nayyeh (a spiced raw mince dish) is scattered with pistachio, sesame and rose petals and served with fresh vegetables and crunchy beef crackers. The charcoal grill does some heavy lifting, too – Gonnella makes lamb kofta shish, brightened with chervil and pomegranate jus; chicken shish paired with toum and buttered enoki; and lamb shish laid over bread and slicked in spicy tomato sauce.

A $65-per-person family-style banquet arrives in four waves. “The set menu is built for abundance rather than restraint,” El-Fahkri says. “Lebanese hospitality doesn’t whisper. It feeds you.”

On the drinks list, alongside Australian bottles, Hasbany spotlights Lebanese wines, many from high-altitude Bekaa Valley vineyards. “People don’t even realise Lebanon makes wine,” El-Fahkri says. “Every time we pour a taste, people are shocked.” Cocktails lean into the family’s heritage, too: an Espresso Martini is made with Lebanese coffee, and an Old Fashioned is served in glass that’s been smoked with cherry wood and sumac. Plus, there are five types of arak (an anise spirit) available by the glass.

Sama at Grandview Hotel
 429 Heidelberg Road, Fairfield
9489 8061

Hours:
Wed to Sun 5.30pm–9pm 

grandviewhotelfairfield.com/sama
@sama_grandview