Oasis Bakery

9/993 North Rd
Murrumbeena VIC 3163
https://oasisonline.com.au/

Oasis Bakery is an utter gastronomic paradise, and I couldn’t believe it was hidden in plain sight along the freeway, between some industrial-looking buildings, less than 10 minutes from home. What started out as a humble Lebanese baking operation in 1998 has since morphed into a little family empire; aside from the café (more on that later), the cavernous space also houses an impressively stocked grocer, which not only contains Middle-Eastern groceries, but also a wide range of small-batch artisanal brands that gives those gourmet food markets at the Exhibition Centre a run for their money. The dine-in area is similarly tempting, offering up baked goods, fresh salads, and platters stacked high with meat from the spit. My only complaint is not being able to try everything I wanted, though I made up for it by proceeding to spend twice as much at the grocer as I did on the meal.

Rating: 14/20 – bonus points for the amazing grocer.
Hot tip: don’t worry if you can’t fit in the baked goods – you can get them in the grocer pre-packaged to take home.

Wake up early (ok before midday) to get to Oasis Bakery, and you will be rewarded with their phenomenal Breakfast Mezze ($21.9), which is practically a buffet for one. All the usual suspects are there – pillowy flatbread, fresh veggies, piquant pickles, creamy labneh – as well as the not often seen but criminally underrated foul medammes: a lemony stew of fava beans, cooked down in generous lashings of olive oil until hearty and thick.

But if you ask me, the money is in the little cast iron pan, where two sunny-side up eggs are topped with spices, and more importantly, slices of spicy sujuk, and chunky slabs of squeaky, salty halloumi. This really is the breakfast of champions. Don’t forget a Flat White ($4.2) to wash it down.

Being a Lebanese bakery, it would be criminal not to get one of the pizzas. Unfortunately they don’t do my favourite labneh pizza here, so Lamb And Feta Pizza ($9.9) it had to be. Not that it was any hardship, with flatbread topped with spice-warmed lamb off the spit, and a generous handful of melted feta.

I know I said this at the start, but I will say it again – I am very disappointed that I didn’t get to try any of the salads and most of the pizzas, so a return visit is definitely on the cards. I did however pick up some spinach and cheese pies from their grocer, which made for some very satisfying lunches the next few days.