Za Za Ta

Parked underneath Ovolo The Valley in Fortitude Valley’s Emporium precinct, this 180-seat Luchetti Krelle-designed restaurant and bar is an intimate stunner.

It blends Victorian-style interiors with Queensland architecture to create a warm, cosy atmosphere with velvet seating, vibrant colours, wooden furniture and globe lights. Persian carpet, timber floors and ceramic tiles separate the venue into themed sections, each with its own name, including the Conservatory, Parlour, Library and a 20-seat Grand Hall private dining area.

The food is just as impressive. Following a lengthy shutdown in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Za Za Ta relaunched in July. Israeli-born executive chef Roy Ner is now responsible for the kitchen. He’s used the opportunity to create an entirely vegetarian menu that dials up Za Za Ta’s references to Tel Aviv, a city renowned for its plant-based dining scene.

On the meze menu there’s charcoal eggplant with bullhorn peppers and walnuts; hummus finished with braised chickpeas and a 63-degree egg; and silverbeet and feta borek fingers (pastry stretched paper thin and stuffed full of cheese, spinach and cultured butter).

Further down the menu there are shish-barak inspired pumpkin dumplings, lentil and mushroom dumplings, and a woodfire and charcoal section that includes an oyster mushroom shish cooked on a robata grill and finished with minted yogurt and chilli, and cauliflower shawarma served with smoked labneh, pickled fennel and quince.

Za Za Ta’s bar kicks on until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays so just as much thought has been put into an imaginative cocktail list. The wine list features Mediterranean and Middle Eastern drops, as well as local bottles inspired by those regions.