Agraba Catering

Transport yourself from Errol Street to the villages and mountains of Lebanon with the Hamod family’s sumptuous food and generous hospitality.

Since 2011, Sam and Nouhad Hamod and their daughter Adriana have been serving up fragrant and flavour-filled dishes inspired by their homeland through their business Agraba.

“We started Agraba after the success of our sister cafe, Errol’s. In 2011 we saw an opportunity to purchase a second restaurant in Errol Street, and being a Lebanese family, we thought, ‘why don’t we do what we know well?’. So we turned it into a modern Lebanese restaurant,” says Adriana.

“Although the name is a reference to the mythical city in Disney’s Aladdin movie!” she grins.

Sam’s cooking experience and knowledge drives most of the menu. He is mostly a self-taught chef, refining his recipes over the years and sharing his knowledge with Agraba’s chefs.

“I was living on my own most of the time as I was growing up and had to learn to cook for myself - my mum was too busy with thirteen kids!” he laughs. “Now at Agraba, I do a lot of the prep; I make the dips and the sauces. I also enjoy mixing drinks with a Lebanese twist such as the limonata with rosewater and recommending Lebanese wines from the Bekaa Valley.”

Taking Sam’s traditional and authentic Lebanese recipes as inspiration, Agraba’s chefs have made tweaks to the menu to include healthier, vegan and gluten-free options.

“We are different from many other Lebanese restaurants because we have modernised our recipes to suit our customers. For instance, in our tabbouleh, we use quinoa rather than cracked wheat, and we add cherry tomatoes. We have changed some of the dressings to make them lighter.”

Their most popular dish is the Shish Tawook chicken skewers on rice served with a classic Lebanese side dish - rice with broken vermicelli noodles and cooked in ghee to add a rich flavour.

The hummus and baba ghanoush are also crowd favourites, homemade without shortcuts using chickpeas soaked overnight and barbecued eggplant for that signature smoky flavour.

Adriana’s favourite and recommendation is the Sameki Harra, a pan-fried barramundi with a blend of walnuts, coriander, garlic, tahini, and pine nuts, served with rice.

Since 2020 Agraba is no longer a standalone restaurant, but you can still sample the menu from Errol’s. The chefs from both restaurants now pool their resources, sharing their knowledge and recipes.

“When we decided to close Agraba, we saw the benefits of working together from one kitchen,” explains Adriana. “Joining forces has also helped to introduce some Errol’s customers to Agraba’s menu and vice versa.”

“Perhaps one day we will outgrow Errol's kitchen and run a pop-up, or open another restaurant. But for the moment, the relationship continues to flourish, and customers love that there are lots of choices.”

Words by Joyce Watts & Photography by Anna Encio