A1 Food Store Ph: (03) 9386 0440 ; 643 Sydney Rd, BRUNSWICK 3056 Lebanese-bakery, $$ -, ** for Food Open sun-wed 1am-1pm Thu-sat 7am-9pm; Unlicensed, BYO; No Cards

Mietta's Review
Cheap, tasty and wondrous. Follow Sydney Roads Arabic community into this double shop front, and take you spot in the queue for filled pastry triangles, cheese pies, Lebanese breads or Turkish pizzas to eat in or take away. Eat in to savour this experience, order a good strong coffee from sweets and drinks counter and take a table to watch procession of shoppers outside on Sydney Road, or those inside trawling the produce laden shelves for middle eastern ingredients. There are freezers full of pre-prepared meals to take home too like kibbeh and dolmades. Highly recommended. Still the best place for a slice of Sydney road culture, friendly staff, great food and you can pick up some groceries while your there.

Other published opinions

The Age Cheap Eats 2009 "A1 is Brunswick's warm, beating heart. The staff are so friendly you'll want to hug them, the shelves are stacked with enough vine leaves, halva and pickled turnip to survive a nuclear winter, and the oven-baked pies and pizzas are crazy cheap"

The Age Cheap Eats 2008 "With a commanding view of the Beirut end of Sydney Road, Al is constantly buzzing, yet you always seem to find a table"

The Age Cheap Eats 2007 "Need to find a sheesha pipe? After a cheap can of okra? Can't find Egyptian buffalo ghee anywhere? Fear not, this Lebanese foodstorebakery has you covered."

The Age Cheap Eats 2006 Amid the apparent disorder shoppers scouting for groceries, queuing for pastries, jockeying for tables - there's an underlying order that means everyone gets what they came for.

The Foodies' Guide 2004,Allan Campion & Michele Curtis,'This shop is half food store and half bakery,with a little bit of room set aside for people who want to dine.The meat pizzas are among the best in Melbourne as are the cheese turnover-shaped pastries.The shelves are filled with Middle Eastern goodies such as dried pulses,seeds,nuts,spices,dried fruit,and Syrian apricot paste,which countries grow in popularity.The refrigerator has supplies of pastries such as filo and kataifi-a fine,shredded pastry used in the making of baklava.You can also buy fiery harissa chilli paste,preserved lemons and vine leaves in brine.' Herald Sun, Weekend, 10/4/04,Harbant Gill,'when the freshly baked herbal delight hits the laminate table-top straight out of the oven about a minute later,all chaos ceases to exist.Each mouthful is a meditation on the fine art of simplicity.' VE+T, March April 2003,'Middle Eastern Specialties.'