Hummus Hustle is bringing family, flavour, and culture to one of the most popular streets in the CBD. (image: Rocco Ventra)
By Rocco Ventra | @rocco.ventra
Tucked neatly into the heart of Adelaide’s CBD, Hummus Hustle is the latest hit food spot to come to James Place.
The restaurant is the creation of brothers Riyan, Roger and Kareem Awar who were inspired by their Lebanese culture and family.
“It started around the kitchen table between … me and my family,” Roger says.
“We were just having a general chat … we’ve been in hospitality for a while and we were thinking … what’s another concept that is healthy and that is relevant to who we are, from our background, our culture.”
The venue provides a choose-your-own-adventure experience, allowing visitors to craft their own bowl, wrap, or pita from a wide selection of fresh and flavourful ingredients made in-house every day.
A delicious hummus bowl topped with fresh veg, traditional and beetroot hummus, and feta all laid comfortably on a bed of fresh beef and potato harra (Image: Rocco Ventra)
To Roger, the food is more than just flavour.
“It’s very relevant to our identity, you know, having hummus on the table,” he explains.
“The way we eat is we always eat with people. Back in Lebanon, everyone comes home from work or whatever they’re doing, and they all gather in one place … everyone eats, sits down, has a bit of a debrief, then they go about they’re day after that.”
This culture of hospitality is present throughout your experience at Hummus Hustle. It’s not uncommon to see the brothers socialising with their guests, sparking conversation and making everyone’s experience unique and memorable.
The staff are also very welcoming. They all had a lot of questions for the strange man with a camera getting in their way and taking way too many photos, which I appreciated.
Of course, the culture is also very present within the food, which is all derived from recipes the brothers grew up on from their mother, Teta (grandmother), and great-grandmother.
“Mum is everything. She’s, you know, she’s got the blessed hands,” Roger says.
“What I say is when you eat with us, it’s like eating from my mum’s hands.”
The choices of protein — prepped just in time for the lunch rush — are oozing with this inspiration. They include rich and salty beef, baked chicken, crispy falafel, halloumi, and cauliflower. They also offer a selection of carb bases such as rice, warm chickpeas, and a potato harra (crispy fried potatoes tossed in fresh herbs and chilli) which is perfectly pillowy and packed with flavour.
A few of the protein and carb options Hummus Hustle provides including potato harra, baked chicken, beef, and warm chickpeas (Image: Rocco Ventra)
Combine any of these with the fresh toppings which include but are not limited to tomato, tangy pickled red beetroot, red onions, and cucumber and you have a rich, satisfying, and complex combination of flavours.
I paired my meal with their refreshingly zesty “lemonada”, one of their many drink options which also include a sweet tahini drink and coffee made fresh to order.
Freshly made drinks ready to be served at Hummus Hustle (Image: Rocco Ventra)
Hummus Hustle says in an Instagram post that they’re “reimagining classic home-cooked Lebanese dishes with a fresh, modern twist”. Roger knows how important it is to preserve as much tradition into the dishes as they can.
“Don’t get it wrong with the modern twist aspect … the recipes are traditional, and they always have been, we haven’t veered away from the recipe,” he says.
“The modern twist is how do we relay that to the demographic, to the clientele.”
Even the aesthetic choices of the restaurant from the logo on the sign outside, inspired by a flower on a Lebanese coffee cup, to the main colours used to represent the restaurant are also all tied to Lebanese culture and tradition.
“It’s something that represents what we’re doing. Green, nice and fresh, and the orange, it’s something that kind of takes you back to the 1970s of Lebanon,” Roger says.
The hummus reflects this idea of tradition with a modern twist and is (obviously) worth being the namesake of the business.
The four options: traditional, harissa, pesto and beetroot all provide a different profile to your meal. The traditional hummus, for example, is smooth, creamy, and full of authentic Lebanese flavours that are bold, hearty, and compliment any combination.
Alternatively, its beetroot counterpart provides the same textural sensation, but brings an earthy kick that adds an entirely new element to a meal.
A sample of some of the fresh veg available at Hummus Hustle such as olives, cucumbers, and beetroot as well as, of course, a few of their iconic hummus options (Image: Rocco Ventra)
The future of Hummus Hustle is bright but uncertain as the family-run establishment comes out the gates running.
“We’ve had some really good responses in terms of what we’ve provided. From the service to the quality of food, people can really taste the authentic flavours. We believe that maybe we can replicate that in the future,” Roger explains.
“One thing at a time, you know. We’ve put a lot of work into this one and we want to make sure it’s up and running and flying!”
Hummus Hustle is located in 13 James Place in the city and is open Monday to Saturday from 7:00am-4:00pm.
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