The Prophet - Review

The Prophet, 907a Albany Hwy Victoria Park

Bad things first: Service was initially a bit all over the place. We were greeted as soon as we arrived, but there was a bit of confusion as to which table had been assigned to us. It took ages for the complimentary bread and dip to get to our table and I was a bit miffed to see tables that arrived after us get theirs first. It also took too long for our wine to get opened – the waitress wasn’t carrying a waiter’s friend. All in all service wasn’t that crash hot, but improved over the course of the night. I think we arrived between sittings (we were there at 7.30pm, so smack in the middle of usual sitting times of 6.30pm and 8.30pm).
Onto the good business! One of the things I like the most about this place is the complimentary plate of garlic dip with bread. We ordered a dip (avocado) to start, and a mixed meat plate, arnabeet (fried cauliflower) and chicken livers for mains. I was against ordering so much, but was won over by the very convincing arguments from Daniel of : a) it’s your birthday ; and b) I want to!
The arnabeet came with tahini and a bed of lettuce and tomato, and the dish was just the right mix of tangy, crunchy and smooth. The meat plate had smoky kebabs that were flavorsome and fresh as well as tabbouleh, and the chicken livers were cooked to perfection and the juices were a great seasoning for the rice they came with. Overall the food was just superb. A word of warning – if you don’t like garlic (LOTS of garlic), this is not the place for you. I do, so I was in my happy place. Food here is also super cheap – for the two of us we were full and feeling a bit sick for $45.
Things I would change – if you want the raw meat dish, you have to order in advance but this isn’t on the menu and they don’t tell you this when you book, so if you want it, engaging your psychic powers seems to be the only way to get it. Or pre-ordering before your next visit might work too. Also I would like to be told if it was my first visit about the free dip so I don’t order more food than I could eat. Lastly, it’s cash only, which is handy to know before you go. Book in advance. This is a fantastic place to have cheap good food.

Overall: 7/10. Food on it's own would be 9/10.