new star kebabs

finally got the chance to dine in newstarkebabs, in auburn. first up, it was relatively busy for a monday evening. in this joint, you order and pay at the counter, and they bring out the food out to you.
i ordered the double shish plate. it comes with 2 skewers of your choice (i opted for chicken and lamb), tomato pieces (odd), sliced onion, red cabbage dressed with lemon, roasted tomato (yum) and a roasted green chilli (hot). all of this is covered with cut, fresh lebanese bread.
the bread was fantastic, fluffy and moist. the chicken shish was grilled well, tasting smoky due to the grilling on the charcoal, and faintly of carrom seeds. i found it quite nice. the lamb was average in taste, however, cooked to perfection. i also got a side dish containing a dash of garlic sauce, hummus and chilli flakes in oil. the sauces were average, nothing to write home about.
i felt that the best way to enjoy the meal was to make your own kebab using the different ingredients available on the plate. i think you will be slightly disappointed if you eat each item individually.
overall, i did not feel the food did justice to all the other reviews that i had read. maybe i will have to go back on a weekend!!

solid turkish food; so-so ambience and service. we arrived at newstarkebabs looking for a good feed and a good feed we found! the food was soon ordered, given what we could see about the queues at the place and the service. promptly, we were seated inside the store and felt cramped as soon as we were sat, with people rushing to and fro along the tiny spaces between the counter and this area where they prepare kebabs and bread and the counter, between the counter and tables, and between the tables and tables.

food arrived shortly, with complementary bread, condiments (real, homemade ground chilli in chilli oil; garlic sauce or cacık, pronounced jajik; and hummus), and cutlery. the food not only smelled scrumptious but was scrumptious. on top of that, the prices are rather reasonable for the amount of food given. the variety of food cannot be faulted, as we have yet to see a place in sydney that does so many turkish dishes. (however, we disclaim that we have yet to try all the turkish eateries in sydney and are welcome to any suggestions that might offer a broader variety of dishes.)

unfortunately, the ambience and service are letdowns of newstarkebabs. as mentioned above, the aisles and general layout of the store makes for an unpleasant experience, as does the service or most of the service from interactions with staff. unless you know how to get on the good side of these guys (not that they are downright unpleasant or anything), go in, get your order down, get fed, and get out. service from the waitstaff, if you can call them that, can be hit and miss, depending on which members of their staff attend to you.

all in all, newstarkebabs is the go-to place for turkish until we find something that unseats it. in fact, we are still craving it and now regretting not getting what we had left over from our meal in a takeaway container (free, by the way), because the portions are fairly generous!

for good turkish food it’s important to go right into the hub of turkish life. auburn central is where you’ll find masses of turkish, afghani, lebanese and middle-eastern restaurants in fierce competition. newstarkebab is a noticeably busy one, but we manage to secure a table in the outdoor area out front.

newstarhas some of the most delicious kebabs i’ve had in sydney! you can really taste the quality and flavours in their dishes, plus they’re reasonably priced and huge portions, so you know you’re getting your money’s worth. everything here is worth trying, but especially the kebabs and dips. would come back here again regularly if i didn’t live far.

in short: newstarkebab is a rockstar of auburn. of course, you can assume they do stellar kebabs and shish plates, but it’s the pizzas and pides which will delight. rock up in the evening and look for the neon lights, or be lured in by the aromas during the day, either way you will leave well fed and satisfied.

what’s not to love about a place like this. great value, tasty food and servings so large and generous that you’ll be full for a week. newstaris located in the heart of auburn’s main strip serving up a range of turkish food for the masses. look out for the street frontage windows, one showcasing the huge pizzas and pide, the other showcasing the skewers cooking over hot coals, doing a great job of enticing passers by.

auburn has significantly changed over the years. my family often come back to newstarkebab for a meal over the years. newstarkebab is an institution in auburn. on the surface, it just looks like any other kebab shop but the locals know it's a tasty venue for a good price. i am catching up with my foodie friends cocoandvine who have recently been travelling so it's a good opportunity to catch up. we get a table outside and start chatting. before i know it, most of the tables outside are filled by 12pm and there are a number of tables inside which are also filled.

(4.5 stars)
it's friday night and auburn is teeming with people. this western sydney suburb has a lot more high-rise than i remember from nigh on thirty years ago, and the cultural diversity is wider with chinese, turkish, lebanese, nepalese and indian ancestry making up the suburb's top five. weathering both the upwards growth and the cultural shift, newstarkebab family restaurant has been serving the good people of auburn for forty years...

it is a right of passage for people of western sydney to go on a late night kebab run, and personally i believe that newstarkebabs is the pinnacle of all establishments  
what makes them different? 
-they're open till 1am (or even later) 
-their menu is a lot more diverse and larger compared to other kebab places, plus they use turkish bread for the kebabs 
-servings are a lot more bigger 

the place itself is packed with people of all ages, and in large groups. plus, servers hastily moving back and forth to clean tables and take orders.

i have a theory that if a place is bustling with customers that place usually serves good food. newstarreaffirms that theory. the staff are friendly as well.

we ordered the mix shish and the pepperoni pizza. each food comes with a side of three dips. yogurt, humus and chili paste.

the only problem i had with the pizza was that the pepperoni tasted a bit bland and should have been saltier. but regardless the thick cuts of pepperoni on that tasty tomato sauce base , with the beautifully charred base made that pizza work for us.

but the real stars of the joint were the meats. extremely juicy, tender and marinated with just the right amount of spices to let the flavor of the meat shine.

then comes the soft turkish bread that compliments the food so well.

a must visit place.

we went out on a limb one lazy sunday afternoon and decided we’d drive to auburn for lunch. we didn’t quite know where we were going to eat, but we did know that we felt like a middle eastern feast. driving through the main shopping strip, our attention was caught by the crowds outside newstarkebab – we knew this was a place that we just had to try. 

i judge most middle eastern restaurants on the quality of their breads and grills and newstarpass the test on both counts. an incredibly busy diner, with alfresco pavement seating, the staff juggle a lot of orders and deliver excellent food. we recently ate there and had a mixed meats grill (beef and chicken), a falafel plate and chips. i would say the falafels were just ok. i've had much better. but the grill, salads, bread and chips are what you come for. great smoky, savoury flavours complimented by the roasted peppers, onion and red cabbage. first rate!

the bread is what makes a great kebab, and newstaris no exception on that front. the meat is tender, the sauces are tasty and the service is friendly

loyal customer for many years and newstarhas never been a disappointment :)
always great food from the super friendly and energetic service :)

updated: recently went back to sydney nearly missed our flight because of how bad i wanted to get gozleme before i left. amazing as always and huge portion sizing for $11.

if you travel to sydney and don't check out this place in auburn you are missing out.

firstly we went on a thursday night and the place was absolutely packed! we waited for a table outside, and the atmosphere was phenom. i felt like i was back home. i think living in a quiet place like nz you miss these things.

we ordered the ispanakli pide which was nice. not amazing.

my favourite was the kiyanali pide.. omg... such a good portion size we had to take away half of the isapanakli and kiyanali. lots of toppings and great value.

it's worth waiting for a table. don't expect 5starservice. just exepect good food and a great atmosphere.