Troy Kebab Corner

It wasn’t the worst kebab I’ve ever had but very bland. I think the meat needed a little salt. Not really worth the $ 9.

I don’t know a lot, but I do know kebabs, and this is an OK effort. I’ve had worse, but if all you are after is a lamb kebab with the staples (lettuce, tomato, onion, chili and garlic sauce), then I have had much better.
The appeal hereafter lies in the range of fresh salads you can add to your kebab, of which there were 8 – 10 to choose from. I applaud the initiative and will actually go back to sample Troy’s wares (an augemented attempt at a kebab), but as a kebab-​ianado, I can’t rate higher than a ³⁄₅

I’m going to admit that I am completely biased when it comes to Troy Kebab Corner. I lived around the corner when I was a struggling student, and this place kept me well nourished when times were lean.
The quality has been maintained since that time, and I’ve been coming back regularly ever since, mainly for the felafel roll. Flat bread, all fresh salads (except onion), tabouli, homemade chilli and garlic sauce. And those felafel! Freshly shaped and shallow-​fried in front of your eyes, they come up crisp on the outside, and wonderfully soft and fresh inside. To say that I dream of them often would be an understatement.
The dips, salads, vine leaves, and desserts also can’t be beat. And to combat the power of the chilli sauce, try the TAMEK sour cherry drink.
Given that everything is assembled fresh as you wait, leave a bit of time — especially around lunch and dinner. Nothing beats dining in during summer when the folding front doors out onto Nicholson Street are open, affording a good view of the passing parade of homeward bound commuters getting off the Route 96.
Also note that as it’s a family run business they close for a few weeks every year for holidays, usually in January.

I got taken here on a first date. Weird huh?
Well not when you consider that date also involved a trip to Ikea and a huge homewares store… it was like we skipped the first 6 months of dating and went straight to doing all the domestic stuff. Like eating giant flat bread stuffed with salad, freshly made felafel and crap loads of chilli and garlic sauce (can you say GARLIC BREATH?). Afterwards I told him we should go meet my parents and then have a fight about something just to complete the picture…
Ahh, fun times.
I love this place. I love the guy who makes the fresh falafel, gives me extra salad in my flat bread, and drowns the lot in garlic sauce. I love the Tamak (sour cherry juice), the baklava and the tubs of beetroot dip that you can take home. I love the bright lights, the nondescript tables. I love that you get your falafel wrapped tightly in paper and then put in a plastic bag, so you can get to the end without hummus dripping down your arm. I love that Troy Corner has one of the best collections of local press, catalogues, and posters for upcoming art and music events. I love that this place is so unassuming yet the falafel so good that you could actually take someone here on a date and they’d still want to see you the next day.

Troy (as I like to call him) does fuckin’ good kebabs. They’re a smidge from great kebabs (it’s actually an oxymoron to use the words ‘great’ and ‘kebabs’ in the same sentence), but they’re full of meaty lamby goodness and that’s what you want right?
There’s another bloke across the way that also does pretty good kebabs, but Troy’s got the edge in my estimation. His bread is Turkish rather than flat so it’s a bloody big meal and perfect for sharing. He also does pides and they’re also pretty good without being great.
If you get an early skin full at the Empress over the road, take my advice and smash one of these fuckers on the walk home. You’ll get sauce down yer shirt and it’ll push the boundaries of you tummy, but you’ll thank me in the morning yo.

Opposite Empress Hotel, which is a great place for your music and more, the Troy Kebab House offers wonderful dishes, salads and more.
The food found in this kebab-​ery isn’t why you come here, or why I’ve been a number of times. The felafel IS good, and cheap, and available for lunch and dinner. But I keep coming back to see the relationship at play between who I think are husband and wife as the food is prepared. One serves, the other watches, not really moving. I order my felafel and bits and the mister arranges it all, the misses watches not really making a sound. Arguably, you wont last longer than a few minutes with the awkward tension that feels the space, but it’s an experience in itself.

If you’re looking for an early-​evening supper, a late lunch or an after-​drink quick fix, there’s nothing like a kebab to take the edge off; and very few places make a kebab like Café Troy. With an extensive range of ingredients to choose from, including all the classics like lamb, chicken and felafel — as well as their particularly note-​worthy home-​made chilli sauce — Café Troy is renowned throughout North Carlton for their exceptional, freshly-​made food. Aside from their tasty kebabs, they also do a wide range of home-​made Turkish desserts like baklava and traditional Turkish delight. Being so close to the students areas of Melbourne means that the prices are student-​friendly, too, with a massive kebab costing a mere $ 7 – 8, with further reductions on Mondays and Tuesdays. As so much of their produce is home-​made, the friendly staff are always happy and able — to explain exactly what’s in each menu item for those with a food intolerance, meaning everyone can find something they can eat there.