Melrose has a new gathering spot for shawarma, shakshuka, falafel and handmade pastries — and its owner is already a familiar face at City Hall. Shawbak Lebanese Kitchen & Bakery is bringing Maya Jamaleddine’s family recipes and a distinctly personal spin to the city’s restaurant scene.
The 32-seat restaurant is described by The Boston Globe as Melrose’s first Lebanese, Middle Eastern or halal restaurant. Jamaleddine, a seven-year city councilor-at-large, owns the business and says the menu reflects both her Lebanese upbringing and her own adaptations.
The City of Melrose lists Jamaleddine as a current councilor-at-large, while Local Headline News reported earlier this month that she had received approval to open the eatery. The project gives the longtime public official a second way to serve her neighbors — this time with a rolling pin, a griddle and plenty of garlic sauce.
A Menu Built Around Lebanese Comfort Food
Shawbak’s offerings include chicken shawarma, loaded hummus platters, falafel with tahini, shakshuka, sfayeh meat pies, spinach pies, lamejun and man’oush flatbreads. Jamaleddine told The Boston Globe that “everything has my own twist,” a philosophy that extends from the savory dishes to pastries learned from the women in her family.
Prices listed in the report range from $2.50 to $14.95 for flatbreads, pastries, wraps and mezze, while platters run from $11.99 to $32.99. The result is a menu that can work for a quick breakfast, a shawarma-heavy lunch or a more substantial spread built around hummus and warm bread.
Family Members Are Part Of The Operation
Jamaleddine’s husband, Abdallah, helps at Shawbak before and after his work at Tufts Medical Center, and their sons Taha, Jad and Yusef also pitch in. Their daughter, Sila, a fifth grader, reportedly spends time in the kitchen pretending to be the chef.
The restaurant’s official website lists weekday breakfast hours from 8 to 11:30 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and all-day breakfast on weekends. Shawbak is closed Tuesdays and otherwise lists hours from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., giving Melrose residents a new daytime destination for Lebanese food without requiring a trip into Boston.
