Zaatar Plus

Zaatar Plus is a Lebanese bakery in Epping, Victoria, and the kind of place people go out of their way for. Ask around and you'll hear the same thing: the dough is the draw. It's light, soft and a little buttery, and it comes straight from the oven. One local told us they'd drive an hour just to get back to it.

The manoush is the headline, and the za'atar version gets particular praise for staying soft and full of flavour rather than coming out over-toasted. The cheese manoush has its own following, and the sujuk pizza has fans who eat it several times a week. Manoush is a standout, though the menu also includes cheese pie, sujuk and egg, and kaak.

It's also a comfortable place to stop. You can dine in, take away, pick up in store or have it delivered, and there's coffee and breakfast on the menu too. The coffee gets its own good word from regulars. Parking is free, and the car park and entrance are both wheelchair accessible. They take cards and mobile payments.

Locals describe the staff as friendly and welcoming, with one mentioning the owners by way of praise, and prices are called fair for the quality, so it works well for a family lunch or a casual catch-up. It's the sort of bakery where people say they've been to plenty of Lebanese bakeries across Melbourne and keep coming back to this one.

To be fair, not every visit is perfect. One online order of a chicken barbecue pizza arrived looking quite different from what the customer expected, so if you're ordering something off the usual path, it may help to check the details with the team first. Most people, though, leave happy.

The shop opens early, well before most places, which suits a breakfast or pre-work stop. It's worth checking the hours before you head in, especially on weekends, when they run slightly different times.