A bustling cobblestone street scene with people walking and talking, old buildings lining the street, and a minaret in the background.

Our Story

After leaving his job as a dental technician, Mousa Khayat wanted to bring something meaningful from his childhood to Australia. His heart always returned to the streets of Nablus, Palestine, the place where he first fell in love with knafeh.

Knafeh, the sweet-and-salty dessert made with white cheese and shredded filo pastry, is iconic across the Middle East but difficult to find in Australia. After 30 years of living here, Mousa saw the opportunity to share the flavours he grew up with. He began building knafeh machines using a large copper spinning plate designed to create the perfect kataifi strands.

In 2016, Mousa and his family opened their first bakery in Hughesdale, later relocating to Coburg in 2023. While the shop began as a knafeh-focused bakery, it was in Hughesdale that Mousa and the family expanded the menu to include savoury favourites like freshly made falafel and shawarma - dishes that quickly became customer favourites.

Today, after more than a decade of hard work, the family’s staple shop proudly resides in Coburg. The business continues to carry the same warmth, tradition, and passion it was built on, with Amr now running the day-to-day operations and continuing Mousa and the family’s legacy through authentic Palestinian sweets, freshly made falafel, shawarma, and genuine family hospitality.

A man with long hair and a beard, wearing a black sweater and an apron, rolling out dough with a rolling pin on a floured surface in a kitchen with stainless steel walls.
A man in a black jacket and gray beret smiling and waving, with a woman hugging him from behind, inside a restaurant decorated with neon signs that say 'LOVE at First BITE' and 'Life is Sweet' and featuring patterns and flags on the wall.
A detailed historical map of Nablus, Palestine, from 1937, showing streets, buildings, and land divisions with a scale of 1:5000.
Three people, two young men and an older woman, standing inside a restaurant or cafe, smiling at the camera. The background features menu boards with food images and prices, shelves with cups and decorative items, and bakery items in clear display cases.
A man wearing a hairnet and black jacket is leaning over a table, working with food. There are trays of food and kitchen storage in the background.

Today, Knafeh Nabulseyeh continues to serve its signature coarse and fine knafeh, alongside traditional sweets such as baklava, maamoul, harissa and more.

Inside the store, you’ll hear Palestinian music and see a large photo of a 1960s Nablus streetscape - the same street Mousa and his son Amr learnt to perfect their craft while spending several months in Palestine .

Knafeh Nabulseyeh is Mousa and his family’s way of sharing a taste of home & history with the community, one tray at a time.