Nour

Oh my. Where do I even start.

I know, I will start with the cocktails.

The cocktails are Nour are all beautifully presented, many with a distinctly Middle Eastern twist  through the addition of certain spices and ingredients. They are not very alcoholic, but just. look. at. it.

Tamuru Passion, $24

This bright, tart and oh-so-easy-to-drink number is a delightful combination of Stolichnaya vanilla vodka, Fiorente elderflower, Passoa (which is a passion fruit liquer), passion fruit and Tamarind. Then, right in the middle is a shallow dish made of ice filled with champagne granita. Yes. I know.

Falafel crumpet, $8 each

Falafel, that staple of Middle Eastern cuisine - crunchy and golden outside, fluffy inside. Nour just had to go the extra mile by making it a crumpet, and then topping each with lightly pickled onion, tahini, parsley and soft-boiled quail egg. That runny, oozy yolk is just perfection. 

Chicken shawarma, $10 each

This was our absolute favourite dish - we loved these so much, in fact, we went in for seconds. The chicken is beautifully marinated, so succulent, and the yoghurt bread! So chewy, so satisfying, wrapping a flavour hit.

Coal grilled octopus, chopped muhammara, fried potato,  whipped roe, $28

The octopus is grilled until very smokey (if you are not a fan of the smokey taste, you may say a tad too smokey). They rest on a bed of muhammara, which is a hot pepper dish originating form Syria, topped with fried potato and whipped roe - in one dish, you have chewy, crunchy, creamy and satisfyingly chunky.

Eggplant “makdous”, walnut, Aleppo pepper, herb salad,  zaatar nori crisps, $24

Eggplant cooked until creamy and almost spreadable - which is perfect with the zaatar nori crisps, with which we scooped the eggplant into our salivating mouths. A delicious way to cook my favourite vegetable.

Spatchcock, fenugreek, kishk, grilled peppers

More delicate and tender than chicken, the spatchcock was delicious. I also still have no idea what fenugreek is, despite googling. Well, they say, sometimes you got to leave some mystery in your life.

Fried cauliflower, wood roasted grapes, ras el hanout, smoked almond crumb

We have promised ourselves to eat more vegetables, after watching a certain highly popular Netflix documentary - hence, the fried cauliflower. It is smokey and tender, but for me, the best part of this dish is the roasted grapes - adding a beautiful surprising sweetness not only to this dish, but I loved it so much I also paired it with the spatchcock.

Fattoush salad, $17

When the fattoush salad was suggested by my friend, I have to admit I wasn't overly excited about it. In my experience, it is a few crispy bits drowned by lots, and lots, and lots and parsley; ending up disastrously in your teeth. How wrong I was. The fattoush salad at Nour is fresh, tart, complex, chunky, and altogether delightful. 

Mujaddara, aged rice with lentils, smoked labnah, crispy onion, rose petals, $19

Mujaddara consist of lentils cooked with, in Nour's case, aged rice. I am not quite sure what ageing rice does to the rice, all I know is this dish is delicious and the perfect accompaniment to everything else on the menu. It is mildly, but perfectly, flavoured - the smoked labnah particularly suited to mixing all thorough the tumbling rice.

Lebanese fruit cocktail bombe Alaska, kataifi pastry, avocado ice cream, sour cherry sorbet, $16

The bombe Alaska at Nour is so, so, good. The meringue is flavoured - it's not just sweet, and I can't quite put my fingers on what it is flavoured with - perhaps orange blossom water or rosewater? In any case, it encases smooth, creamy, rich avocado ice cream and an absolutely tart and bright sour cherry sorbet.

Camel milk mouhalabieh, jallab,pistachio, $15

We debated whether to order this item - initially we were a little unsure about the camel milk, but I am certainly glad we took a chance - not only is it nutritous, camel milk turns out to be deliciously rich, with no hint of gamey-ness at all, which had been my fear. The jallab is gorgeously perfumey (but in a good way), and the fresh with pistachio gave what otherwise would be a plain pana cotta like dish the necessary crunch and interest.

Dining at Nour requires the constant assistance of google - or simply ask the very professional, helpful staff! I feel like not only I have enjoyed one of the most memorable and delicious meals, I have also learned quite a lot about Middle Eastern food culture.

Score: 5/5
Price: approximately $100pp
Address: 3/490 Crown St, Surry Hills
Website: http://noursydney.com/