Surry Hills’ Middle Eastern favourite Nour has welcomed Ben Williamson (ex-Gerard’s Bistro in Brisbane) as its new executive chef. He will reboot the menu alongside Nour’s new head chef, Mike Dierlenger from Sydney’s recently closed The Bridge Room.

Williamson is stepping in at Nour, owned by 2019 My Kitchen Rules finalist Ibby Moubadder, in the lead-up to his own restaurant, 22 Agnes, opening in Brisbane later this year.

“Ibby and I knew each other already – I did a collaboration with Nour about three years ago,” Williamson tells delicious. “It was a great event – Ibby’s a great guy, we hit it off straight away.”

The former executive chef of the two-hatted Gerard’s Bistro says a five-year stint in Bahrain kicked off his fascination with Middle Eastern flavours. While there will be no major changes to Nour’s strong Lebanese DNA, Williamson is keen to give the woodfired oven a bigger workout in smoky-breathed meat, seafood and vegetable dishes, plus a renewed focus on breads.

Expect charry Lebanese manoush (flatbread) in rotating flavours, and a house bread studded with nigella seeds and za’atar that will be finished on the charcoal grill.

They’ll also be making Lebanese cheeses in house, including shanklish (yoghurt cheese balls), plus house-made tarators (yoghurt dips), and a fried take on the Arabic cheese fatayer (turnover) with orange blossom syrup and verjuice, which Williamson describes as “little sweet, sour and crunchy fried cheese balls”.

The chefs are also curating a new Sunday brunch menu, defined by Williamson as morning “mezze”.

“There will be beautiful, freshly fried falafel, a modern take on ful medames (spiced and stewed fava beans), sujuk with eggs, and olive oil and za’atar flatbreads,” he says.

An orange blossom syrup-soaked knafeh will offer a sweet respite, and a confit meat and egg dish is Nour’s take on shakshuka.

In addition to a refreshed food offering, Moubadder is working on a breakfast cocktail menu for the Crown Street restaurant, which will also soon sport a refreshed interior.

Nour’s new menu by Ben Williamson and Mike Dierlenger will launch May 28. The Sunday brunch menu will be available from June 1.