Two things make this job easy — appalling restaurants and great restaurants.

Most of the others — 90 per cent of the places you and I visit — sit somewhere in the middle ground: decent, not thrilling and unless they hide a quirk or little side-step from the ordinary they sit in the no-man’s land of ‘nice’, hence the plethora of sevens and 7.5s on the tail-end of these reviews.

Naim doesn’t do either appalling or great. In fact from nearly every angle it sits within the ‘nice’ category. But it is peddling something quirky; sufficiently removed from the pack that any shortfall in trappings or service wouldn’t matter a whit: the glimmer hides in the food.

It is Middle Eastern and it specialises in the muddle of breakfast, brunch, dinner and lunch. At first glance the menu can seem a little too brunchy — fruit and sorbet, rice pudding, waffles, eggs — but a closer look shows them to be fanciful versions: rice pudding with cinnamon, cardamom, fruits and corn-chip crumble; eggs Tunisian style; avocado on toast comes with Persian feta, dukkha, poached eggs and pomegranate.

There’s a burger ($20) on offer, and it’s pretty good — pulled pork patty, a good slab of melted cheese, spinach leaves, a nicely toasted bun and some cauliflower popcorn on the side. But the core of the place lies with the Middle Eastern stuff.

Hummus kawarma (lamb mince, hummus, a few specks of garnish and a generous plate of flat bread triangles — $15) is good:, and even better when you try a few of the house pickles on top.

The heart of its success lies in the hummus — tart, gently spiced, creamy and lush. The mince is good, but I reckon, with a little imagination, it could be a vehicle for something stellar.

And kusheri ($16.50) — a mix of rice, lentils, chickpeas, cinnamon and cumin, tomato, fried onion, herbs and barberries, beetroot and tahini and a wedge of lemon is a magical mix of colours, flavours and textures.

Naim inhabits a slightly rambling space with a smallish front room and a beautiful, airy dining room to the rear. It gets a cheerful buzz once the tables begin to fill.

Using the silk purse and sows ear analogy is stretching things: even without the good work from the kitchen, Naim is ticking along pretty well.

But it is the food, and the creative spirit behind the menu that separates it from the hundreds of decent, unremarkable Queensland restaurants.

This review originally appeared on couriermail.com.au.