It’s an unorthodox way to start a dinner out but it’s undeniably fun. This sense of fun is something Nour dishes out liberally. It’s a big restaurant but still manages to feel intimate. 

There’s music, energy and liveliness but you can clearly hear your table companions (how often have you had to lip-read in a bustling dining room?) – a useful thing at a restaurant like this where each dish begs to be handed back and forth, spoonfuls shared and last bites fought over. 

This is a common treatment when they’re as scrumptious as the wood-fired eggplant zinging with Aleppo pepper, or the Cape Grim beef short rib, spiced with baharat and balanced with a charred tomato salsa then lifted perfectly by a classic fattoush salad. As for dessert, opt to share that too, but make sure you take a greedy serving of the wood-fired coconut basbousa with fenugreek custard and Jersey milk ice cream – you’ll want as much of it as you can get.

To read our full list of reviews for NSW, head here.