Nour caused quite the stir when it brought Middle Eastern food to Surry Hills and threw the rulebook out the window – out the beautifully large windows flooding light into the space that is.

That the space is sunshine-filled is apt considering Nour is Arabic for ‘light’. Dusky pink chairs, blonde-wood tables, and a romantic pastel pink-hued room create a scene to fall in love with, and that’s not even talking about the food yet.

Listing ‘fattoush our way’ tells you what you need to know about this menu: Israeli chef Roy Ner is cooking the food of his heritage, without letting himself be limited by tradition or stereotype. The woodfired oven takes pride of place in the ample kitchen, and smoke and char runs through the dishes. The succinct wine list is easy to navigate, although the efficient waitstaff will happily guide you through.

Chicken ‘bits’ (various meat and offal) and pretty slices of radish line a thin strip of pastry to make up the ‘old city mix’, which you’ll be advised to roll up and eat with your hands – you won’t be advised to lick your fingers, but go ahead, it’s delicious. Follow that with camel sambusak – an empanada-style pocket stuffed with woodfired camel meat and served with a prettily chopped bullhorn chilli, lime salsa and smoked labneh. The charcoal octopus is a nice rendition of what must have been Sydney’s favourite dish in 2016, but it wouldn’t be missed from the menu here among the other stars.

Figs are again woodfired and doused in honey, presented with haloumi, date challah (Jewish bread) and black garlic, while Lebanese dumplings take the gong for Nour’s most ‘grammable’ dish – pillows of pumpkin swimming in warm yoghurt and jewelled with pomegranate. The burnt butter drizzled over takes this dish to another level.

Larger dishes of lamb shoulder with mograbiah (pearl couscous) and lamb’s tongue; snapper with saffron; and corn-fed chicken with Australian truffle and baby romanesco show Crown Street’s Nour is most certainly shining a light on just what modern Middle Eastern food can be.

Must eat dish: Old City Mix
Instagram: @nourrestaurant