Overview
Surry Hills has long been one of Sydney's go-to spots for a quality Lebanese feed, from Fatima's — which has been taking care of nocturnal hunger pangs for more than 30 years — to Abdul's queue-inspiring feasts. More recently, Cubby's Kitchen has popped up in one half of the Crown Street Fish Shop space. But too much falafel is never enough. And so we're not upset at all that, from this Friday, October 7, there'll be a new Lebanese kid on the block. It's called Nour and is coming to you from the folks behind Newtown's Cuckoo Callay.
Unlike the neighbourhood's many hole-in-the-wall eateries, this one's a whopping 120-seater. So you can take your entire extended family and all your mates with you. You'll find Nour within a stone's throw of Cubby's, at 3/490 Crown Street, right between Toko and Maloneys Grocer.
Restaurateurs Ibby Moubadder and Ella Harris — who opened the good Cuckoo back in 2013 — have long been planning on bringing a Lebanese restaurant to Sydney. Their hope is to reinvigorate the ancient cuisine, by giving long-standing traditions some fresh twists. Their menu will feature vine leaves stuffed with ox tail, an Arabic lamb tartare and an 'old city mix' of chicken bits on a round of pastry. The wood-fired oven takes pride of place in the middle of the restaurant, and is where they cook their meats, a super smoky eggplant and house-made bread (gluten free included). They're also doing
In keeping with this vision, they've enlisted top contemporary interior designers DS17 to revamp the space. Once the shadowy, moody home of Tokonoma, it's been lightened and brightened; the main dining area up the back opens up onto wall-to-ceiling glass doors and lets in some top-notch sunshine. After all, Nour means 'light' in Arabic. If you've visited Alpha, Beta Bar or the newly opened The Resident, you're familiar with DS17's work. It looks nothing like the Lebanese restaurants we're familiar with.
Nour will open at 3/490 Crown Street, Surry Hills at midday on Friday, October 7. For more information, visit noursydney.com.au.
By Jasmine Crittenden and Lauren Vadnjal.