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 there's set to be yet another 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.
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. 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. We're told it will look nothing like the Lebanese restaurants we're familiar with. You'll have to see for yourself when the restaurant opens later this month.
Nour will open at 3/490 Crown Street, Surry Hills on Wednesday, 28 September. For more information, visit their Facebook page.