Sydney has no shortage of Middle Eastern food. From modern takeaway eateries like Henriettas to your local Lebanese, it’s a cuisine that feels familiar, approachable, and deeply embedded in the fabric of Sydney.
NOUR takes the classic flavours and repackages them into something modern. This is a review of Surry Hills’ Nour for the diners who want that same flavour and familiarity from the cuisine, elevated into something far more considered and deliberate.
Key Takeaways
NOUR is a modern Middle Eastern restaurant that takes the flavours most Sydneysiders already love and reframes them through a refined, produce-driven lens.
The food is delicious and full of flavour and texture, however the execution on some dishes need some balance. Dining at NOUR teaches you to eat slow to savour each bite – meaning the impact was there but the value wasn’t.
This is a place for a special occasion. A first date, a long overdue catch-up, or a dinner where an experience is more important than filling your belly. The price point will reflect that, but the experience earns it.
Food & Standout Dishes
- Woodfired Abrolhos Scallop, Aleppo Burnt Butter – Well balanced and buttery in a way that feels restrained rather than rich. Every component earns its place on the plate. But the scallop itself was tiny and didn’t have a sweetness that I’ve come to expect. A confident 5/10.
- Chicken Bits Shawarma, tarator, pickled cabbage, yoghurt bread – Warm spice, mellow heat, and a well-seasoned red cabbage that quietly steals the spotlight. The bread was chewey and slightly gummy in the best way possible. Unfortunately, the same goes for the chicken, but the flavour profile is hard to fault. 7/10.
- Raw Tuna Tabblouleh, horseradish cacik, sesame leaf – Fresh, creamy, and texturally more interesting than you’d expect. The tuna had a satisfying chunkiness to it that was a genuine surprise. 9/10.
- Woodfired Eggplant, filfil chouma, za’atar crisp – Bright and punchy with a bold sauce that knows what it wants to be. The trade-off is that the smokiness of the eggplant takes a back seat. Could use something fresher to cut through and let the vegetable breathe a little more. 6/10.
- Lamb Neck, zucchini, yoghurt, burnt butter, chermoula – Slow, soft, and deeply lamby. There’s a pleasant unexpected crunch from the crispy edges, but it’s one note across the plate. More contrast would do a lot of work here. Disappointing 7/10 here.
- Brussels sprouts mujadara style, lentils, onions, grape molasses – A mouthful of crunchy, toasty, roasty flavour that is so incredibly well balanced. One of the highlights of the night, full stop. 9/10.
- Muhallebiye, rose and orange scented milk pudding, pistachio, fruit preserve, and passionfruit – Refreshing and light without feeling like an afterthought. Spiced, creamy, and just a little bit punchy with subtle floral notes throughout. The harmony of nuts, spice, and fragrance is genuinely impressive, with citrus quietly holding everything together in the background. A beautiful way to end the meal. 10/10.
Vibe & Atmosphere
- Great vibe inside, however the glass windows, grey walls, and simple decor made for a very “Sydney” feeling clinical experience that I personally didn’t mind, but felt could be improved on.
Prices & Value
- Can cost anywhere between $60 to $12 per person. I personally paid $89 for the Banquet Menu for 7 dishes, and I could probably count the number of bites I had across all 7. I left feeling mildly full however I can’t say the value is there.
The Restaurant
Vibes
NOUR is clean and decorated minimalistically with dim white light. It’s not a restaurant that extends warmth and homeliness. If you were walking by, you wouldn’t look twice inside this restaurant, however, it’s comfortable enough.
The staff were so lovely, with great recommendations, warm and attentive service and offered to take our coats which was a nice touch. You know how you sometimes get the feeling your waiter forgot about you? This didn’t happen here.
Dinner & Serveware
One thing worth calling out even before the food arrived – the small details of service were noticeable in a good way. Warm plates, a table wiped down properly between courses, and the kind of attentiveness that doesn’t feel performative. It set the tone early and it held throughout the meal.
Scallops
Woodfired Abrolhos Scallop, Aleppo Burnt Butter
These scallops were our entree, and did the job perfectly. It was a great one-biter that had the balance between flavours, however I didn’t get too much of the burnt butter savouriness nor the scallop sweetness.
Chicken Shawarma
Chicken Bits Shawarma, tarator, pickled cabbage, yoghurt bread
The shawarma at NOUR isn’t trying to compete with the late-night wrap you’d grab on King Street. It’s warmer, built around a spice profile that is mellow rather than punchy.
The red cabbage was a genuine highlight. Fresh, well-seasoned, and doing real work to carry the dish. The bread had that slight gummy bite to it that made every bite feel substantial and satisfying.
The big issue was with the chicken, which was on the drier side. I get it – it’s meant to be a chicken ‘bits’ shawarma so there’s some inconsistencies in texture to be expected but if it leads to a worse product then I would’ve just preferred chicken thigh that’s juicy, tender and flavoursome.
Raw Tuna Tabbouleh
Raw Tuna Tabblouleh, horseradish cacik, sesame leaf
This one was a surprise. If it didn’t get included in the set menu I would’ve ordered it.
The freshness was immediate, the creaminess no satisfyig, and the tuna had a chunkiness to it that added real textural interest. It’s the kind of dish that makes you slow down and actually pay attention rather than just keep reaching across the table.
Woodfired Eggplant
Woodfired Eggplant, filfil chouma, za’atar crisp
The sauce here is bold and it knows it. Bright, punchy, and assertive in a way that works on its own terms. The issue is that it doesn’t leave a lot of room for the eggplant to show up as itself.
Eggplant has a smokiness that is genuinely awesome, but it was begging for something fresher alongside it – a bigger herb element, a little more acidity – could create the contrast it needs and let both components shine. By the final bite I had grown sick of how creamy the entire dish was as the za’atar crisp was long gone by then.
Still enjoyable. But it’s a dish that feels like it’s one tweak away from being exceptional.
Lamb
Lamb Neck, zucchini, yoghurt, burnt butter, chermoula
Slow, soft, and deeply savoury. The lamb was full of flavour. But it was too ‘one-note’ for me. It’s very tender and pulls apart meaning the soft and creamy yoghurt and zucchini accompanying this lamb had zero role where the zucchini disappeared entirely in the bite.
The lamb was served with an unexpectedly crunchy exterior to the point where I genuinely thought there was bone when I was trying to cut through it. It’s offered a much needed texture in this dish , but it was simply too hard to chew through.
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts mujadara style, lentils, onions, grape molasses
Do not sleep on the Brussels sprouts.
Every single bite was crunchy, toasty, and roasty with the sweet pop of grape molasses here and there. It is comfortably one of the best things on the table and arguably the most effortless-feeling dish of the night.
The kind of side dish you order again before you’ve finished the first serve
Muhallebiye
Muhallebiye, rose and orange scented milk pudding, pistachio, fruit preserve, and passionfruit
It was so incredibly light and refreshing especially after that lamb and brussel sprouts. There’s a lot going on underneath to keep you interested. The spice is present but not aggressive, the creaminess is indulgent without sitting heavily, and the floral notes running through it are subtle enough to feel elegant rather than perfumed.
The real achievement is how everything sits together. Nuts, spice, fragrance, and a citrus note that doesn’t ask for much attention but holds the whole thing in balance. Fragrant, harmonious, and a genuinely satisfying way to close out the meal.
