NOMAD Surry Hills Sunday Brunch Review Sunday Table Menu

Looking for a Sunday brunch or lunch with a Middle Eastern spin? NOMAD in Surry Hills has a new Sunday Table brunch including dips, dolmas and a divine roast duck and dessert for $72 a person. Find out what is on the menu (and what else you can add on top of it!).

It's a beautiful sunny Sunday when Mr NQN and I arrive at NOMAD on Foster Street in Surry Hills. The last time I was here was to enjoy their truffle brunch and when I heard that they were doing a Sunday lunch for $72 a person I was very intrigued because $72 is good value for multiple courses (our eggs benedict at a cafe the day before was $35!).

The Sunday Table lunch is available any time on Sunday and features multiple courses of food served family style aka share plates. You also have the option to add on a beverage package for $55 a person which is 90 minutes with a Rose or Amber Spritz, wines and beer. There is also live music during the brunch.

We start with two non alcoholic cocktails: the Honey Pot and a Kakadu Spritz which are both really light and refreshing and not overly sweet. The Honey Pot is made with Project Hydrosole burnt honey amaretto, honey, ginger, citrus while the Kakadu Spritz is made with strawberry & hibiscus, blueberry & lemongrass and salted lemonade.

We start with the black eyed pea falafel that is lovely and herby and it actually comes with a labne that isn't mentioned on the menu.

This is topped with amba (a sweet pickled mango condiment), shatta (Middle Eastern hot sauce) zhoug (Yemeni spicy herb sauce) and is intensely creamy, tangy and full of flavour.

There's also another dip that is a cannellini bean hummus that I absolutely adore that has sumac and onions. This really goes well with some of the Saj flatbread and the duck.

The duck dolma are parcels of duck meat wrapped in leaves with sour cherry and fesenjan sauce (Iranian stew made from ground walnuts and tart pomegranate molasses). The only thing I would say is that the leaves are actually a bit tough so it's sort of a bit drier than a lot of dolma or dolmades. However, the flavour is very good.

And that takes us to the main course. It's a slow roasted Wollemi duck (a premium duck crossed between Pekin and Aylesbury breeds) served sliced with a pomegranate and pastrami crust with a folded saj flatbread, housemade pickled turnips and Turkish peppers. It sits on a bed of wood oven baked turmeric rice with barberries. This is a superb main - the duck succulent and tender and the turmeric rice with its crunchy crust is the perfect partner for it. We unfurl some of that paper thin saj bread, spread some cannellini bean hummus add some duck, rice and herbs and devour this.

Alongside the set menu lunch there are a number of add-ons that also include oysters, scallops, flatbread potatoes, and a garden salad. These aren't detailed on the website but appear on the menu.

One of my favourite bites and a must order is the kangaroo kibbeh nayer with smoked aioli and river mint on a deep-fried Lebanese bread cracker. The seasoning is so on point and it has such a luscious crunch as well. They're so addictively moreish and I could eat a couple of these easily.

Another must order is a half shell scallop with pieces of translucent guanciale, salted mandarin and salmon roe on top. What I really like is these novel flavour combinations that work so well; a lot of restaurants use the same flavours but these are unique.

The rock oysters are served with a rhubarb and champagne mignonette. Today's Sydney oysters are from Merimbula and they are wonderfully fresh and bright with the mignonette.

With the two dips you may want some woodfired flatbread to go with them. The woodfired flatbread comes with Persian lime and wattle seed. It's good but I really loved the version they had last time with the truffle butter. Next time I'd ask for some butter or some oil to dip this in.

The smoked duck fat potatoes are consistently the crunchiest most satisfying potatoes and a great accompaniment for meats. These potatoes never disappoint.

If you want something lighter to go with your lunch, the garden salad is simple and refreshing with thinly shaved fennel, blood orange and nasturtiums. It inspires me to re-create something similar with our nasturtiums.

Our dessert is part of the Sunday Table lunch menu and it is a Turkish coffee tiramisu that comes to the table scooped out of a large dish. While everything else is share style, each person gets their own serve of the tiramisu. On the side is puffed wheat cacao nibs and chocolate shavings that you sprinkle on top. This is an excellent tiramisu not just for the strong Turkish coffee flavour but also for that deliciously crunchy rubble on top.

So tell me Dear Reader, do you prefer a long Sunday lunch or a quick brunch? And what dish would tempt you most here?

NQN and Mr NQN were guests of NOMAD but all opinions remain her own.