Nomad by nature

A change of scenery brings fresh flavours to a Sydney favourite, writes KARLIE VERKERK.

- KARLIE VERKERK

A brisk walk around the block can work wonders for creativity and morale. Or in Nomad’s case, a stroll up the road. The tribe has migrated to a temporary home at the ex-Longrain site after an electrical fire broke out at their original Foster Street digs a few doors down, and it seems the fresh air and change of scenery is exactly what they needed.

The bright and unpretentious fit-out with its subtle warehouse vibe has moved with the team, as has the Mediterranean-skewed share-style menu. In today’s dining climate you’d be hard-pressed to find a menu that wasn’t designed to share. But if it’s going to make sense anywhere, it’s here. The flavours are assured and the serves honest. This is the sort of food you want to get stuck into.

Take for example the modest dish that is a flatbread, a Nomad staple. Sprinkled with za’atar and accompanied by a generous portion of silky cannellini-bean hummus and cumin brown-butter, you really don’t need to order much more. Although, I suggest you do.

Perhaps start with the fried olives. The meaty green orbs are stuffed with ’nduja, then coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried until wonderfully golden. They’re salty and spicy and everything you want in a one-bite snack. Or the kingfish crackling: a neat pile of fried, crisp skin dusted in a punchy spice mix of smoked paprika, fennel, cumin, coriander, and black peppercorn. If this doesn’t get your tastebuds firing, nothing will.