I’d booked brunch with Mel and Phil several weeks ago. Phil is into live music so I organised for us to go to Untied for the “Brunch with Soul”. Unfortunately Mel hadn’t read the details on the invite I had sent her until the day before (you had one job, one! 🤣) and neither she nor Phil drink cocktails, bottomless or otherwise. I was on the lookout for a bottomless with wine. Not Bellinis, not Prosecco but wine. Surprisingly there wasn’t a lot to choose from but in a last ditch effort I asked if Rosé was ok? It was and this is how we ended up with a last minute booking at Nomad.

Once it had been agreed upon I frantically tried to book from my bathtub on Friday the night before. The website would let me book for 2 people but not 3. Surely this was an error? Should I book for 2 and rock up with 3? I contacted them via SMS and Facebook Messenger and they got back to me within the hour. Would I be ok with a small table? Yes, yes I would. When we arrived it turned out to be 3 on a large share table and while there were others on the table no one was right next to us.

Our gorgeous waiter had a swing to his step and a smile on his face. He reminded me of Agador from The Birdcage and was from Sicily. He was very attentive with the rosé and even though the restaurant was quite crowded we never had an empty glass for long and if ever we gave him a wave he noticed right away and rushed over.

The first thing that came out was the Cannellini bean hummus. Rich and creamy the flavour was amazing. I had been to Nomad once for dinner with clients and had forgotten how beautifully they spice their contemporary Middle Eastern cuisine.

Not long after that the nomad charcuterie came out. By that time we had pretty much demolished the one slice of bread that was allotted to us with the hummus. Luckily the waitress was happy to bring us another plate. The hummus went perfectly with the selection of smoked meats.

The zucchini flowers came out next. Liberally covered in pecorino cheese and drizzled in honey. While this seemed a strange flavour combination to me the cheese, truffle and honey worked together beautifully.

Next out and our final course was the BBQ spatchcock. I’m usually not a huge spatchcock fan. I’ve had some dry over cooked ones in the past but this one was fabulous. Plump and juicy it was served with wedges of fresh lime, harissa, toum – a Lebanese garlic sauce and guindilla which were pretty damn spicy. It was served with a side salad of spiced cauliflower, cashew, wild rocket and labne. Seriously this is some of the best cauliflower I’ve ever eaten and you know it’s good if I’m raving about a vegetable! (other than potato)

We didn’t end up going with the cheese platter and in my head, (and then IRL) I decided to pop into Nutie on the way home for coffee and cake. All in all I was glad we’d changed the venue. (Although it was a bit stressful the night before!) The food was fantastic and the rosé divine. Thanks for breaking your bottomless virginity with me Melly & Phil. Here’s to the ladies that brunch. 🥂

Edit – Nomad have relocated for the summer while their kitchen is repaired to 85 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills

📍 where – 16 Foster St Surry Hills

🌏 www – https://nomadwine.com.au/

🍷 bottomless – rosé or for an extra $15 sparkling rosé

💵 how much – $75 for food and beverage package

🥗 food – set menu

⌚️ how long – 1.5 hours

🗓 when – Saturday from 12pm