Who doesn’t love a basement restaurant? Secreted away under Flinders Lane, Nomad surprises on many fronts. The intimate space blends caramel booths with exposed piping overhead, while the open kitchen buzzes with a team threading ancient Middle Eastern flavours into fresh new forms.

Staff will lead you to gold nuggets on the share-friendly menu, perhaps billowing flatbread that’s charred and crusted with citrus-sparked za’atar. It’s purpose-built for swan-diving into burrata with mustard fruits and candied walnuts. Cocktails match the kitchen’s creativity.

Woodsmoke is threaded through a luscious coil of house-made lamb sausage, and darkly lacquered charcoal chicken served on the bone, glistening with harissa oil. Scorched eggplant arrives in a jubilant sauce of masala, buttermilk and wild greens. Don’t go past the olive oil ice-cream sandwich: it riffs on baklava and is nothing short of a transporting experience.

Good to know: The express menu is a handy pre-theatre dining option.

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