“Have you ever been to Nomad?”, a colleague asked me the other day. What followed was a passionate conversation, as we extolled the virtues of the restaurant in Surry Hills, which I’ve been to a few times, though not recently. This review, takes you back to when my friends Sandra and Robert were visiting, and I was looking for somewhere special to take them. The conversation last week was a lovely reminder for me to: a) go back to Nomad, and b) write more about the restaurants I often visit.

Alchemy – a restaurant/cafe serving Polish food on Crown Street, Surry Hills. “You need to like dumplings and schnitzels”, my friend told me, as we approached Alchemy earlier tonight. She was right, adding “This is good food in winter”. She comes from a Ukranian/Polish background, and told me the small friend dumplings we ate were the “comfort food” she grew up with. Tasty. Filling.

Ichibang – not far from Alchemy on Crown Street, lies a terrific Japanese restaurant. This is my “go to” restaurant on a weekday when I’m feeling hungry, and looking for a simple, healthy top up. Inevitably, I’ll choose a sushi/saschimi combination of some type, accompanied by a glass of wine. Generally about $25 in total, and I’m always greeted with a smile by the wait staff and the chef.

And in the heart of the city, on Bligh Street, French food in a restaurant/bar with a genuinely “New York Vibe”, is Restaurant Hubert. Finally, something in Sydney which is genuinely “New York”, and not just pretend. Very cool, very popular, because it’s very bloody good. Beautiful food. $80 between two of us. A lighter meal, but still very filling. $100 on the wine, but that says more about us than the restaurant.