Nomad is set to launch a three month residence in the space previously occupied by Longrain, after an electrical fire in September caused severe damage to the Sydney restaurant on Foster Street in Surry Hills.
While owners Al and Rebecca Yazbek work to rebuild the original site, Nomad Up The Road will open at 85 Commonwealth Street from Friday 1 November.
Head chef Jacqui Challinor will create a fresh menu focusing on smaller shared plates. The new kitchen will allow the team to explore new dishes that don’t utilise the wood-fire cooking techniques Nomad is known for. However, a few of Nomad’s signature dishes will make an appearance at Nomad Up The Road, including the house-made cannellini bean hummus, kingfish ceviche and duck mortadella.
“There won’t be a wood-fired oven in the new site so the menu will be different, but the food ethos is still very much the same,” says Challinor. “I’m really excited to use this opportunity to create new dishes for our customers — dishes that may just end up on the restaurant back home when we reopen in 2020. The support of the industry has been incredible and very humbling, with so many restaurateurs, chefs, managers and suppliers all reaching out to offer any support they could. Jock (Zonfrillo) called straight away and said we should take Commonwealth Street space.”
Nomad’s style be woven through the residence, which will comprise a 140-seat restaurant with kitchen counter seating, large group tables, and a private dining area for up to 24 guests. The distinctive artwork by CJ Hendry will be transported to the new space, with the Yazbek’s also working closely with local galleries China Heights in Surry Hills, who represent Australian artists Otis Carey and Max Berry, and Olsen Gallery in Woollahra, who represent Julian Meagher.
“It’s been a really hard time facing what happened with the fire but the most important thing is no one was hurt and our team are safe,” says co-owner Rebecca Yazbek. “We lost our whole office including paperwork and computers, not to mention the hundreds of kilos of meat and produce so this has been the light at the end of the tunnel for us, having an opportunity to keep going with our team.”
Nomad Up The Road will be open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday. Various upgrades to parts of Nomad are due to open in early 2020.