Souk and the City — Local Paddo

Erez Nahum reckons he had been to nearly every Middle Eastern restaurant in Sydney — but had never exactly found what he missed from his home city of Tel Aviv. So he decided to create his own venue to remind him of home.

Shaffa opened in late April on Albion St, in a historic spot found down a laneway between the Little Albion boutique hotel and a 120-year-old former church.

“I want to recreate the feeling that you get in a restaurant in Tel Aviv, that sense of warmth,” says Nahum. “We have thought about every small detail, from the beautiful wine and cocktail list to getting one of Tel Aviv’s best DJs to do the music for us. We’re really taking a risk here, we’re taking a chance.”

The restaurant is fashioned after a market-style venue of the Middle East, with an open kitchen, intense, friendly service and upbeat music. The space opens for coffee and pastry from the morning, street food at lunch and a full dinner service featuring the food of Tel Aviv at night.

Dinner dishes include: kofta shipud with mashuaya salad, yoghurt tahini sauce, pickles, shivka, fresh herbs, preserved lemon, pine nuts and laffa; and saffron and yoghurt chicken shawarma with laffa, pickles, tahini and sumac onions.

Nahum says Shaffa has been packed since day one: “I couldn’t be happier or more tired. It’s insane.”

SHAFFA

80 Albion St

shaffa.com.au