Kepos Street Kitchen

The old Strangers With Candy cottage has been whitened, lightened and brightened by chef Michael Rantissi, who says he cooks the kind of food he likes to eat at home. Being Israeli from Tel Aviv, that means Middle Eastern spice meets Mediterranean simplicity meets Sydney style. Breakfast runs from toasted granola with Iranian-spiced poached fruit to a satisfying 'Dad's favourite Israeli brekky' board (felafel, hummus, labna, dukkah, boiled egg and schiacciata bread) and lunch could be a rich, bubbling shakshuka of baked eggs and tomato. At night, salads and grains are still key, especially a lush tabbouleh and a tangy mix of rubbly cauliflower, cracked wheat, walnut and cranberry. Raw lamb kibbeh mixed at the table with spiced cracked wheat is wipe-the-plate-clean good; monkfish kofte is light and lovely, and potato gnocchi is buried in chunks of braised lamb shoulder. Hot, spiced churros come in a paper bag, handy for taking home any leftovers. As if.