Dining at this sweeping,gleaming post-work go-to above Martin Place must be a conflicting time for vegetarians. The menu is rife with plant-centric goodness,from heirloom carrots with carrot top sahawiq salsa,to Egyptian baked rice heady with earthy baharat spice,to carrot ice-cream spooned across turmeric sponge. (Chef Paul Farag really likes carrots.) But a table near the dry-ageing fridge also means looking at a squadron of headless ducks all night,each carcass waiting to be roasted and teamed with a tangy walnut and pomegranate sauce based on Persian stew fesenjan.

That duck,however,is straight-up delicious. See also,black cardamom-fragrant beef nayyeh;zippy fattoush reimagined on a cracker;juicy quail skewers;and cuttlefish enhanced with ummak huriyya,a type of Tunisian carrot salad. More Middle Eastern adventures like this in the city,please. The duck-averse can always request another table.