Restaurant review: Nom, Nicosia

I realised lately I miss London. Not just the hustle and bustle of a big city, the constant excitement and the myriad of choices every day in every aspect of life.

I also miss the small and simple things that I started taking for granted when I decided to move to Cyprus around five years ago. One of them is brunch.

Luckily, Nicosia is changing in that aspect and choices for brunch are becoming many and diverse.

Slightly late to the party, last week I decided to try Nom, a trendy (I hate that word, but it does fit in this case) place near Makarios Avenue. Even the weather reminded me of London, as a greyish sky and a ubiquitous cold accompanied me and my faithful dining companion.

The place was packed with people way younger and cooler than me, the latter another reminder of my time in London.

What struck me most at Nom was the massive amount of choice. Brunch places often bank on a few well-executed entries, hence I was taken slightly aback by how many dishes were on the menu.

I went for eggs – shocking! – albeit not your usual benedicts or florentine.

Called Yummies, my choice consisted of honey roasted sweet potato, local sausage, halloumi, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, rocket and two poached eggs, accompanied by wholewheat multi-seed bread. Even just writing that I feel more hipster already!

That said, it was a solid choice, the halloumi cubes went perfectly with the poached eggs, and I always love anything with pine nuts, criminally underrated in Cyprus. We need more pine nuts in our lives.

My companion went for the Snow Omelette, an apt name for one of the most delicate omelettes I have ever seen. It was almost a cloud, as it was made with egg whites. Nothing wrong with that, but I prefer my omelette a bit more solid. After all, brunch should offset hunger until late in the afternoon at least.

Zucchini, turkey, commandaria roasted cherry tomatoes and anari cheese accompanied the omelette and it worked. Subtle, yet somehow rich, perhaps it lacked in umami. Egg yolks would have probably done the trick.

There was room for more, so we also shared the Hangover pancake with maple glazed smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, a fried egg and maple syrup.

I have been disappointed by pancakes in Cyprus many times, but the ones at Nom were perfect. Fluffy but not cloying, even the fried egg did not overwhelm.

I would sometimes like to see more than maple syrup on pancakes, but, despite being unoriginal, it always works.

The choice of drinks is also huge and, you guessed it, winking at hipster trends. My mocha latte – I didn’t brave the matcha one, although it tempted me – was perfectly comforting.

I promised myself I will visit Nom again soon if only to try the many other dishes on the menu. That said, I will wait for better weather. Grey skies and shaky hands are nice in Cyprus when they are a rarity. Brunch alfresco is the way to go here, so March or April at best will have me head to Nom once more.

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALTY Brunch

WHERE Nom, Stasandrou 3C, Nicosia

WHEN Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 4pm

CONTACT 22 777077

HOW MUCH egg dishes €8.50-€12.50, yoghurt and granola bowls €5.50-€7.50, mains €12.50-€15