City Manoosh 249 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, New South Wales 2010

"As someone from Melbourne who has had his fair share of manouch over the years, I can honestly say this is the most traditional and tasty manouch I have ever had! Service, food, coffee, all fantastic!"

"Being Lebanese my self, I can definitely say that City Manoosh is absolutely delicious! The dough was beautiful and so was the zaatar and cheese. The staff were so friendly and welcoming. A must try in Sydney!"

"Wow!! Best lentil soup ever served with lemon and small pieces of bread. Glad I stopped here for lunch on a cold Winter day."

"1. This cozy cafe/restaurant opposite The Kinghorn center Darlinghurst has left the good impressions! Hospitable hosts, delicious and well priced dishes, would like to come back here again to try more items on the menu"

"My friend and I were exploring around and looking for new eats to have when we chanced on the lovely signage outside of the store. Being curious, we popped in to see what this is all about. We had an amazing chat with the staff and even had the honour of having had the pastry chef (apologies if the naming convention is inaccurate!) explain her goods. Our mouths watered as we were introduced to each one, and the knafeh particularly caught my attention. So we decided to order a Halloumi pocket and one knafeh, which having a cherry ripe slice to go for my partner. Let's start with the knafeh. I've not really been introduced to such a dessert before, but I was attracted to its beautiful presentation. And included was a small bottle of syrup which has hints of rose and blossom water (if memory serves me correct). The crumbs on top with edible flowers mixed with the soft creamy custard-like texture was such a delight with a very light hint of sweetness and rosewater. Naturally, we can choose how sweet we'd like our mouthful with the inclusion of the bottle of sweet syrup. It's a real treat, and I loved having the option to adjust the sweetness. My friend absolutely adored the syrup too. Before writing this review, I wasn't aware that City Manoosh also did pizzas. Having tried the Halloumi pocket's dough, it was really really good! I was eager to compare it to be on par with good pizza dough because of its taste and light texture. Of course now I know why, since City Manoosh also does pizza. I feel kind of silly recollecting that enthusiasm, but I think being able to identify it as pizza dough speaks of how on point the dough was. And of course with such dough, Halloumi just worked really well with it. We were also gifted two pieces of baklava. I've had baklava before and often find it can be too intensely sweet with a sticky texture, but this was quite a different experience. While the rush of intense sweet came first, the filo pastry was light and crunchy, and the sweetness mellowed with each bite only to disappear and leave you wanting that next bite and rush. Perhaps my review is gushing since I have not really been exposed to many Middle Eastern desserts, but having had the opportunity to try it here was certainly an eye opener. We had the luxury to have had some discourse with the chef, though I imagine others might not when the store gets busy. Obviously, we'll be back for more. And I do hope that City Manoosh keeps up their good work because for me, it is not just the entry to Middle Eastern desserts, but the fact it was done with such attention that I have to pay my compliments to the chef. Absolute recommend, and I hope that other Aussies of other ethnicities will give this place a shot."