Darlinghurst locals will know the little hole in the wall on Liverpool Street that specialises in one delicious dish. For those that call hummus a dip, owner Yoash Dvir says hummus is more than qualified to be a meal on its own.
We take a seat at the street-side tables out the front of Simply Hummus, and Yoash delivers us a tray of Israeli coffee, spiced with cardamom seeds and served in small porcelain cups.
He takes a seat opposite and gazes down the street. Back in Israel, he says, small hummus bars or hummasiya are everywhere. They serve only hummus and alcohol, cold beer usually.
“Here we have one type of hummus that’s served with different toppings, pita bread or carrot sticks,” he says.
It’s risky opening a shop with one star product. The hummus has to impress, and Yoash tells me that he worked hard to tailor his hummus to the Australian palette.
“We did 40 iterations of the hummus we have now,” says Yoash. “We tried different tahini and amounts olive oil, cumin and lemon juice. I personally like my hummus sour, but the Australians don’t like it too sour. I also prefer it a bit smoother than what we make here.”
Yoash disappears into the bar and returns with two plates of hummus. The first is the traditional plate, served with tabouli and drizzled with olive oil, paprika and zaatar. The second is topped with tahini and crispy, light falafel, served with fluffy pita.
“The menu isn’t overwhelming,” he says as he sits back down. “We know what to do and we do it well.”
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393 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst
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