Noura, Paris
Opened in 1989, Noura was the first Lebanese restaurant in Paris, and has since become famous for faithfully and expertly representing its country of origin’s noble culinary tradition.
With currently nine successful restaurants and two ‘traitteurs‘, Noura reigns supreme in the French capital when it comes to Lebanese cuisine.
The original restaurant was recently refurbished by Pierre-Yves Rochon, renowned decorator responsible for Atelier Joel Robuchon, among others. The restaurant has a warm and comfortable ambiance, with large windows that allow sunlight to stream in generously. Reinterpreting the country’s decorative traditions, the 70-seat restaurant has cozy banqueting lounges with ecru, ocher, white and vanilla tones, a painted ceiling reminiscent of Beirut, and floors that resemble oriental carpets.
This family-run restaurant excels in all the Lebanese specialties, firstly the mezzés: a selection of dishes to share including hummus, eggplant caviar, vine leaves stuffed with mascarpone, eggplant moussaka, chicken livers ‘flambé‘, tabouleh, organic salmon tartar and more.
Then there are the main dishes such as mixed grill of chicken, kefta and lamb brochettes, lamb confit with Lebanese rice with spices, almonds and raisins, lamb chops with thyme, accompanied by saffron bulgur, the supreme farm chicken tajine, with raisin semolina – all superior flavourful dishes.
Noura also has some fine seafood dishes; red mullet with spinach and chickpeas in broth, baked sea bream cooked with herbs, ‘pommes fondantes‘ and saffron rice, sumac shrimp and fettuccine with ‘bottarga‘ (a delicacy of salted, cured fish roe) – the latter may well be the best dish. Among a dozen desserts, such delicate treats as pistachio crunch and Amarena cherries, caramelized honey almonds and date, rose and fig ice cream, rose and fig.
All this culinary symphony is orchestrated since 2001 by chef El Honeis, who learned to perfect local specialties at the hotel school of Beirut.
Noura is a gourmet restaurant truly worth a visit!
Price range: €45.00 (average à la carte price based on a two-course meal excluding drinks)
Lunch menus at 31 or 39 euros
Menu at 44 euros includes eight mezzés, two desserts
Maison Noura 21 avenue Marceau 75016 Paris Tel 00 33 1 47 20 33 33
Le Zyriab by Noura 9ème étage de l’Institut du Monde Arabe, 1 rue des Fossés Saint Bernard 75005 Paris Tel 0033 1 55 42 55 42
Noura Opéra 29 boulevard des italiens 75002 Paris Tel 00 33 1 53 43 00 53
For a complete list of all Noura’s restaurants in Paris visit www.noura.com