Noura Central - Lebanese, London

122 Jermyn Street
Picadilly, London SW1Y 4UJ
Tel: 020 7839 2020
Nearest tube: Picadilly Circus
http://www.noura.co.uk
Hours: Sun-Wed 11:30am - 12:30am, Thurs - Sat 11am-1am

Last Visited: July 7, 2010

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$$ to $$$$

The lasts of my London posts features a restaurant with a Michelin star!

The beginnings of Noura started in Lebanon, later went to France, and then branched to the United Kingdom. My beginnings with Noura was a family vacation that started and ended in London. While visiting with an old undergrad classmate, Noura became a tasting adventure for one of the best Lebanese/Middle Eastern meals I've eaten so far.

What caught my eye, besides the fact that Lawrence stopped at the doorway, was the Michelin sticker on the glass doors. After further investigation, I learned that it was their French location which was awarded with a Michelin star in 1993.

The menu is pretty overwhelming to begin with. Go during happy hour and available to you are a bunch of sampler platters which don't require you to think. We happened to arrive just after happy hour which meant a build our own meal experience.

Walking into Noura, you get the sense that they want to be fancy. From the bread oven behind the counter and the bar in the rear to the cool looking salt and pepper shakers on each table, there was definitely the essence of an eye for detail in mind when the place was designed. On this particular evening was a world cup game, so the two televisions in the dining area had eyes glued to them and the sense of elegance was a bit removed as people shouted as goals were scored.

Since we weren't particularly hungry, we tried a few cold dish appetizers, a couple of hot side smaller dishes, and a few main dishes. These were shared by five people and we still had leftovers. After ordering, we were given a bowl of marinated goodies - peppers, pickles, olives, turnips or radishes (not exactly sure what I was eating) and all were very good and very pickled, but fresh tasting. These would get anyone's appetite going. I wish I could have taken the olives home with me. Yum.

Cold Mezzes:

- Hoummos - I love hoummus (or however you want to spell it). This was no exception. Super creamy and delicious. They also decorated it so nicely with the paprika and the whole chickpeas in the well of olive oil in the center. Fortunately for me, they provided hot bread that they had just made - puffy and light - a great conduit for the hoummos. 6.50 pounds

- Moutabbal - Puree of grilled eggplant with sesame seed oil and lemon juice. While the menu actually calls this aubergine, as long as you know what you're getting (or even if you don't), it's still great. The eggplant was creamy and rich with pomegranates and fresh herbs in the well of olive oil. Great with the puffy bread, I could eat this and the hoummos without reservation. 7.75 pounds

- Cheese - I thought we had Hungarian cheese, but maybe it was Bulgarian. I can't seem to find it on the menu as I write this, but it's super soft and a little crumbly. These rectangles are mild and go well with the fresh cucumber slices accompanying it. The tomato slices are fresh as well.

Hot Mezzes:

- Jawaneh (Grilled) - Chicken wings are marinated in lemon and garlic and grilled over charcoal. These wings are delicious - so good that I didn't even get a chance to capture a photo of them. There were six wings grilled to perfection with just the right tanginess from the lemon and well flavored from the marinade. Anybody who likes wings will enjoy these. Terrific! 7.75 pounds

Side Dish:


What's a little funny to me is that they offer French fries here - I guess the Lebanese in London still come them fries and not chips.

- Rice with Minced Lamb - A bowl of the rice is mixed with minced lamb, cooked, and topped with toasted pine nuts. It reminds me of southern style dirty rice. I was surprised to find out how filling this side dish became with a bit of lamb mixed in. Good. 6 pounds

Main Courses:

The main courses are primarily focused on the grill. There is also a selection of grilled and fried fish available to choose from too.

- Mixed Grill - Three skewers of Lamb, Shish Taouk (marinated chicken), Kafta (minced lamb) each are served with a piece of pita bread, a wedge of fresh tomato, shredded lettuce, and garlic mayonnaise. Of the three, I enjoyed the lamb and Kafta the most since both were more moist than the chicken. The meat is grilled well with good flavor. This is a good dish to try if you want to create your own sampler without breaking the bank. 19.75 pounds

- Chicken Chawarma - These pieces are similar to those described above, but it comes with half a pita (not shown in the picture because someone already ate it. It seems that all of these chawarma dishes are served the same with a choice of different meat, marinade, or nut/herb combination. 15.50 pounds


- Lamb Chawarma - See chicken chawarma comment above. 15.50 pounds

All in all, I really loved the cold and hot mezzes we tried. The mixed grill was good, but it's really the mezzes that shined during this visit. Although the prices are a bit high, the portions are filling, so you shouldn't go hungry.

Service is fair, but it seems to be fair just about everywhere you go in London. We had to ask for more water when our glasses became empty. It almost felt like there was a drought because they only fill the glass partially full - perhaps this is part of being fancy, but when your staff doesn't refill, it just seems like you're a bit neglected. It still ranks high amongst my experience with this genre of food because of how well prepared each dish was with wonderful flavors.