Noura: The Lebanese Fast Food of Beaugrenelle

After finishing from Chipotle where we had an enjoyable lunch we continued to Noura. Here the setup and professionalism change drastically. The service is way slower, you pay before ordering so it takes way more time and the meat, the famous big shawarma grill, is simply left as a decor and not even on. Extremely unappetizing and bathing in water and fat, the chicken and meat are brought from the kitchen and thrown under the big skewer. The chicken served is surely not cut from a large skewer, it looks like fajita chicken chunks.

The staff are not too professional to say the least. It wasn't the easiest of things to order. The choices are written on a complicated menu board on which you have a sandwich, two bites and a drink. Mezze are ordered on the side.

• Shawarma: A meat that has a certain sweetness to it, the meat is very tender and that doesn't work for a shawarma. It lacks that spice and vinegar flavor you expect: I'll call it a meat sandwich. Using two slices of bread and toasting them to the extreme, this sandwich has a strong chewiness and a strong crispness while the ingredients appear. 
• The hummus is good enough. Lightly lemony, olive oil and tahina that has an appealing after flavor.
• The tabbouleh is made of huge pieces of diced tomatoes and large chunks of shredded parsley marinated in lemon and olive oil. I didn't feel the borghol and the smell of onions is repulsive.
• The kebbeh should be filled more. Kind of empty on the inside, the taste is acceptable and best enjoyed with a hummus dip. The sambousik needs a filling that contains less water, less sugar in the dough and more cooking. 
• Aish el Saraya dessert is a big no; Extremely sweet and gooey. 

The verdict: Not impressed, that;s not what Lebanese cuisine is all about. Last year's lunch was not up to standard and today's fast sandwich isn't something I'll be repeating. I'm sad to experience a Lebanese concept showing a wrong image of our amazing world famous food. With strong competition next door, I believe someone should visit their neighbors and see how things are made: the smiley staff, the cash machine at the end of the line, food prepared in front of the customer without the chef having to turn his back and most importandly those flavors which need to be tuned to impress.  

It's 2016; the world has changed and with that such concepts should evolve.