Sister restaurant Noura Central was the winner in the Best Vegetarian Meal category in 2005's Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards. And although, as the judges cited, it is a godsend to find fine Levantine cooking at reasonable prices just off the fast-food ghetto of Piccadilly Circus, we'd recommend you travel just that little bit further - to the back of Buckingham Palace, in fact - to the Hobart Place branch.
This was the first of the London Nouras and it still has dash and class. A wholly modern and light interior references traditional Levantine architecture, providing a stylish setting for smartly suited waiters to whisk between buzzing tables of equally smaitly attired diners (it's the sort of place you'll wish you'd made more of an effort to dress for).
Vegetarians will still appreciate the range of meatless meze, while omnivores can opt for the likes of makanek (pungent Lebanese sausage flambeed in lemon and garlic) and kebbeh nayeh (lamb tartare, the raw mince as smooth as pate), as well as the ubiquitous grills that constitute the bulk of the mains. Desserts are the best we've ever come across in a Middle Eastern restaurant, particularly aish assaraya, a caramelised bread pudding with clotted cream. Own-made ice-creams also impress.
Babies and children welcome: high chairs. Booking advisable; essential dinner. Disabled: toilet. Takeawav service; delivery service.