Nora

This restaurant was awesome!!! First of all the staff was wonderful. Everyone was helpful from the hostess at the front door, to the waitresses, bartenders and especially the General Manager Omar. I chose this restaurant for my birthday celebration and it was wonderful. We really didn’t know what to expect but the food, atmosphere & music were great! Omar was a pleasure to work with and accommodated me with my henna artist and arranged a private belly dancing show for me and my guests. Everyone loved their food and enjoyed the overall experience. Thank you sooo much!!! You must try this restaurant!

Nice ambience, nice food, nice hookah. Servers were nice but there is service charge for credit cards and they won’t let you take your drinks inside. 18% gratituity charge is already included in the bill, so don’t consider giving tips… unless u want to!

Nothing like it in town. Great quality food and decent prices. Variety different food and it’s a family place so enjoy your trip.

5 stars to you, Nora!
Everything about this place blew my mind. I had no idea what to expect (which is my favorite way to walk into a new restaurant, btw), but when my bff asked me to go to lunch today and mentioned she was in the West Tower area, I immediately said «Let’s try Nora!». Best decision of the day, week, and possibly month.
First of all, the freshly baked bread is dangerous. If you’re watching your calorie intake, I suggest you don’t even try it because you’re going to end up eating the whole thing like I may or may not have. So, they had my curiosity when this new (ish) establishment just popped up out of nowhere only a few miles away from where I live, but when I tasted that bread, they had my attention. They also bring out a creamy, lemony, tangy yogurt dip with pita crackers to start… which I loved. I asked the General Manager what he suggested that I order and I eventually settled on the Chicken Hoummos Shawarma Plate. This was essentially delicious chicken on top of hummus topped with pine nuts and almonds. O… M.G. The best thing ever. And to my surprise it also came with a salad that was equally as delicious. The dressing on the salad was perfect, light, and tangy. Just how I like it!
I’m so glad that I decided to try you out, Nora! You’ve got a fan in me!

Awesome, fresh, and well prepared. Excellent Lebanese food. Don’t pass by this place-​less than stellar location but worth the effort. Try it out!

Good food, reasonable pricing, flavorful and rich, we’ll be back to try more, thanks!

Candy Everybody Wants!
I am Brazilian Lebanese and was in town for the week and decided to give this restaurant a try… and boy. I am so glad I did. ended coming back 3 times again.
The restaurant décor ir nice and very clean, has avery friendly and welcoming atmosphere. The Manager Omar is quick to welcome you to the place and the servers are very attentive. Candy was server did great job suggesting wines to pair with each dish.
I had the mixed assortments of Sfeeha and baked pies to start. They were delicious. the meat pie (sfeeha) was nicely baked and dough was soft and they were warm just like fresh from the oven. The spinach pie had great flavor with enough addition of Sumac and onion. Overall Nicely done.
Next, i tried the fried Kibbeh — it had nice crispy texture to it and was nicely shaped. the meat filling inside had plenty of pine nuts and very aromatic.
If you are visiting this restaurant over the weekend, they serve Beef Tartar or Kibbeh Naye — VERY AUTHENTIC. great taste, tartar was nicely spiced with fresh mint and they served onion petals to go along with it. Overall this was my favorite appetizer.
For the entrees i tried the Kafta Plate — Kafta was was done well and it was not overcook, sometimes i feel most places overcook the meat resulting on a springy texture which i can stand. The plate comes with rice with almonds. delicious rice! very fluffy and buttery taste with toasted almonds on top. I actually ended up having the plate twice within the 3 times i visited the restaurant.
One of the nights i tried a very traditional dish and an all time favorite: Sheikh Al Mihshi — Which is stuffed Italian egg plant stuffed with lean ground beef and pine nuts, cooked in a tomato sauce. This was fantastic. this dish is also served with the almond rice just like the Kafta Plate.
I spent 3 days trying food from this place and I am glad I did.
Overall, i give this restaurant a 5 considering they have little completion in town but managed to keep the menu simple but with smart traditional Lebanese choices. I will return to this place again and highly recommend it.

Planned on going to ComedySportz at 8PM so decided to grab dinner beforehand here since it was in the same plaza. I was a little bummed that I never got to try the Moroccan restaurant that this place used to be, but it turns out that it was replaced with a truly amazing eatery!
The interior was way more plush than I anticipated, so I felt a little underdressed. Nevertheless, it was very warm and inviting. The dining area is fairly large, and I was told there is a hookah bar on the second floor as well.
Our waitress was friendly and attentive, pretty standard stuff. I really enjoyed the water pitchers that they used to refill our waters though; it had this cool spout such that the water flowed in a nifty thin stream, even though it took longer to refill our glasses this way.
The food was delicious! We were first brought a plate with olives, some seasoned (pita?) chips, and a white dip resembling tart dense yogurt. I thought it was great and something different. In addition, we were also served warm pita bread with our entrees. I ordered the stuffed eggplant dish (Sheikh Al Mihshi), a delectable eggplant stuffed with ground beef and pine nuts baked with tomato sauce and served with rice topped with sliced almonds. It was a fairly large portion and the plate was decorated beautifully, the rim sprinkled with spice. My dining companion and I also shared the Nora Mezza Platter for Two appetizer, which consisted of hummus, grape leaves, tabouleh, falafel, and sambusek (deep fried beef pastries). This appetizer was also laid out very aesthetically and was a great way to sample a bunch of different things.
It was a struggle for me to finish all my food, but it was all so tasty! Definitely one of the better Mediterranean restaurants I’ve been to, and prices were actually very reasonable, especially considering how much food you get (plus chips and bread). I would gladly return.
BONUS: we got to enjoy some live bellydancing during dinner as well! I think it might only be on certain nights (probably weekend), but it was a lot of fun. The bellydancer tried to get me to bellydance with her! =)

Wonderful Lebanese food big portions great price. Needs more Rochmonders to find it here beside West Tower Movie Theater

Amazing food, great atmosphere, would love to bring a big group here and sit in balcony, reminds me of my trip to the Middle East cool vibe. Not in love with the way they have the tip calculated on the check like its gratuity for two people, but the waiter was sweet so it was fine. Thanks Joe!

My first few visits to Nora were great. The food was spectacular with unexpected rarities like kibbe naya and brilliantly well-​done standards like shawarma. I quickly added the place as a favorite and corralled friends to go there for diner.
But the past three times there have been overshadowed by what I fear could spell the end for this restaurant: the service. It started innocently enough when the hostess seemed to have not noticed when I came in. That was followed by a long wait for a server and then an even longer wait for the order to be brought out. At the time I just chalked it up to just an off night. Things happen, and it seems unfair to rate a place because of one less than perfect experience, and I already had enjoyed several good visits. This was, I assured myself, just a glitch. But the next visit was also a glitch. Again the hostess seemed either distracted or outright indifferent. She was reluctant to seat me and my party of 4 even when we were all present, and again there was a longer than usual wait for service.
But last night may have been the tipping point for me. I arrived, and though the hostess seated me promptly, she seemed to think I needed to be quarantined. The restaurant was very sparsely populated. There was a couple against one wall and a group of about six at a large table, but that was pretty much it. She seated me as far as she could from either of those other groups (and, gee, I had changed underwear just 3 days earlier). Then began the wait. Wen I arrived it was 6:36. I perused the menu. I checked a couple emails. I watched as waiters and waitresses walked past, walked upstairs, walked to the kitchen, etc. I even saw one once refill a water glass for someone in that large party, and one cleared the dishes away from that one couple in the far corner. A couple even glanced in my direction, but by 7:03 I had had enough. Apart from the hostess who had brought the menu and wine list, no one had bothered to come by. The place was far from busy, and this had been my third time on the receiving end of poor service. So I got up and walked out.
This really does sadden me, because, as I stated, the food is quite good. Everyplace can have an off day now and then, but it seems to have become a trend, and repeated poor service is hard to excuse.

We come here often when it was marocan grill. Today we came by to check out the new place we liked everything but do miss sitting on the floor that was fun. They changed the menu but still pretty good. We had the lamb chops & the kafta plate which we recommend it’s very good. They must make their own special bread that was good to alittle on the floury side but over all we like it we would come back.

came here to smoke hookah after dinner with a friend and they claimed to not have tap water so you have to buy bottled water if you wanted something to drink or soda. we got a round of beers and one hookah and bottled water. When the bill came out we were charged gratuity for 2 people… then a couple came in to dine and they were served tap water in a glass… not cool. A warning or a heads up would have been nice.

Before reading this please understand that I liked the food a lot but since I am Lebanese I know better not to call this a lebanses restaurant
The food: it is not authentic lebanese food, its more of lebanese/​mediterranean fusion. I ordered the mixed grill plate, beef was tender so was the chicken, the kiftah on the other hand had too much parsley, tahani sauce was good, garlic was too sweet and not garlicy at all (chef plz use less olive oil and more garlic) My plate was decorated with somak, lot’s of it… It kinda took away from the tasty meat.
Service: we had to go upstairs (wanted hookah) we stood around, the employee (named Dave i believe) was just looking at us… Waited few mins and then I had to ask him if we just sit down. He said yes! After that the service was very friendly. Dave was very nice. You can tell they were new staff but vey polite. The owners came and check on us multiple times which I liked.
Overall I would visit again but not with the expectation of eating authentic Lebanese food.
A note for the owner-​if he reads this– Lebanese folks uses garlic sauce for chicken shawarma not tahni… Tahni is used for red meat and fish. Oh no onions on chicken either. Good luck

Our table of 5 is the ONLY group seated for lunch in the entire restaurant. And yet, it’s taken 45+ minutes for them to serve our food. My beef shawarma plate arrived cool, had obviously been sitting for some time. The general feeling from the group was that the food was just ok. Not delicious, not prepared or seasoned very well, and not timely for lunch hour.

I’m so very excited we now have authentic lebanese food! The décor was lovely, service was great and all 5 appetizers and entrees were lovely presentation and delicious ! Be sure to get the lentil soup so amazing. Great Greek salad, good falafel, homemade pita chips seasoned perfectly. All of my favorite foods! Dolmades are excellent as well. I’ll be a regular here for sure. Really enjoyed both meals there so far. I finally think this location has a winner of a restaurant !

Amazing Lebanese food ,
Starter
Hummus, Kebbah, Grape Leaves, Tabolah
Main course
Ouzi, farooj mashwai, lamb shank

Hands down the best hookah/​restaurant in Richmond. Food and staff are spot on. Clean and friendly environment, in simple, the place to go for quality service and food. Keep it up Omar and staff!

The presentation of the restaurant is nice. It’s brand new so you would expect that. Everything looks spacious and clean.
The server was very inexperienced and overly attentive. I suppose that is better than being inattentive. It was cute at first and then became annoying.
We go to restaurants for food though, right, and Nora does not disappoint. The menu offers many things that you would expect to see in a Lebanese restaurant as well as some surprises. The salad was fresh and flavorful. The lamb was a bit on the tough side, but also seasoned very well. The lebneh was also fresh and tasty.
The restaurant is right on Broad St. and is easy to find. Parking is plentiful.
I wouldn’t hold any of the small issues against them. Give it a try. New restaurants always need a minute to get the kinks out. I look forward to trying the pizza next time.
P. S. THIS IS NOT A GLUTEN FREE FRIENDLY RESTAURANT. There is very little– save perhaps the soup and salad– for those who are avoiding gluten. If you are vegan or vegetarian, you have a few more options.

My sister loves Middle Eastern food, so we stopped in at Nora since they just opened.
They give you some pita crackers with a white dip (kinda tastes like goat cheese) that is full of flavor and a delicious complimentary start. They also give you complimentary rolls that are hollow, but delicious.
We started off with the Pie Combo appetizer consisting of spinach pies, beef pies and cheese pies. The beef and cheese were DELICIOUS. The crust is perfect and flaky. The spinach pie, I didn’t like. The spinach tasted pickled and seemed like an odd flavor for a savory pie filling. Not at all like spanakopita, which I love. I would get the beef and/​or cheese again, for sure!
We both got the lamb kabob pita roll. Again, the bread was phenomenal. My guess is they have a brick or clay oven that it’s baked in… that’s the kind of texture and flavor it has. Very good.
I didn’t realize there was so much bread on a Lebanese menu. All very delicious, but I think I just took note because I don’t eat a lot of bread normally.
The service was amateur, and for that, I could easily take the rating down a star, but I’m being nice. I realize they were trying to be attentive, but it was just overdone. You don’t need to ask if I want my water glass refilled. Just refill it. You don’t need to ask to take my plate away when I have my napkin on it. Just take it. After we’ve eaten and we’re not doing anything but sitting there, you don’t need to ask if you can bring the check. Just bring it. Hopefully they get better with this, because the food is really good.
I would definitely come back and try a pizza, and probably some of the other platters. Very good flavor.
Also, they have belly dancing on Friday and Saturday nights.