If you ask people what is the world’s gastronomic capital, the undisputed champion would be Paris, eventually Rome. However, the excellence they have in mind is limited to traditional local cuisine. If you slightly change the question to what’s the world’s gastronomic diversity capital, the winner would likely be New York. But even though Paris doesn’t exist in the global hive mind as a place to discover non-French cuisines, Parisians fell in love with multicultural eateries springing up like mushrooms. Located equidistant from the Jewish Marais and the Muslim part of Belleville, Nour celebrates Israeli and Arab cultures through food, introducing Middle Eastern culinary discourse beyond borders.
Arayes are crispy meat-stuffed pitas of Syrian origin that took Levantine cuisine by storm, spreading across the Middle East. After discovering arayes in Tel Aviv, chef Yossi Levy further enabled the street food’s impressive conquest by introducing it to forever curious Parisian palates alongside the Middle-Eastern dining experience.
Arayes come in three sizes – 1/2, standard, XL. Apart from arayes, the menu offers a less promoted but equally tasty alternative – laffa (shawarma-like sandwich wrapped in a thin bread called laffa) and a wide range of grilled vegetables and sides. If that’s not enough to fill up your stomach, you can end your meal with a pudding with rose hip syrup called malabi for dessert. A robust selection of beverages is also worth attention with the restaurant’s signature gazoz, a sparkling drink based on kombucha with seasonal fruits and herbs.
Nour immediately blended into the cozy 11th arrondissement famous for its local-oriented social life. An eye-catching large industrial-style window is almost always open, inviting passersby inside where a small space gathers everyone by the counter under the chef’s attentive eye. The distinctive graphic identity designed by French graphic designer Inès Hosni intertwines French with Hebrew and Arabic, highlighting the transcultural atmosphere of the place. The restaurant’s walls are embellished with posters presenting Nour’s specialties, drawn by Algerian-born artist Melek Zertal in collaboration with Hosni. In the background, the chef’s conspicuously cherry-picked Middle Eastern playlist blasts from speakers, contributing to the immersive ambiance. Nour stands out on the culinary map of Paris as proof there is no better lingua franca than food.
Nour
38 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011 Paris
Metro station: Parmentier (line 3)
Open: Tuesday – Saturday 11:30 AM–2:30 PM/7–11 PM
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