The New Nur: Still One of the Best Middle Eastern Restaurants in NYC

While the well-known middle eastern restaurant, Nur, may not be exactly the same as it was when we last wrote about in 2017, the delicious food still stands despite all that has changed in the world recently.

It was virtually impossible to get a reservation at Nur in the past — you had to make one at least a month in advance. Now with its transition to more casual outdoor dining, the Middle Eastern spot has abandoned reservations all together. Yes, you read that correctly — you can now go to one of NYC’s best restaurants without having to make a reservation!

When you walk up to their location on 20th street, you will find an adorable set up of neutral covered outdoor tables, giving the restaurant a very chic feel. They now have a walk-up window to order from that minimizes interactions between servers and customers. From this window you can see all the way into the beautiful restaurant.

Nur is serving a more limited menu than it has in the past, but everything is incredible. Favorites included the Jerusalem bagel and the eggplant carpaccio. The bagel is extremely warm and fluffy and is served with a deliciously tangy and herby lima bean and schug spread (it was spoon-licking worthy!). The eggplant carpaccio is unlike anything we have ever tasted before. It has a slight sweetness that is perfectly offset with some smokiness from the fire-roasted eggplant and saltiness from the pistachios. We love a good sweet and salty combo.

Besides the food, the service was impeccable. The staff at Nur has done a great job of maintaining the high level of service that you expect when you go to a nice restaurant, while also finding subtle ways to preserve their distance in order to keep customers safe and comfortable while they are eating.

Here’s the rundown on what we got:

Jerusalem bagel: served with schug, cumin & lima bean spread

Eggplant carpaccio: fire roasted with feta, raw tahini, silan, pistachios & rose water

Octopus pita: braised octopus topped with crispy onion

Norwich Farms Market Salad with walnuts, dates and onions

Halva mousse: fluffy sesame mousse topped with pistachio, rose petals and sesame seeds 

If you are craving great middle eastern comfort food and that fine dining feel that has unfortunately been lost at a lot of restaurants as a result of the pandemic, definitely check out Nur sometime soon!

Like the original experience, we are honored to give it Nur a 10/10!