Went here on a weekday and surprised how busy it was. Nice place but a bit dark as it's in the basement. There are some windows on one side of the restaurant but all you see are mostly legs walking by. Very nicely decorated with a few tables quite close together along the walls. Went and tried the platter for 2 as you get a sample of many of their dishes. A platter of dips including hummus, an egg plant dip, and chopped parsley salad came with pita. Very nice dips and a good way to start, but can be quite filling. Then came the 3 meat platter which had chicken - not very flavourful, lamb - very good, and prawns - very good. A side dish of veggies came as well including fried cauliflower - excellent, roasted pototoes- OK, and a salad - OK. Overall the food was very good. Total price at $45 which is a pretty good value. Service was good but an explanation of dishes would of helped. Would return.

I have been exposed to Middle Eastern food the last few years so was excited about going to Nuba. We were told the owner is Lebanese and when asked about the chef, the waitress only said he had cooked in a something star (can’t remember if 4 or 5) restaurant in Mexico….. She didn’t elaborate to say his specialty was Middle Eastern or Lebanese….OhhhhKaay… Let the food speak for itself. We ordered lamb kibbeh, beef tenderloin, catch of the day, with sides of roasted potatoes and taboulleh. It was hit and mostly a miss for me. The lamb kibbeh had good flavour. Nothing special about the catch of the day though, which was more reminiscent of a fish prepared as west coast cuisine. The tenderloin was done to my liking (med-rare), had a nice slightly sweet glaze to it and the caramelized onions were tasty. But is this Lebanese ‘cause it sure tasted like a regular steak. The tahini rice was not fully cooked through and was very thick and dense. I think I was expecting more of a pilaf not a failed risotto. The potatoes seasoned with thyme were too dry and boring. I know cinnamon is a widely used spice in the cuisine but neither of us appreciated it in the taboulleh. I didn’t mind the ambiance. I know it’s a popular place to hang out with it’s warm dim lighting but there was something about the layout that felt cold.

This is the kind of place which what defines Vancouver restaurant scene……
……….self confident and pride in our city. The menu states every thing is hand picked and naturally raised, even the paper napkin is eco-friendly. Good way to impress first timers like us.
As we waited at the bar had red stripe Jamaican beer and freshly made original mojito.
We took more time than usual to decide, which was noticed by the manager .Who helped us to understand and to choose.
I had arctic char , which was perfectly respected. Never thought this with pair so well with hummus and baba ganoush ,my hubby had rack of lamb which was nicely roasted to medium.
I will be definitely return to nuba, next time with more friends who are looking for this kind of atmosphere and food.

My boyfriend took me here for Valentines Day and it was just perfect. Great food, very romantic setting as it is very candle lit. The service was great..all the servers were so pleasant and seemed happy to be there. We tried a whole bunch of different little plates and loved everything, great spot to try new food!

We had the veg. sampler platter.... fantastic. lots of food for 2 people, excellent value. The best hummus I have ever eaten, handsdown. everything on the sampler was so delicious. service is great, good selection of local beers, funky space. Can't wait to go to back fo another round.

I'm Lebanese, and moved to the city from Ottawa two years ago. While Nuba doesn't taste like my mother's cooking for every dish, much of their food is excellent.

I was married about a month ago, and two nights prior to the wedding; my groomsmen and I went to Nuba for dinner and drinks. I called in advance and the manager was gracious enough to make us some off the menu dishes. The kebe naye was well executed, and everybody loved their meal. We were a table of 7 and the service was prompt and non obtrusive. Even though we went through a significant amount of pita and drinks, the table was never cluttered and the servers had our bread before we had time to ask for it.

Although the prices might be a bit high for Lebanese food (which is usually consists of tapas followed by a grilled dish) the service and ambiance, particularly with live music on Thursdays, definitely made it worthwhile. Highly recommended!

Tried this for lunch today with a friend and we were both impressed. The place was full but not noisy and service was good. The decor is nice and they've done a good job to get daylight into a sub-grade space.

The food is delicious. We opted for the 2-course vegetarian sampler for 2, which is great to get a bunch of different flavours, and it costs only $13/person! The waiter mentioned that their vegetarian dishes are their strong points. It started with the baba ghanooj, hummus, and taboulleh - all very tasty with nice, fresh pitas. Then came a round serving platter with several compartments: deep-fried cauliflower w/ lemon and salt (outstanding!), mjadra, falafels, veggie hushwi, and olives w/ feta, plus tahini, hot sauce, and tzaziki as accompaniments. There wasn't one item that wasn't really good. Phenomenal value and an enjoyable lunch.

I had heard mixed reviews about Nuba, but was looking forward to trying it out. I went with a group of 4 other people and we decided to start out by getting a few appies (mezze) to share. We chose a few cold plates - the baba ghanooj, hummus, labneh (fresh-pressed yogurt with spices & olive oil) as well as a hot mezze - sautéed eggplant with Lebanese ratatouille (my favourite!). Unfortunately one dish was forgotten by our server so we did not have a chance to try the mjadra (green lentils & rice with onions & jalepenos). We also started with organic apple sangria - I think everyone really enjoyed it. The apple flavour was spiced and very intense - almost like fresh pressed apples. Wonderful!

For the entrée, I chose the lamb chops with taboulleh & hummus and for my side, I chose the roasted potatoes. I thought everything was quite delicious and very well-seasoned. The lamb was cooked exactly as ordered (med rare) and was exceptionally tender. Other entrées at the table were the rainbow trout (last-minute substitution was perch) served with salad and sides of taboulleh and creamy tahini rice (not my favourite). Others in our group shared a few more appies in lieu of an entrée and said that the falafel and the chicken tawook were not only quite filling, but very good.

Even though we were all quite full, we thought the experience would not be complete without at least tasting a few Lebanese desserts. Between us, we tried the baklava, the pistachio cookies (yummy!), the tiramisu and a cardamom custard served brulée style. I don't think anyone liked the custard, as the execution in the brulée caused the custard to become somewhat runny and warmed up the spices in the custard - I found the flavour quite overpowering for a dessert. The star of the evening was the tiramisu made with Turkish coffee. The flavour was incredible. I would go back for this alone, but I thought the entire meal was very good and I would love to back and try a few more dishes.

There are quite a few vegan/vegetarian dishes available and everything is very fresh and well prepared. The ambiance is really nice and we all enjoyed our evening at Nuba.

I went there for lunch after reading all the great reviews and was slightly disappointed. Firstly, the service was below average. They mixed up our order and didn't bring the drinks until we were almost finished eating. The food was pretty good but the portions were very small. Lunch for 2 people with 2 glasses of juice came to $36 including tax & tips. Overall, this place is decent but nothing special.

Was curious to see what had been done with the place, it's a difficult location but has promise.

Taking part of the wall on the stairway out and replacing it with glass floods the room with light it was a brilliant move and the other decorations add even more all they need to do now is tile the floor.($$$$$)

Anyway the service was fine and the food better I had a quick bowl of Soup that had some spice I'd never tasted before-quite intriguing, and the Tabbouleh Salad was outstanding.

If you're wondering what this place is like rest assured that the quality that was a hallmark of the old shoebox is still paramount and as mentioned the new space a winner!