In Lahore, a pricey new restaurant has come up but money hardly matters when you're in a place like Chez Nur. The diners were a mix of local celebrity designers and families with small children. A perfect place to take someone to impress....a fiance, new inlaws, a boss? Or if you're in an indulgant mood to spoil your own self. A place that's not your typical familiar and almost cliched restaurant that one sees every few steps of the way on M.M. Alam Road.

Polite, informed waiters who were helpful and seemed to know the menu inside out. After ordering, sit back and relax and enjoy the ambience, the soft and subtle decor, the polished look enhanced by chandeliers and dim lighting. While waiting to be served and it happened fast ( I had to ask them to slow down as I wanted to enjoy and take it all in at a leisurely pace). The crowd starts coming in after 10:00pm....a place to see and be seen in.

For appetizers, we had grilled calamari and Poullet Croquant (stuffed chicken with honey mustard sauce). Highly recommendation, especially the grilled calamari.

For the main course, for steak lovers, I highly recommend Steak Bernaise made with cracked black pepper, mint and anchovy butter. Surprisingly, despite the addition of anchovy (i am not a big fan of them but wanted to be daring), it was absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly. If only the Bocuf Chesseur (prime tenderloin with famous Hunter's sauce of wild mushrooms, topped with anchovy butter) was a little less done, it would have been an excellent steak as well. Instead it came out dry.

The Saffron Seafood Pasta was another new favorite with mussels, shrimps and chunky fillet of fish in a delicte saffron sauce, served with home made fettucine.

Along with the food, we decided to try some of their interestingly named juices. Pink Princess was a disappointment as it was too sweet, tasted more like children's candy, made with Raspberry and Pomegranate mix.

Margarita was a mix of lemon, mint and granita, forever freshing and a perfect summer drink. The surprise among the drinks was the Tropical Storm made with guava and sweet tropical mix. A must try!

The grande finale of the evening was their Sticky Toffee dessert, a big hit with everyone. It's a bread pudding with plump golden raisins, with a healthy portion of warm caramel sauce poured over. Absolutely delicious and surprisingly light. All in all, a lovely experience in elegance, class and excellent food.

By Farrah Bokhari