I was invited by my good friend Ines to make use of her "Taste Twelve" booklet, which provides twelve "buy one get one free" vouchers for different restaurants in Stuttgart. Amongst the twelve choices, we decided on NOA. The food in the pictures by other contributors made it an easy choice and the living room style dining area was a unique setup that appealed to something ephemeral inside me like a memory you can't quite remember except for how you felt in the moment.

However, upon arriving at the restaurant my romanticized fancies were disrupted by the practical realization that the sofas lacked proper back support. This made the standard dining tables more appealing. I bet the sofas are great for a casual coffee or cocktail though.

Enough of my me using this as a literary outlet, let's get to brass tax. We shared two dishes, a goat cheese pide with spinach and pomegranate, and what seems to be a classic middle eastern dish of chicken and rice with yogurt and mint sauce on the side.

First, the pide from the bottom up. The dough was absolutely incredible. Crispy on the outside and fluffy soft on the inside. I reckon the pide was fired in a wood oven. The goat cheese, well I've had better goat cheese. It certainly wasn't bad but it didn't have that tangy kick I look for in a soft goat cheese. The spinach was good, but there could've been more of it, and the pomegranate was an absolute delight. Now, all together the pide was lacking moisture, a wet texture, a sauce. The crumbly and dry nature of the goat cheese made me missing an artichoke or spinach cream sauce.

Sorry for the inadequate photo of the chicken dish, I was in a bit of a rush to eat and promise better care in the future. The chicken was a delight since it's usually a hit or miss at a restaurant. Praise to the chefs for not drying out the chicken, even still, in the venture for honest critique, it could've been even more tender. The rice was perfectly al dente, however, it was lacking another flavor profile. Pepper or finely chopped herbs would've gone a long way. The yogurt was a good fit for the dish and reminded me of dinner with my dad's side of the family which I've been absent of for over five years. The mint sauce, while by no means bad, just didn't do much for me. I'd certainly be willing to blame this on my palate. And the final word on this dish, be careful of the pepper, it's actually spicy and should be eaten with the food. Not by itself as I tried it in a foolish attempt to impress Ines. 🤯

Some other notes, bathroom was clean, the service was decent, and I think it's reasonably priced. Without the voucher, two main dishes and a large water maybe would've cost 25 euro.

My final rating is, "Would certainly return and recommend to friends looking for something different. However, I didn't leave completely satisfied."