OMG, how have I not discovered Manora before, and why have I not been eating lunch here EVERY DAY??…read more
Manora is a food court covering a good portion of the 4th floor Manor Department Store. But don't let the "food court" description fool you, this is not your boring pizza-chicken-or-burger type of joint. The restaurant is comprised of islands of food stations, where they will cook/prepare your food behind the counter as you wait. The pizza station has bowls and bowls of fresh ingredients that you can choose yourself, the grill station has sausages, pork chops, skewers, schnitzels, and much more. You can either choose a fresh cut and wait while they grill it for you, and grab a pre-grilled portion if you're not feeling the wait. Nice sandwiches, an extensive salad bar, espresso station, and an enormous counter of desserts, asian stir fry station, and pretty much anything you can think of.
The presentation is tremendously appealing, and prices are reasonable (I got away with a nice cut of fresh pork chop and a side serving of rice and grilled broccoli for about CHF16.50). Dining mate had jambalaya, which, as she put it, hadn't quite decided whether it wanted to be cajun or Asian (cajian...?). It's not the highest quality of food you can find, but I definitely did not feel like I was being gypped of my money, a feeling I get way too often here in Geneva. The very presentation of the food, and the option of creating my own dish piece-meal (and thereby having control over how much I actually spend) was almost an empowering experience, food-wise.
We also had the whipped tiramisu and apple crumble, both sinfully delicious.
It gets crowded during lunch, but it's mostly eat-and-go traffic, so you won't have to wait too long for a seat.
Did I mention the panoramic view from the terrace on a sunny day is amazing?