LAReview
photo credit: Holly Liss
Norah
Included In
West Hollywood has always had a plethora of cool upscale restaurants, but when Norah opened its doors in 2016, it sent a massive jolt of energy down a stretch of Santa Monica Blvd. that had become a bit sleepy. Crowds lined up nightly at this American spot to dine inside the sprawling, industrial space and eat delicious dishes like cauliflower popcorn, cast-iron cornbread, and uni-poached shrimp. Norah didn’t reinvent the wheel, but what it did do was provide the neighborhood with a fancy, fun spot that you could take anybody to and be confident that they would walk out happy.
photo credit: Holly Liss
Fast forward to today and not much has changed. And yes, that’s a compliment. Sure, some of the artwork and aggressive use of Edison bulbs are a bit dated, but this place still succeeds in making every person who walks through the door feel comfortable. You’ll eat things like buttery potato gnocchi with shaved black truffle, fresh daily crudo, and big plates of lamb with polenta and salsa macha. There’s even a pizza section now with nicely-charred, wood-fired pies.
Nothing is going to shock you or surprise you or cause some grand at-the-table epiphany, but that’s exactly why Norah is handy. It’s the kind of place you can send your boss to on a Monday for a client dinner and then turn back around and head there yourself for Friday date night. Plus nowadays, you can usually score a table day-of. And that’ll give anybody a nice jolt of energy.