Nora’s Soft Opens With ‘Carmel’s Comfort Cuisine’

July 29, 2025—Comfort food can mean a lot of things. 

Like meatloaf. Or grandma’s chili. Or clam chowder in a bread bowl. Or chuck roast and buttermilk biscuits. Or fried chicken and waffles. 

Or—while we’re at it—gnocchi, meatballs, onion rings, chicken wings, pulled pork sliders, double cheeseburgers, fish ‘n’ chips, pizzas, crab-artichoke dip and twice-baked potatoes. 

The crazy thing about brand-new Nora’s in Carmel-by-the-Sea is that they do all of those things, umbrella’d by the concept printed right there on the menu: “Carmel’s Comfort Cuisine.”

And this crazy thing just might work.

To be clear, this thing is crazy because typically trying to do so many far-ranging things well is a recipe for disaster, or at least a confused identity. 

There are three primary reasons I’m predicting it will work. 

1) The extended family behind it has pulled off this sort of thing before. Co-owner Faisal Nimri helped launch Dametra, which does a similar all-over-the-place food lineup. 

2) His fellow co-owners, Nimri’s cousin Loie Alnimri and his wife Sarah, are as cuckoo for making people happy as is Nimri (who also owns Village Corner). If you’ve been around restaurants even a little bit, you can ID real-deal hospitality souls when you see and hear them work the room (and, in this case, the leafy patio). What I tapped into my notes during Sunday’s soft opening was, “These peeps are about it.” The key comfort, in other words, is in how they wrap people with welcoming energy.

3) Loie and Sarah already own and operate a high-end destination (with cousin Zee Alnimri) in next door Anton & Michel, so they’ve got a clear understanding of their audience-by-the-sea, and a similarly defined idea of what they want to do with Nora’s, namely create a more affordable spot that isn’t so much scaled for a special occasion as it is a relaxed afternoon. “More approachable,” Sarah says.

While those points stand out, there are other reasons I forecast happy days for Nora’s in the cute little pocket of shops on San Carlos between Ocean and 7th. 

• On top of the love story that is Sarah and Loie, the rest of the team is also tight. For instance, exec chef Fernando Tostado’s brother Marco helps man the floor, as does Marco’s girlfriend Maddie.

“The whole family works together,” Loie says.

• What I tried bodes well. (How does a chef pull so many divergent things off?) 65 Degrees magazine publisher Rich Medel was gracious enough to offer a taste of the Dungeness-crab-and-artichoke dip, which proved un-oily and well-executed.

Nora’s chili, named for Loie’s grandma, impressed with its ever-so-slightly-sweet ground lamb and tender cannellini beans. (Pro tip: ask for some of the Calabrian chili to help brighten it up.)

And the Loie-recommended San Francisco cioppino—the first of the genre I’ve tried with scallops (!) in the succulent tomato broth with all the clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari and rock cod—made for an indulgent experience.

• The setting, both indoor and out, complemented by Lisa Haas art and a babbling water fountain, respectively, are as cute as a lion cub, with a similar golden color palette.

• The price points land at what feels like below market. Starters/”shareables” swing $7-$22.” “Handhelds” like the fried mortadella sandwich (with provolone, mustard aioli and peperoncini on brioche) and The Monterey (marinated sardines, capers, dill, cucumber, red onion) cost $15-$18 with onion rings or fries. Flatbreads start at $20. Four dishes out of 34 crest $30, including the 14-ounce prime New York steak ($44) with garlic shoestring fries and peppercorn sauce.

While the soft opening is ongoing, the hours and seating are limited, so checking Nora’s Open Table availability is wise.

The official grand opening happens 11am-9pm Saturday, Aug. 2, with the website and online reservations ready to rumble. 

Hours run 11am-9pm daily from there.

Nora’s, San Carlos btw Ocean & 7th, Carmel | @norascarmel