NORA'S — Restaurant in Plymouth

As a fan of Zephyrs, I was pretty excited about Nora's. They've done genuinely fantastic work with the interior of the restaurant. It's beautifully designed, and it very much fits a mid-tier restaurant vibe - it oozes classy, but accessible and inviting. The dining room in the back is also wonderfully decorated.

Unfortunately we were sat at our table for 25min, and were forced to flag down the waitress to ask for water, and to order our food. A couple which had arrived after us were immediately served. However, I understand that the staff is still under training.

I was very ambivalent about the food.

Focaccia (4/10, not recommended) = too dense, devoid of any pockets of fluffy goodness associated with focaccia. It would be helpful if it is noted on the menu that there would only be two pieces served.

Scallops (9/10) = scallops were excellent, especially with the bits of spicy nduja and seaweed. Perfectly cooked, and well balanced.

Carrots (4/10, not recommended) = while cute and stubby, the carrots had a very odd aftertaste. I don't know if it's due to the cinnamon and truffle combination that was the problem, but i did not find it very appetizing.

Broccoli (6.5/10, recommend with hesitation) = I usually love broccoli stalk but it was unfortunately strongly and tough. I would suggest they lop off the bottom of the stalk. There were good darkened crispy char on the florets, but it is very uneven. The toasted bread crumbs gave it a nice crunch.

300g ribeye (7.5/10, recommended) = medium rare on point. I would have like a longer age to emphasize the beefiness, but it was still very good. The presentation for a mid-tier restaurant is a bit unfortunate, with nothing on a plate except for the steak. I understand the sides are intended for sharing, and hence the stark appearance of the lonely steak when it arrived.

Rhubarb crumble (5/10, not recommended) = the long stringy segments of rhubarb were very difficult to cut using a spoon. The crumble were stiff hard chunks rather than the clumpy sandy texture I would expect from a crumble. The nutty sorbet it came with was refreshingly lovely though.

Peanut butter bread pudding (6/10, recommend with hesitation) = fluffy bread with jam and peanut butter. Both the texture (like a cinnamon roll) and flavor are pretty...basic. The custard was also disappointingly average. It's good but very lackluster.

Although the dinner was disappointing, I know that Nora's just opened and needs some time to get into the swing of things. I would come back again to...

A Disappointing Experience at Nora’s – Style Over Substance

I had high hopes for Nora’s, a new restaurant positioning itself at the high end of the dining scene, particularly when it comes to steak. Unfortunately, it fell dramatically short of expectations.

A friend and I ordered the côte de boeuf, priced at £90. At that price point, one would expect an exceptional cut of meat, expertly prepared. Not only were sides not included (an additional £6 for a very small portion of chips), but the chips themselves were dry, overcooked, and inconsistent—more scraps than fries. It was evident they had been reheated or double-cooked earlier in the day.

The steak was even more disappointing—overly fatty, full of gristle, and lacking in flavour. It had no sear or colour, as though the chef had simply neglected to cook it with care or attention. It was bland and poorly presented, far below the standard one would expect from a restaurant charging more than some two Michelin-star establishments (a verifiable fact).

We politely complained and sent both the steak and chips back. Although they replaced the chips, the quality remained unchanged and they were left uneaten. I also added some steak sauce to my order. Again i feel the portion size was tiny for a £4 addition. Although that didn’t really matter as i didn’t eat it! As far as i’m aware steak sauce should be served at room temperature of slightly warmed. Mine was straight out the fridge and shockingly cold.

That said, the front-of-house team was excellent—friendly, professional, and clearly sympathetic to the situation. It's unfortunate that such competent staff are left to defend a kitchen that isn’t up to scratch.

In a competitive market, restaurants like Nora’s need to deliver on both their pricing and their promises. This experience showed a serious disconnect between the restaurant's ambition and what’s actually being served. Based on this visit, I won’t be returning.

Exceptional service, let down by...

DONT GO HERE IF YOU HAVE A DISABILITY!!!

Staff were wonderful. Howver the food was massively overpriced for the taste and portions. One cocktail ranges from £12-£15 with no offers available at any time. Each of the steaks regardless of cut is £30 for 275 grams for a small and £45 for 300 grams (25 grams more) complete with NO sauce or sides. Sides cost anywhere from £7-15 (mushrooms, broccoli etc). The taste does not quantify this price. I ordered a blue steak and it was medium rare, though tasty I’ve made better at home and had better for both hundreds and ten pounds cheaper. The upside to this is the mushrooms are apparently sourced from 0.3 miles away! Pretty cool!

Also DO NOT GO HERE IF YOU ARE DISABLED. This is advertised as wheelchair friendly on the website offering wheelchair/accessibility requirements, there is a medium step (too large to go over even with an off roading wheelchair) and NO RAMP available. ALSO there is a very large steep staircase to get to the toilets, going up and down as I had no other option other than to force myself to commit a very difficult and dangerous thing for me. This caused me to have a nosebleed. They have upstairs seating and definitely could install an accessible toilet but clearly they care more about profits than safety or enjoyment of the food.

Yet again. I cannot fault the staff, but clearly being run by a large company (zephyr burgers) means thay they prioritise making money over being able to enjoy yourself or safety. Staff were helpful in offering help and suggesting I go up the road to find a toilet (remember how hard it was to get over the step to get into the building to begin with I wasn’t about to go through that again and wheel myself up a hill to relieve myself).

Won’t be coming here again until things are sorted I suggest if you have any people with mobility difficulties or disabilities or even need a handrail...