NORA'S CAFÈ — Restaurant in Albuquerque

We went to Nora's Cafe and were pleasantly surprised by the minimal cafe setting with a market connected to the dining area. Sufayan(hope I spelled it correctly)greeted us and we were seated, the menu was clear and our server was more than happy to explain the items and suggested some of the favorites. We ordered and took a quick gander at the market to browse some middle eastern grocery items and the chef busy at creating delicious offerings displayed in the cases in the counter of the store. She greeted us with a smile and a hello as we headed back to our seats for some deliciously smooth Turkish coffee. When our plates arrived, Chicken kabob and a Special gyro, we were greeted by the smoky scent of the grilled meats and sweet smells of warm pita bread, coupled with the amazing salads, Arabic , Greek and Tabbouleh. Basmati rice was the under the meats and an incredibly creamy hummus that complimented the whole plate. Clean flavors, simplicity of spices and a ton of love went into this food. The desserts we had were Baklava and Kanafeh, filo dough mastered in two beautiful creations. The Baklava was served hot, the honey soaked crisp filo dough with nuts and ground pistachios on top made my taste buds sing, there's a earthy flavor achieved by caramelizing the filo dough with the honey on the bottom and the Kanafeh rich cream cheese and syrup coating with crispy shredded filo was decadent beyond belief, rich and satisfying we left happy and grateful for the wonderful food, people and experience, thank you for sharing your...

This was hard, I come from the east coast with Middle East background, and unfortunately this ain’t it. The appetizer combo is skimpy, meaning you get a small pita, surely doesn’t make a full circle, so less than pita. You have your Baba ghanoush, which does have the smoky flavor when cooked properly, might be the most fantastic item on the combo. The hummus is mid at best adulterer most likely with yogurt as the chickpeas are hiding in the background and not the main flavor. The falafel is poorly seasoned, and not flavorful. The grape leaves are nice, but lacking flavor, high potential for them to say the least. The tabouli was close to good, needed some more salt and lemon and best not made with curly Italian parsley. The falafel sandwich also same falafel was also an upset, the lettuce with heat does not go well and makes the lettuce slimy. The chicken shawarma if possible minus one, missing the garlic sauce flavor, not shawarma style and fatty chicken, or the dark meat, juicer however not the breast meat and not cleaned from the fat. The best thing might have been the bread they were wrapped...

Nora's is the absolute best food I have ever had, in my entire life. I have eaten at Michelin Starred restaurants across the US, restaurants all over Mexico, and in Europe: the best one is right here in ABQ.

Nora's chicken, beef, and lamb are perfectly cooked, so juicy, so flavorful. The rice is, im not sure how, but always perfectly cooked and seasoned. The hummus (made in house) is incredible. Light, and as always, very flavorful that blends extremely well with everything on the plate.

I saw heaven when I took my first bite of Nora's...