Norah — Restaurant in West Hollywood

I've actually never written a yelp review, but after our dining experience at Norah I felt the need to write a review for our experience there as a cautionary tale. The service was horrible. The waiter was supported with a person that was just in charge of keeping, water glasses full and expos to bring out all the food, yet our waiter never checked on our table to see if we needed any additional drinks, our just to make sure we were doing okay. I ordered my first drink and it took about 10 minutes for it to arrive, and for my second drink it took the waiter 15 minutes to come over and ask if I would like another drink and another 10 minutes to arrive, when it was time for my third drink I was so frustrated with the lack of service that I went to the bar and got my own drink. While all this was going on I was staring at our waiter, and I don't see how it would be possible that he did not make eye contact with me, as he was standing by the bar doing nothing. We ordered our food after waiting 30 minutes for our waiter to take our order, and then it took them another 45 minutes to get the food out. When the food did come out it was not delivered at the same time with the first dishes coming out for myself and 2 members of my party, and then another dish coming out for the 4th member of my party 5 minutes later, and the 5th member of our party’s food coming out another 5 minutes after that. For me personally having a 10-minute window in delivering food for a table is not acceptable for fine dining or really a dining establishment. Having to get up and get your own drink because your waiter is not monitoring your table when they have ample support for to provide excellent service is not acceptable. At the end of the day we spent 510 dollars on dinner for 5 at a fine dining restaurant. I want to try to put it into context how bad the service was with a comparison service you would receive at a Denny’s or IHOP, but I don't want to disrespect those restaurants, as their service is better than the service we received here. On top of all of this the food was just mediocre. So, to some it all up, we had a 2.5-hour dining experience with mediocre food and terrible service. At the end I just wanted to get out of there and never come back again. I would not recommend this restaurant to my worst enemy as the experience could be described as restaurant equivalent of...

Please think twice before you go to Norah to celebrate an important night with your family. My experience at Norah was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had, and there are better restaurants you can go to and spend $100+ per person.

I picked this place to celebrate my husband’s 26th birthday with him & my in-laws. Norah appeared on multiple Thrillist articles, and therefore I went there with high expectations.

I want to be fair:nice ambiance, nice & salty seafood, and good cocktails. Lots of good waiters and servers and bartenders I’m sure, but here’s what happened to me at Norah:

1. We were seated in the side dining room instead of the main one, and were seated at the far back of the restaurant. The ambiance was much less attractive.

2. when another guest of 4 were seated next to us, they immediately asked to sit in the main dining room, and got re-seated instantly.

3. I asked our server (Harrison G, as appeared on the receipt), if we can please switch to the main dining room, because its my husband’s birthday, and that it was in the reservation note that we’d really appreciate the effort.

4. Harrison, fortunately became extremely hostile & and without even checking with the host, he shut us down by saying

‘No. We have 150 guests in that room and everything is booked, this part you’re sitting in it’s part of the restaurant too.’

Quite honestly, perhaps it was a super busy night and he couldn’t accommodate, and that would’ve been okay if he’s shown any proper manner or empathy. There was none.

5. for the rest of the night, Harrison stopped by our table less than 4 times - we got tired of waiting at one point and had to order our drinks at the bar.

6. there is no closure to this. I understand it could happen to anyone. But personally I will never come to, or recommend Norah or Norah’s sister restaurant to anyone, given how many restaurants there...

This is my second time dining at Norah during COVID; both times were Brunch. This is a super cute restaurant tucked away on Santa Monica Blvd. with plenty of outdoor seating on the sidewalk and in their back patio.

Parking Unfortunately, Norah does not offer valet during Brunch. However, we found metered parking.

Ambiance Upon arrival, I was welcomed with a very friendly Host. I was seated in the back patio. The overall vibe of the restaurant is modern with a touch of chic and gorgeous ceramic serve ware (see photos).

Customer Service I want to start off by saying the Floor Manager, Charles was extremely helpful and more than accommodating to my needs. My server, Matt (and the rest of the staff) was knowledgeable of the menu and friendly. Matt also checked up on us from time to time, making sure I was okay which was greatly appreciated.

Food Quality I would describe the food as very LA - European / French with a little bit Mediterranean. All the food was cooked well. Presentation was on point and modern. Flavors were bold but made sense with each dish. Portion sizes were a perfect amount; not too much, not too little.

Some of my favorite dishes that I would recommend are the Cast Iron Corn Bread (their specialty butter is amazing), Eggplant and Cauliflower (my Husband's favorite, the charred cauliflower, tahini sauce, pistachios and fresh herbs are to die for), and the Breakfast Pizza (with each bite, there is a hint of sweetness in the cheese that is so interesting, MUST TRY).

Will I be back again? Yes. Would I recommend this place to my friends and family?...