Nora, London
I wouldn’t usually choose somewhere like Nora for Turkish food. In my mind, if you want the best Turkish cooking in London, you go to Green Lanes and you don’t overthink it. That still largely holds true. But Nora offered something slightly different and it’s worth acknowledging that it does it well. A little more polished without losing sight of the flavours that matter.
The service set the tone early. Attentive without being overbearing and genuinely knowledgeable about the menu. There was an ease to the way dishes were recommended, and the Turkish wine list added an extra layer that you don’t always find. The chilled red they had on the menu worked particularly well alongside the food.
We began with the kızartma, aubergine and pepper that arrived less as a dip and more as something closer to a chopped salad. The vegetables had been properly roasted, soft and slightly sweet, with feta bringing just enough salt to balance it. Alongside it, the grilled bazlama was indulgent, warm and buttery. We also ordered the hamachi tartare, bright with dill and herbs. Delicious.
For the mains, we had intended to order the short rib, but it had already sold out. Instead, we went for the coffee rub chicken shish, which turned out to be one of the stronger dishes. Large pieces of chicken thigh, well seasoned and grilled to perfectly juicy. The adana kebab, by comparison, felt less memorable. Not poor, just not quite justifying its place on the table at that price point. The pink fir potatoes, crisped in butter, leaned into a familiar London trend started by the famous potatoes at Mountain, but were undeniably satisfying.
The standout, though, was the lamb manti. Ever since a trip to Istanbul, I’ve had a particular affection for them and these held their own. Larger than the traditional style, filled with slow-cooked lamb and served with yoghurt made in-house, they managed to feel both comforting and elevated at the same time.
We had, predictably, ordered too much, and by the end dessert felt out of reach. The knafeh remained a temptation we couldn’t quite justify, though it would be reason enough to return.
Nora doesn’t replace Green Lanes, and it doesn’t need to. It offers a different version of Turkish dining in London. Slightly more stylised, but still rooted in the flavours that make the cuisine so compelling. It surprised us and that alone made it worthwhile.
