Nomad

 

0

6

David G.

New York, NY

I stumbled upon this place quite by accident. I was with two other people from out of town, and they wanted something they could only get in NYC. I was lobbying for Paul's, but they did not want Burgers. One wanted Korean, but I was not enthused. As a consequence, we decided to walk the East Village knowing we'd run across something. Upon spotting this place, it became clear that none of us had either had or even thought of North African food. Therefore, we had to try it.

I got the pre-theater special, which was a great deal that would make my frugal grandparents proud: Soup (which was quite large, I couldn't finish it), Salad, main course, and wine, with desert at an additional $4. I really enjoyed the Merguez Lamb sausage. I also tried some of the Chicken Briwat, was delicious and addictive forming. We split a creme-brulee for desert. That's normally not my favorite, but this one was delicious (and was also of generous size).

The only down side was the service could have been more attentive, we eventually had to ask for our check twice. But overall, a great experience.

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27

108

Michael D.

New York, NY

On my evening commute home, I usually walk up 2nd Ave. from Houston to around 7th Street.

During these walks, I began to harbor a terrible prejudice about the restaurants I saw along the way.

Dear friends, today I'd like to come clean about that...

I used to think that these restaurants were only frequented by bridge and tunnel people, tourists, or people who didn't want to explore the side streets off the avenues...OR some unholy combination of all three of those types.

There was just something about those g*d d*mn people sitting at those outdoor cafes while I was schlepping home from work that said to me: "these $&*%$# bast*rds who aren't WORKING, aren't COMMUTING but are instead SITTING for chris' sake DRINKING and EATING of all things can't know what's good and what's bad."

Well Nomad changed my mind.

Avoid the tiny outdoor seating in front and walk back to their really lovely garden patio, or stay inside and enjoy the dark, handsomely-furnished interior space. If you choose the patio, you're a world away from the noise and unpleasantness of 2nd Ave.

If you like fish, and they have a whole roasted fish on the menu, order it. I was presented a really handsome, tender, light-fleshed fish, beautifully-arranged, stuffed with calamari, roasted tomatoes and couscous.

The emphasis is North African items, but they do have some bistro selections, too (steak frites, for example). They have a very intriguing North African wine selection, although we ordered a good  vin de pays Sauvignon Blanc from France, instead. We ended with cups of espresso and an assorted platter of cookies (not too sweet, and subtle with a bit of spice).

At the risk of sounding like a 75 year old guy who lives in Boca Raton, Florida, just wanted to mention that they have a three-course early bird special (they call it a "pre-theater" special) for only $13.95 -- less than the cost of one lousy entree later in the evening.

My one little complaint about Nomad and other places I've been to lately is that they don't bring forward their spices and unusual ingredients enough. The chicken tajine could have *more* prunes and a bit less chicken. The signature spices could be more prominent. I think people in New York what these flavors dialed-up, not toned down.

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Elite '08

23

132

Michael L.

New York, NY

This place wasn't horrible, but it's one of the more lackluster dining out experiences I've had in a while.

The pinot noir I ordered came out warmer than room temperature.  

Between my table, we tried the merguez, the couscous royal, the chicken pastilla, and the lamb and prune tajines.  They were all competently prepared, but nothing too amazing.

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Elite '08

109

260

Abigail S.

Brooklyn, NY

I've been to Nomad twice, and both times the food was really good.  It's very small, as many restaurants in the East Village are, but romantic and inviting.  The service was great and our waitress was very knowledgeable about the interesting mix of North African wines they carry.

I recommend the grilled octopus salad, crab cakes, mussels plate, and couscous royale.  Their tajines are also pretty yum. Be sure to have the mint tea at the end of your meal!

I'm sad that people have had bad experiences here.  Both times we dined at Nomad, we left happy and satisfied.  Will definitely be back.

Tip: If it's your birthday, be sure to tell your waiter.  You won't be disappointed.

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Elite '08

51

61

Alicia D.

New York, NY

This restaurant bit the big one.  Unfortunately, I was not doing much biting at all.  I ordered a dish that I can only describe as fried dough (yes, the kind you get at a carnival, powdered sugar and all) stuffed with an obscene amount of funky dark meat shredded chicken...  And there was cork in my wine.

In fact, Nomad was so bad, it inspired some really bad poetry:

Menupages said this place had a cheese platter...
They did not!
The rest of the menu looked good...
It was not!
We wanted to pay with credit card...
We could not!
If you paid me to go back...
I would not!

Well, I might if you paid me... but under no other circumstances!
Guess I should work on my poetry skills.

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9

12

Sylvie L.

New York, NY

Tasty food at very reasonable prices.  I had the crab cakes, which were on the appetizer list, so the small portion was too be expected.  We had a couple of good bottles of wine for $25/each.

I went with a party of 8 on a Saturday night with no reservations.  The owner first told us that there wasn't room, but while our group was pow-wow-ing outside, he came back out to let us know that he could accommodate us after all.  Nice service and good food.  I would go back.

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Elite '08

138

324

camilla c.

New York, NY

I entered Nomad and was pleasantly surprised at the dark, sexy, exotic vibe and a seemingly good menu of Moroccan food (couscous, tajine, etc).  Our waitress was friendly and suggested a few dishes.  But my intrigue soon turned into annoyance... first of all, the lighting in this place is ridiculous.  There is no light... I appreciate good mood lighting but this is ridiculous!  The place is darker than most bars I've been to.  It was really annoying not to be able to see anything I was eating.  Both of my dining companions were not all that impressed either.  My couscous was not bad but I really needed to see what the hell was in the dish to actually appreciate it!  Service got slower as the night progressed and the last straw was acceptance of only cash or amex.  I was hopeful that this would be yet another e. village neighborhood jem... oh well!

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13

66

Anita C.

New York, NY

The decor here was exactly as the previous review described it, although the lighting wasn't that bad. Dim, but not any darker than many other restaurants I've been to.

The food was good but the presentation was a little off. The couscous royale came in two large dishes, one for the couscous and the other for the sauce. It was a bit cumbersome. While the couscous was gigantic, other entree portions seemed a bit small. Everyone in my group seemed to like their food, but no one was raving about it either.

The staff here was very nice about putting tables together for our group, adding another table to the end when more people showed up.

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11

32

Dina L.

Brooklyn, NY

The restaurant was very cozy and pleasant, service unobtrusive and helpful. The food, with a low-to-average price tag had much higher aspirations. Unfortunately, it only succeeded in a handful of dishes, which was strange since the ideas and flavors seemed to be there. One of the best dishes was the peasant, hearty lamb merquez appetizer with egg and vegetables. The lamb was a bit crunchy, sauce a bit spicy and the eggs pleasantly silky. Shrimp with saffron and cilantro cakes, a more sophisticated dish, was also very good, if not the best of what I've tried. Unfortunately it arrived at the table much too cold. But it still tasted great. The octopus appetizer wouldn't be bad if there were more then 4 small pieces of (tender and smoky) octopus and less of everything else (oranges/fennel/sauce were a mess). Red Pepper soup of the day badly needed some nutmeg or any other infusion of flavor. Eggplant salad was just plain bland, the cherry tomatoes served were more savory then the salad itself. Lamb couscous wasn't bad, the lamb shank was juicy and nicely cooked, but again, not enough salt. Berber sauce was also very underseasoned and too soupy. But the biggest disappointment was the much recommended Seafood Bastilla..I've had enough of those, from New York to Granada, but never had one that was this tiny (appetizer sizes are usually bigger). and unappetizing. The dough was overfried, the seafood inside -dry and lacking spices. And that was kind of upsetting because if not for that dish I'd consider giving Nomad a second try.

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Elite '08

59

215

Sonia C.

Chicago, IL

four friends and i came here on a friday night. we had a 9pm reservation, though we probably didn't need it since the restaurant wasn't packed. the place is dimly-lit --- i had trouble reading the menus, even though the overall ambience is quite romantic. the staff were very nice. one of them came over to specially recommend a bottle of white wine ($25) to go with our meal. my friend & i decided to split the brik ($8) since we had read good reviews about it. we weren't disappointed by the layers of hot flakey phyllo dough that surrounded the saucy center of fish, chicken, and vegetables. it was a very good start to our meal. for entrees, we opted to split the olive & chicken tajine ($16) and the couscous royal ($16). the tajine was very flavourful, though verging on too salty. the meat was slowly simmered fell right off the bone. it came with a generous helping of slow-cooked carrots and green olives. the couscous came piled with lamb sausage & vegetables. it also came with a side of what i thought was a broth-like tomato based-sauce with hunks of lamb & stewed chicken. it was really good and really filling. though stuffed, we found room to split two of their desserts --- the rosewater crme brulee and some almond nougat frozen dessert. the first was very sweet, but it had a satisfying crispy sugar shell. the second dessert seemed to me like snickers semifreddo but without the chocolate --- swirls of caramel in nougat flavoured ice cream. both desserts were really good. we washed our desserts with mint tea which i didn't like --- it was sweet and tasted like mouthwash. overall, my first foray into north african cuisine was a success. i'll definitely be back for more.

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