It takes me a little searching in London's unforgiving weather to get to Nora, the contemporary Turkish restaurant that brothers Ozgur and Sidar Akyuz opened in Canary Wharf toward the end of last year. But when, past its heavy wooden door, I am shown to my panoramic seat, I couldn't care about having gotten soaked in the rain any less.
To say that the eatery ticks all the credentials foodie spots like this need to have me excited about them, and to contend for a spot in my best London restaurants roundup, would be an euphemism. A cool, retro-inspired ambiance that feels more avant-garde than simply nostalgic? Check. A wall-wide vinyl collection with annexed high-fidelity speakers? Check. Statement pieces sourced from a giant of Italian design? You guessed it — check.
The Akyuz siblings received the in-the-know crowd's seal of approval with their debut hospitality venture in the capital, four-location luxe London design cafe concept Beam. With Nora, whose groovy Ola Jachymiak Studio interiors conjure up an 'Urban Anatolia', or "a meeting point between tradition and modernity," the designer explains, the duo marks their foray into fine dining.
Nora, Canary Wharf — Step Inside an Anatolian Dream, Flight-Free
The ambiguity between old and new carries much of Nora's allure. From the moment you step inside, you are immediately taken by the beaming soul of the place. In every corner, you'll notice "something tangible and captivating yet difficult to define," Jachymiak, who also crafted the interiors of two of the Akyuzs' Beam coffee shops, says of her favorite aspect of the eatery.
The inspiration for it came from a road trip she took across Turkey, the "simple and authentic yet incredibly vibrant atmosphere I encountered everywhere," she says.
Waiting for a friend to join me, I realize a lot of Nora's warmth oozes directly from its walls. Incorporating caramel-tinted, glazed tiles, toffee wood, and sculptural, buttery plaster throughout, the restaurant's surfaces set themselves apart from the glassy corporate skyscrapers rising, like mushrooms, all around it.
Rather than echoing their vertiginous height, Nora fosters intimacy with its softly shaped, lowered ceiling, which, hovering above the central bar, absorbs guests in a comforting hug.
A play on its metropolitan Canary Wharf location and the multifacetedness of Turkey's old villages, the concept of Urban Anatolia blends craft with contemporary rhythm.
"I wanted this layering to be subtly felt through lighting, materials, and forms," Jachymiak explains. Ablaze with a sunset-like glow, Nora's dining room feels innately Mediterranean.
But instead of leaning into the rustic decor side of southern Europe, it borrows from the structured scheme of the neighborhood to introduce "clean geometries, controlled detailing, and a restrained composition into a cultural translation of local Turkish restaurants that carries memory without replicating it," the designer adds.
Experience Turkey's Traditional Flavors, Reloaded
Brought to life by oversized, modular sofas, texturally upholstered armchairs, and wiggly — or zig-zag — quirky lines, and completed by its boldly displayed, colorful album selection, Nora's dining room echoes the eccentric coolness of the 1970s without ever feeling outdated or tacky.
The same sense of balanced elegance and researchedness characterizes its culinary offering, which moves away from "the mangal grills and late-night kebabs so prominent in the UK to reflect the incredible depth of Turkish cooking," Nora's co-founder Ozgur Akyuz tells me.
Looking at the menu with my friend, I am reminded of a recent trip to Istanbul, where I tried the refreshing, tangy yogurt drink Ayran, and decide to order one. Rather than plain, it comes infused with fresh cucumber, ginger, lemon, thyme, and pomegranate, sprinkled with a bright pink powder.
Alone, it captures Nora's wider gastronomy vision — traditional Turkish flavors, reimagined for the contemporary Londoner, but with no compromise made on either size or taste.
The earthy color palette of the space lets the eatery's layered menu — "from delicate mezze and slow-cooked dishes to vibrant seafood, bold spices, and intricate pastries shaped by centuries of trade and migration," Akyuz explains — shine on the plate. Conceived for sharing by chef Daniel Alt, formerly at The Barbary and Ottolenghi, the food feels fresh, nutritious, and frankly, delicious.
Our cold starters of yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and mint, beetroot, pomegranate molasses, and goat cheese, and courgette borani make every ingredient count, and work wonders as savory spreads on Nora's nutty, grilled homemade (yes!) gluten-free bread.
The wild sea bass, presented as a parsley-topped crescent moon opposite a dripped-in-oil, seasalt-y juice, is a true, minimalist work of art. Buttery and smoked, the prawns melt in your mouth in no time, while the coffee-rubbed chicken shish feels like the perfect, more familiar dish to wrap up our night. We have to, sadly, renounce the dessert, but we'll be back to try the chocolate tart clotted cream and the pistachio baklava before they can realize.
Take Nora's Retro-Inspired Mediterranean Vibrancy Home
Winding down after our feast, we tune into Nora's indie jazz soundtrack and sip kindly offered Turkish hot tea. In many ways, the restaurant also conveys a sense of domesticity: compared to your usual, touristy hotspots (and many high-end eateries in London), it's got great acoustics — you could murmur, and the person next to you would still be able to hear both you and the music playing in the background. Equally, the spacing of tables means there's enough privacy for everyone to feel at ease, enjoy their food, and relax.
Nora was modelled after family-run Turkish establishments "with 90s-style wooden paneling and dishes displayed behind glass countertops," Jachymiak recounts. "Dining rooms that felt honest and unpretentious — tactile, cozy, and full of life." And what is more like that than a beautifully curated home? In designing the restaurant, she aimed to "capture that emotional immediacy: a space that feels genuine rather than staged, like the rooms we spend time in every day. Here are three simple style tricks to recreate Nora's laidback coolness at home.
1. Start With Light — Layering Design Icons and Vintage Finds
The first and last thing I think about when writing about a new restaurant design is, perhaps unsurprisingly, lighting. Because who wants to dine under what feels like an interrogation lamp?
As if visuals weren't enough to convince you, Nora does that masterfully. And what's even better is that many of the restaurant's lighting fixtures are widely available to buy online, giving you yet another reason to step up your home atmosphere ahead of your next dinner party.
To set Nora alight, Jachymiak leaned, like for much of the eatery's decor, into her love of mid-century furnishings. "The staging features iconic Tacchini lamps designed by Jean-Pierre Garrault and Henri Delord in the 1960s and 70s — sculptural pieces that add a distinct French modernist touch," she says. These include their iconic, floor-to-ceiling Dana lamp, styled in the dining room alongside Studiopepe's fiberglass Equinox pendants by the same brand, and a series of golden-light wall sconces inspired by Charlotte Perriand.
Other pieces were discovered in some of the best vintage furniture shops across London, and range from large-scale, mushroom-shaped paper lanterns to eye-catching Space Age buys. Together, the curation allows "yesterday and today to coexist naturally, creating an interior that feels both timeless and alive".
2. Go Lacquered and Tiled — Glossy, Playful, Wavy
One of my favorite aspects of eating at Nora is getting to experience the different textures of Turkish life — whether in its immersive design or in whatever rests on your plate. Although if there's one detail that makes the eatery feel especially contemporary, it's its playful use of sheeny waves.
"Glossy elements like the lacquered ceiling and the zellige tiles amplify the semi-rounded architectural forms we designed," Jachymiak says, adding that, by catching and diffusing light, they "constantly shift the perception of the room."
For the designer, there is a slightly cinematic quality to the way light moves across them, a subtle nod to a vintage atmosphere, interpreted through today's style canon. "It is this interplay between softness and structure, memory and modernity, matte and gloss that gives the space its depth and emotional resonance," she adds. And the irreverent finds below are good enough to let that into your domestic cove.
3. Insert Curated Textiles — "Ornament, Tacility, Softness"
There's no way you can leave Nora without falling for its oversized sofas, leather — or velvety — banquettes, and uniquely upholstered stools and armchairs. Wrapped in plush Dedar fabrics, the eatery references the nonchalance of a living room without compromising its distinctive identity.
"They bring an Ottoman sensibility," Jachymiak says of the Anatolian textiles scattered across the place. "Ornament, tactility, softness." Seen against "the more restrained mid-century references," she adds, "they act almost as a gentle disruption."
The ultimate embodiment of the level of thoughtfulness and care that goes into the dining experience at Nora, these enveloping touches, together with the stunning food, contribute to ensuring guests "leave feeling generously fed and well looked after," co-founder Ozgur Akyuz explains.
Because if style tricks can help you bring a slice of Nora's atmospheric aesthetic home, its explosive menu is something you'll have to savor on the spot.
Book your table at Nora, Canary Wharf.
Did Nora's audiophile-ready interiors get you in the mood for a music-filled night out? Treat yourself to a live performance and full meal at Upstairs at Ronnie's, the newly unveiled, just-revamped luxurious higher floor of iconic London jazz club Ronnie Scott's.
