Nomad

Recently went to Nomad and was pleasantly surprised. Food was generally good (and in some cases great), prime East Village location including some outdoor seating, welcoming ambiance and inviting north African décor, and pleasant / helpful service. We decided to try this restaurant with a groupon that included an app, 2 entrees, 2 drinks and a dessert. We started with the chicken skewers which were fantastic – well seasoned and juicy. For entrees, we had the steak frites and the Couscous Royale. The steak was very well prepared, flavorful and medium rare as asked; came with better than average fries and some swiss chard. The other entrée, though, was a bit disappointing. The dish is served with a piece of chicken, lamb and merguez, couscous and vegetables. The merguez was delicious and wish more than one piece was provided; the chicken was fine but the lamb was overdone and unappetizing. Also, the Couscous was ok was but a bit bland. Had the chocolate mousse for dessert which was delicious. The restaurant has a decent selection of drinks and moderately priced. Overall, was happy with the experience at Nomad and would return if looking for a casual restaurant in the area.

From the moment we walked in, we loved it. Courteous service, tasty food, atmosphere, and the mousse is so chocolaty it's obscene!! Will go back, can't wait for summer so we can use the garden. Try it--

BF and I went on a Sunday night -- we are city folk. Half full/half empty take your pick -- service was gracious, helpful and welcoming. Charming atmosphere .. not cheeky or sparce - check out stained glass ligh fixtures, nice. Appetizer trio was tasty - hummus flavorful, cucumber dill yogurt dip, fave bean dip and warm crispy pita -- a meal in itself! Lamb tangine was more sweet than savory but authentic and tender. Homemade cookies with almond, honey touches made a perfect topper on a lovely North African meal. I have lived & worked in North Africa and can attest this is a pretty reasonable fascmile to the cuisine without the 20 hour plane ride. Nice, friendly -- enjoy.

If you haven't had North African before, give it a try. If you have, you know what you're in for: couscous (kind of a North African paella), tajines (stews), mergez (spicy lamb sausages), pastillas (stuffed phyllo dough), etc. All lovingly prepared by a mostly Algerian staff in an exotic atmosphere reminiscent of a souk (North African market).

And her day was when the female chef was there. Since she left, it hit a downward spiral. Lamb shank totally fat. No mor fish baked in a salt shell. Lights so low you can't read the menu. The stuff that leaves the kitchen is now unappetizing. Avoid this place.

Went there on a saturday night with a gift certificate. Had a reservation and were seated immediately. The waiter was helpful and recommended a great wine bottle! We ordered the veggie burger and veggie couscous. Both were good but the burger was amazing. Very tasty. We had outdoor seating so a fly entered my wine glass - the waiter replaced it with no problem. We tipped 20% of the final total (which is proper etiquette). Overall great food, atmosphere, and service.

Had a groupon for this place so my wife and I went there for dinner on a work night. After waiting 30 min for the waiter to show up to take our order, we started with a couple of cocktails the waiter recommended. Both were awful. My wife's peach bellini had a strange smell. We then waited another eternity for the food to arrive. Both the veggie starter and the 2 main courses (a veggie burger and a veggie tagine) were both bland and completely not worth the price. After a 2+ hour meal, most of it spent waiting, they insisted on adding a mandatory 20% gratuity to our full bill (because we were using a groupon?). This was not stated as mandatory on the menu or anywhere else. The service we got was not even worth a 10% tip. Never going back and strongly recommend against this awful restaurant.