Nora Blú hopes to make a spark where other restaurants have fizzled

The building at 1225 Cathedral St. has seen its share of restaurants: Spike and Charlie’s, The Anonymous, Ryleigh’s Oysters, Mari Luna Bistro, Robert Oliver Seafood, Red Emma’s.

Now another contender has stepped up.

Nora Blú, a contemporary Mediterranean restaurant, is the newest addition to the Mount Vernon block. Owners Mohammad Elmanyari, Dezmon Parker and Tariq Ibrahim hope to create a destination that complements anchors like the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall across the street and nearby music venue The Lyric.

“Nora” means light and radiance in Arabic, and the decor isn’t short on it. Hues of blue are painted on select walls and tiles surrounding the dining room and a large upstairs bar. Long, curved windows with a street view surround the back bar, and a shiny, dangling chandelier hangs in the main entrance.

“I want people to be wowed when they walk in,” Elmanyari said.

While the owners have worked on real estate projects together, this is their first restaurant.

“We focus on what we are good at, and what we are not good at we find the best people to help us out with that,” Parker said.

To that end, they brought on executive chef Malcolm Sizer, who came by way of Marta Fine Food and Spirits in Butchers Hill, which has received critical acclaim, including from the James Beard Awards. Sizer spent weeks immersing himself in Mediterranean cuisine, reading and tasting as much as he could to help inform and create the menu.

“When they hit me up about opening this place and doing Mediterranean food, I knew it would never be like Mediterranean food from your mom’s house,” Sizer said.

In one dish, grilled pompano, a flaky fish Sizer describes as a love child of branzino and swordfish, sits atop a burnt-orange smoked romesco, plated with small scoops of caponata.

Sizer wanted to make sure the Mediterranean menu had allusions to Baltimore. He refused to put a crab cake on the menu, but the falafel bites contain jumbo lump crab meat in addition to chickpeas and fava beans.

Local ingredients are also top of mind. Meats come from Roseda Farm in Monkton, and some of the oysters, which are served on the half shell with a saffron foam, come from New Jersey, Sizer said.

Sizer learned throughout his previous kitchen stints that the less food he has to waste, the better. The kibbeh nayyeh, an appetizer of dry-aged beef, sumac and shallots, is sourced from what’s left after Sizer portions the filet mignon and ribeyes for other dishes. Pineapple syrup is made with the remaining parts of the fruit after it’s served with the shish tawook, a marinated chicken dish with grilled halloumi.

To complement the food and environment, Elmanyari expects to book live entertainment some nights, maybe a two-man jazz band or a solo guitarist and a vocalist.

They’re only a stone’s throw away from other live entertainment, after all.

“I think it gives them a unique opportunity to kind of lean into the fine arts of the neighborhood,” said Tim “Chyno” Chin, co-owner of Blue + Blue Marketing, who is also known as the Baltimore Foodie on Instagram.

Mark Hanson, president and CEO of the Baltimore Symphony, thinks nearby establishments like Nora Blú add to the experience for patrons coming to see a show, whether they want to eat beforehand or grab drinks afterward.

“The Baltimore Symphony certainly has a vested interest in helping Nora Blú succeed,” Hanson said.

The restaurant is in its soft-opening season but is getting things rolling in time for a few highly anticipated happenings at the Meyerhoff. Juvenile and the 400 Degreez Band hit the stage on Aug. 14. September welcomes comedian Ali Wong, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s cover of Taylor Swift’s music catalog, and Grammy-winning vocalist Samara Joy.

Local residents have already started trickling in.

Manny Gonzalez, a three-year Mount Vernon resident and a sucker for a chandelier, appreciates Nora Blú’s aesthetics. The bartenders have also passed his test for a quality cocktail because the mezcal isn’t drowned in their Smoke in the Levant drink, which includes Aperol, ginger syrup and lime juice.

“It’s not easy running a restaurant or bar these days from an economic standpoint, so you really have to be creative,” Gonzalez said.

The Mount Vernon neighborhood has lost quite a few businesses recently. Baby’s on Fire closed abruptly in July, and The Brewer’s Art, a mainstay for 30 years, shuttered in February.

Still, Charisse Nichols, a longtime Mount Vernon resident, thinks the area is prime for businesses and restaurants. But she does have a bit of advice for Nora Blú.

“I hope the owners understand that they have to have regular programming and they have to have private dining,” Nichols said.

Without the two together, she thinks, restaurants are more likely to close, especially when grappling with the blocks some, including Nichols, consider “no man’s land” outside the well-known places that draw foot traffic.

Nora Blú’s owners have planned a grand opening for later in August and hope to build out Hush, a speakeasy lounge, downstairs. Elmanyari anticipates that the lounge will “financially support upstairs in the long run.”

Baltimore Restaurant Week recently kept Nora Blú pretty busy, giving them more exposure as they welcomed a couple of food content creators. The menu featured a $55 three-course menu with Sizer at the reins.

“I would say he’s probably one of the best chefs out here,” Elmanyari said.