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Chef Nicholas Peters Leads Alora’s Culinary Evolution: New Fall & Winter Menu Launches October 16
An exclusive look at standout dishes from the new menu, bringing bold Mediterranean flavors, regional rotating menus, and interactive dining to the forefront.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 11, 2024 – Alora, located on the iconic Embarcadero waterfront, is entering an exciting new chapter under the leadership of its recently appointed Executive Chef, Nicholas Peters. With a vision to elevate the dining experience, Chef Peters is reimagining Alora’s lunch and dinner menu from top to bottom. On October 16, Alora will unveil a highly-anticipated fall and winter menu that promises to bring guests a bold new dining journey, showcasing Chef Peters’ culinary creativity and deep passion for Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. Read on for an exclusive first look at the menu.
“With Chef Nick at the helm of Alora, his passion for elevating meals will create unforgettable experiences for our guests, aligning perfectly with our vision for the restaurant,” says Anu Bhambri, Co-Owner of Alora. “The new menu will be a true reflection of his creativity and dedication to Mediterranean-inspired flavors, and we’re excited to see Alora continue to evolve under his leadership. Chef Nick’s use of local ingredients highlights the best of California on our menu, and we can’t wait for our guests to experience his cooking along the Embarcadero.”
A NEW VISION FOR ALORA
At the center of Chef Peters’ approach is his vision for a four-dimensional culinary journey that combines bold flavors, interactive presentations, and ever-evolving menus to create unforgettable moments for guests. His goal is to make dining at Alora a memorable sensory experience, where Mediterranean flavors are brought to life with innovative techniques and a touch of showmanship. Chef Peters is deeply dedicated to showcasing the heart of the Alora kitchen by utilizing traditional hearth tools like the brick oven and Turkish-style grill, giving dishes a rustic, authentic feel. He sources high-quality local ingredients, including premium meats from San Francisco butchers—highlighted in the house dry-aged porterhouse steak—and embraces large-format dishes designed for sharing, celebrating the communal Mediterranean dining tradition.
Chef Peters’ seasonal approach takes a focused look at individual Mediterranean regions, building a natural culinary journey along the coast. Every month brings new cooking styles, techniques, and flavors, ensuring Alora remains a relevant and engaging destination. His vision includes the eventual introduction of a rotating monthly prix fixe menu that highlights each region’s unique cuisine, allowing guests to explore the Mediterranean one season at a time. Diners will even have the chance to obtain an “Alora passport” and receive a stamp for each menu they experience, adding an extra layer of interaction to the ever-evolving dining adventure. From refreshing the current menu and updating Alora’s signature sampler dips to enhancing kitchen efficiency, Chef Peters is focused on ensuring a seamless and elevated dining experience at every level.
THE NEW FALL & WINTER MENU
Chef Peters’ upcoming menu for fall and winter will begin the culinary journey along the southeastern coast of Europe, moving into the northern African coast as fall changes to winter, celebrating their different rich traditions and distinct influences. The new menu is designed to pair with the selection of wines and cocktails on the beverage menu, including wines from throughout the Mediterranean, with unique options from Lebanon, Turkey, and Morocco alongside selections from Italy, Spain, France, and California.
MEZZE
The mezze dishes kick off the experience with a twist on the traditional and ideal for sharing, including Saganaki, served grilled with honey-poached pears, winter citrus, and flaming ouzo, poured over the dish tableside; Octopus Souvlaki, charcoal-grilled skewers of confit Spanish octopus, golden potatoes, and Spanish-style chorizo, served atop romesco, with dressed frisée and watercress, grilled lemon, and sherry gastrique, blending smoky, rich, and bright flavors; Oysters, a rotating selection of Pacific oysters, served with sumac-finger lime mignonette and fermented harissa hot sauce, bringing a dried berry flavor from the sumac, while the harissa offers a bold, house-fermented spice blend that adds a Mediterranean twist to a classic seafood staple; and Turkish Balloon Lavash, a traditional Turkish flatbread, cooked to order in Alora’s brick oven, featuring a crispy exterior and a soft interior, perfect for scooping up house-made dips, and seasoned with za’atar and sea salt.
MAINS
The menu’s main courses showcase Chef Peters’ dedication to quality and playfulness with ingredients, both comforting and vibrant, including Eggplant, one of Chef Peters’ personal favorites, a vegetarian dish showcasing salt-cured and roasted eggplant with an umami-rich onion caramel made from grated and juiced sweet onions, deglazed with red wine, served with spiced charred eggplant purée and labneh, packed with Mediterranean flavors like fenugreek, coriander, cumin, and peppercorns; Smoked Rabbit Cannelloni, a braised rabbit, pancetta, pecorino fonduta, and pigolio, served in a smoked cloche, scented with Douglas fir and other aromas; Brick Pressed Chicken, a simple yet flavorful heritage heirloom chicken, pressed by bricks in a cast iron pan and roasted in Alora’s brick oven, served with a white wine and lemon pan gravy, elevating the humble chicken to new heights; and Branzino, a whole charcoal-grilled branzino cooked over a traditional Turkish Izgara, celebrating simplicity, allowing the delicate flavors of the fish to shine through while infusing a smoky depth from the charcoal grill, served with lemon and herbs for a classic Mediterranean touch.
Follow Chef Nicholas Peters and Alora on Instagram for a behind-the-scenes look at his menu-making creative and execution.
ABOUT ALORA
Situated on San Francisco’s Pier 3, Alora is a refined yet convivial waterfront restaurant that transports diners from the California coast to the shores of the Mediterranean. Inspired by the expansive cultures and flavors of countries along the Mediterranean Sea, Alora uses locally sourced seasonal ingredients prepared with “old world” cooking techniques to create a menu filled with small dishes meant for sharing—from mezze to handmade pastas, an array of sustainable seafood and dry-aged meats, and skewers cooked over a grill. A curated beverage program featuring an extensive wine list and Mediterranean-inspired cocktails enhance the dreamy coastal dining experience. Follow Alora on Instagram or visit their website for more.
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