Grand Restaurant Group Opens NÓMADA in Carlsbad With Regional Mexican Cuisine

Grand Restaurant Group (Bellamy’s, Nick & G’s, Cork & Knife, DiCicco’s) just opened NOMADA in Carlsbad, and if you’ve been following Chef Alex Carballo’s work around San Diego (Fox Point Farms, Valentina, The Fishery, Stone Brewing), this is his first project as Chef Partner with the group.

Inspired by his Sinaloan heritage and extensive travels throughout Mexico’s coastal and agricultural regions, NÓMADA presents regional Mexican cooking grounded in tradition and technique.

A Meaningful Milestone

This opening represents a meaningful milestone for Chief Operating Officer Gianina Pickens as she leads the family-owned hospitality group into its next chapter. We’re talking more than fifty years of restaurant history – from her grandfather Nicola DiCicco’s Italian eateries to today’s multi-concept portfolio.

NÓMADA represents a natural evolution for the group.

“NÓMADA marks a really special moment for us,” says Pickens. “It honors the legacy my family has built while bringing Chef Alex’s regional point of view to the table. It’s an exciting next chapter for Grand Restaurant Group.”

The Menu You Need to Know About

Chef Carballo’s menu highlights regional Mexican cooking with a focus on coastal seafood, wood-fired techniques, locally sourced produce and purveyors, and preparations cooked without industrial seed oils.

Drawing inspiration from Sinaloa, Yucatán, Baja, and central Mexico, the menu balances raw bar offerings, antojitos, tacos, and composed entrées – rooted in tradition while reflecting Southern California’s coastal sensibility.

Here’s what you should try:

• Housemade flour tortillas from the wood-fired oven, served with jalapeño honey butter
• Birria Chimichanga Bites with chile-braised beef, salsa macha aioli, and consommé
• Wood-Fired Oysters baked with hoja santa and smoked cotija
• Raw Bar & Chilled Seafood, including daily oysters, ceviches, crudo tostadas, Pacific prawns, and chocolate clams
• À La Carte Tacos featuring Baja fish, carnitas, carne asada, pulpo, pollo doradito, and quesabirria
• Duck Mole Taco Trio with duck confit, mole negro, and duck skin chicharrón
• Whole Roasted Local Line-Caught Fish, marinated with citrus, herbs, and spices
• Cochinita Pibil, Yucatán-style pork wrapped in banana leaf and slow-roasted
• Regional Classics such as chicken mole, chiles en nogada, chili relleno, pozole, and birria

On Fridays and Saturdays, NÓMADA offers a late-night oyster bar experience with live music, which is exactly what North County needs more of.

The Bar Program

Sean Ward (RMD Group, Nolita Hall, Duck Dive, OB Surf Lodge) is leading the bar program as Grand Restaurant Group’s newly appointed Beverage Director.

Nomada cocktails are built around agave spirits, pisco, cachaça, rum, and regional liqueurs, with each drink referencing a specific culture, city, or tradition – mirroring the restaurant’s culinary journey.

Worth trying:

• Ranchero Paloma (Jalisco) – ranchero reposado, cinnamon, grapefruit, lime, and squirt
• Pisco Sour (Peru) – pisco, white vermouth, macadamia orgeat, green apple, lemon, and Peruvian bitters
• Clerico (Uruguay) – gin, amontillado sherry, elderflower, cucumber, green apple, and soda
• Chicha Morada (Peru) – a non-alcoholic take on the traditional purple corn drink with pineapple, apple, and warm spices
• Granizados – frozen cocktails inspired by coastal Latin flavors, including espresso martini and rum-based variations
• Debutante – mezcal, rosé vermouth, manzanilla sherry, raspberry-thyme shrub, and lemon
• Playa – coconut-infused cachaça with dry vermouth, banana liqueur, and cranberry bitters

The tequila selection is curated, and the beer lineup features Mexican imports alongside local San Diego breweries. The wine list highlights producers from Valle de Guadalupe plus selections from Latin America, California, and Europe.

The Space

The 5,600-square-foot Carlsbad restaurant seats up to 240 guests across several distinct indoor and outdoor spaces. You enter through a lush patio with bar seating, fire pits, and an outdoor bar, then pass through a courtyard into the main interior.

Inside, a central bar anchors the space with views of the wood-fired oven, oyster bar, and chef’s counter. A stage supports live music, DJs, and recurring salsa and Latin dance programming.

The expansive dining room offers varied seating – from booths to communal tables and sunken, semi-private dining areas – framed by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the surrounding canyon.

Matte ceramics, warm woods, woven textures, and an earthy, sun-washed palette draw inspiration from Mexico’s natural landscapes and artisan traditions.

See you there!

Make your reservation and check out what Chef Carballo and the Grand Restaurant Group team have built in Carlsbad – it’s worth the drive.

📆 Open seven days a week for dinner | Happy hour: Mon – Thu, 3 PM – 6 PM
📍 6996 El Camino Real, Carlsbad
ℹ️ More info here

See you there, San Diego!