Nostrana

09/29/09

Amazing Cocktails, Fabulous Service, and Delightful Food

by fritafuzzy

First of all the food is amazing. I have so much respect for a restaurant that is buying direct from the farms. The energy and effort that goes into making fresh pastas, breads, pizzas, etc fresh everyday is much appreciated and in this case, done to perfection. Normally I sit at a table and have always received amazing service (especially from a blond woman with glasses) and then I discovered the talent behind the bar. Taylor, makes some of the best sazeracs I have ever tasted. While I am partial to the Sazerac rye with a Le Torment rinse, he suggested a cognac instead that was slightly sweeter but a fantastic change from the rye. This delightful concoction was followed by the Nostrana salad- a perfect mix of radicchio, creamy Cesar like dressing and Parmesan. The next dish was one of the best pastas maybe ever. A fresh house made ravioli stuffed with the perfect amount of beets, tossed in a simple butter sauce. I was so impressed I went on to have a affogato- made from house made gelato and rich espresso. The atmosphere is well preserved with an open air kitchen, low lighting, and high ceilings. Truly a culinary triumph.

• Pros: Best Sazerac ever! Woodfired oven pizza
• Cons: small water glasses...

05/20/09

Food was average, service was terrible

by hipgranny

The pizza is good, and kids can always have pizza, regardless of how "adult" the rest of the menu might be. The salads are OK, but not as good as one should be able to expect of a restaurant of this caliber. Some of the other dishes that people in our party had were good. Overall, I would rate the food a little above average, but not outstanding. As far as the space is concerned, we found it to be very comfortable, and the noise was not a problem at all.

The service, however, was awful. The waiter was pleasant enough, but the entire experience took two and a half hours. I am not making this up. We had young kids in the party, which made it even more difficult to contend with. When we arrived, the restaurant was less than half full, yet the waiter would disappear for 20 minutes or more. The wait for the food to arrive after ordering and the wait between courses was interminable. We had promised dessert to the children, and had to wait another 20 minutes for the dessert order to be taken, and another period of time for the desserts to arrive. I went to Nostrana a few years ago when it first opened and thought these glitches would be worked out in time, and the restaurant of the year award led me to believe that was the case. Didn't happen. It really is inexcusable for service to be this bad.

• Pros: great, comfortable space - easy place to take kids
• Cons: terrible service, menu a bit limited

05/15/09

Tricked into Mothers Day

by relyons

Was promised LIVE music by two guitarists. Not only did they not show, but I could'nt get an answer until our dinners came. We were sat at 6pm, the band was to start at 7pm. Dinner came at 6:30pm. Then we found out that the musicians were not coming because of Mothers Day, and that is why we went. Food was OK service was horrible. I will never go back.

• Pros: Food was OK
• Cons: No entertainment, too loud.