Nonno Pino is a good, reliable choice for old-school family-style Italian. They’ve been around forever, and we’ve heard some complaints that the quality of both the service and the food has been declining just a smidge. But here’s the thing: the best way to counterbalance that is not leaving blatantly obvious shilly user reviews!
I had been to Nonnos before but mainly at the bar [1]. I recently spent time with a group of friends at Nonnos for dinner and drinks. It was an absolutely wonderful evening. The food was outstanding. We ordered 5 appetizers to share for 5 people and had to fight over who got the last piececs. We all also ordered different entrees and enjoyed them so much that we all snuck bites from each other, something that we do not usually do [2]. The free bread and dip were delicious and filling [3]. To top it off the dessert was over the top. For the low price I would think it came from a gourmet bakery! [4] OH MY GOSH, YUM! [5] The wait staff tended our table more than 20 times to clean it up often and quickly [6], and the waiter worked hard to make sure we had what we needed at all times. He even went out of his way to show us samples of desserts to make the choosing easier [6]. The valet service was perfect on the terribly rainy day we went [7]and to top it off, the owner personally greeted us and made sure we were satisfied with drinks when we moved on to the bar to continue the evening [8]. We all made a pact to come back once a month because it was a blast [9]. I usually do not look forward to restaurant leftovers, but I did not have to cook the following day because there was so much leftover yummy food. [10] Oh, and the coupon on their website saved us $5 bucks! [11] Thanks Nonnos!
Oh gosh, where to begin?
1. You might think of Nonno Pino as just a restaurant, but it’s a drinks destination too!
2. Five apps and five entrees for five people is apparently worth pointing out. Also: they are so good that they make people deviate from their normal behavior!
3. Recession-friendly #1: Free bread!
4. Desserts are hella cheap!
5. ALL CAPS MEANS YOU MEAN IT.
6. Are you telling us you actually counted your waiter’s visits to your table? Also, 20 times in, say, 2 hours is once every 6 minutes, which is verging on stalkerish.
7. Previewing your dessert is so chic.
8. The owner is present! Real people! Attention to service!
9. Oh-so-subtle suggestion that Nonno Pino should be a regularly-visited restaurant. You are feeling sleepy … you are feeling sleeeeepy… you want to visit Nonno’s monthly…
10. Recession-friendly #2: gigantor portions!
11. Recession-friendly #3: there is a coupon on their website!
Shill-o-Meter Rating, on a scale of 1 (congealed day-old spaghetti) to 10 (sunday gravy): 8.3
Previously:
How To Write A MenuPages Review
Shill-O-Meter: Vella Cafe
Shill-O-Meter: L’Appetito
Shill-O-Meter: A Certain Mexican Restaurant
