10/19/09

The Finest Italian Food in Raleigh

by YPT

I am astonished at some of the reviews I'm seeing. I have eaten there 4 times and will continue to dine there because the food is authentic, cooked perfectly, and the service is unbeatable. Every detail has been looked after, from the ambiance, the personal attention you receive from the waiters, to the food itself. The wine list is extensive, and just in case you want something that's not on the menu, they can accommodate your request.

If anyone would ask me where to go for a "fancy" night out and wanted authentic Italian, I would wholeheartedly recommend Nina's!! It's definitely the best in Raleigh.

• Pros: Fine Food, Personal Service, 5 Stars
• Cons: Plan on Making a Reservation on Weekends and Holidays

09/21/09

OUTSTANDING!

by HHuff

We were just there for dinner last night and once again, I have to say everything was outstanding!! Nina ALWAYS impresses us with her culinary expertise. The wine pairing was amazing and we truly had an incredible evening out. Thank you Thank you and we'll be back soon!!

• Pros: Best food & service in town!
• Cons: A little hard to find, but SSSOO worth it

02/14/09

Not good!

by CaseyinRaleigh

We had reservations for 7:45. We finally were seated at 8:10. The first thing that we noticed is that the tables are incredibly close together; I was uncomfortable having a private conversation with my wife since I could clearly hear the discussions on my left and right. We ordered an appetizer of breaded clams which took 20 minutes to be served. We never got any appetizer plates, so the clamshells remained on our bread plates until after we left the restaurant an hour and a half later. The breaded clams tasted like burnt bread crumbs and salt. Very unsatisfying.

About 15 minutes later, the salad and soup arrived. My wife had ordered the salad with grilled shrimp special and I ordered the egg drop soup special. My wife's shrimp was burned; the only flavor was charred meat. The soup was bland. It tasted like canned, low-sodium chicken broth; I didn't bother to finish it.

By now, we had been there for over an hour, and the only decent food we had was the bread. (The bread was adequate; good but nothing worth noting.) We waited another fifteen to twenty minutes before we asked the waiter to hurry with the entrees. He returned 5 minutes later to tell us it would be ready in another 4 minutes, which it was.

My wife's cannelloni was "okay", but the sauce was starting to caramelize. Perhaps this was intentional, but to us it just tasted either burned or overheated. I got the Linguine con Vongole, which was EXCELLENT! This was the best Linguine with white clam sauce that I have had since I worked in a 5-star Italian restaurant in DC almost 15 years ago. It was amazing - big chunks of garlic, a generous portion of clams, al dente linguine.

At this point, my wife gave up on her cannelloni and we shared the linguine con vongole. (Which got us some very snotty looks from other patrons, but at this point we didn't care.)

In short, with the exception of the Linguine con Vongole, the whole restaurant was awful. It cost us $90 and 2 hours to get a bad meal.

• Pros: Linguine with white clam sauce
• Cons: The rest of the food, service, ambiance, service, host staff, bar staff, food came out VERY slowly, over-rated.

01/09/09

SF prices with Raleigh atmostphere and food

by red4

For $17 a plate, I can get an absolutely *sublime* meal at Venticello's located on top of Nob Hill in San Francisco with a breathtaking view of the Bay Bridge and the City, food that makes you want to pass out it's so divine, fabulous wines, outstanding service and ambiance in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

NO ONE will EVER convince me that the restaurants in Raleigh can EVER justify the prices they charge for their ugly strip mall locations and average food. You're NOT in San Francisco so stop trying to charge SF prices and get back down to earth.

• Pros: At least someone is trying to bring decent food to this city
• Cons: SF prices for more "Raleigh food" in a strip mall

09/01/08

Excellent Italian

by Italiagreek

Nina's was a great find ... a friend had read in an airline magazine about the top 10 Italian restaurants and Nina's was one - we sought it out a couple of times (was closed on Mondays and once on vacation) but finally was able to dine there. It was superb! The atmosphere was quaint, the service was personalized and professional and the food and wine were excellent! Highly recommend!

04/23/08

Really slow, snotty service - small portions that aren't what they're supposed to be ?!?

by dray4244

Well - Nina's was a good restaurant years ago when it first opened.. then we moved away and I recently saw an ad in a magazine suggesting it had won some number 1 awards etc.. so we figured on a drive to try it again for a good sure thing meal.

Wow! What a disapointment.

First of all.. they have a very large wine list - most of which is all Italian, which could be a good thing - but not without descriptions or tasting notes. They mark up all of their wines over 50% which I think is ludicrous... AND - here's my peeve on paying that premium for the wines - they serve them at above room temps! they wines sit on a very nice looking wall with spot lights on them.. which heats up the wines.. and then they serve them.. overpriced.. warm wine. NOT my idea of a number 1 rated wine restaurant??? I think that ad was paid for.

Ok.. so they'll make it up with the food.

I ordered a chicken dish off of the main menu that was supposed to come with shrimp and spinach inside.

Eventually.. the dish came and it was chicken with a scallop and asparagus ??? What the hell??

The waitress said the chef had to substitute because they were out of some ingredients. I HATE asapragus!

(oh and the scallop was undercooked in my opinion).

Call me a complainer.. (not usually) - but I did not find this place worthy of the ratings it has received.

We did not have dessert, or coffee.

We will not be going back.

Too bad - it's a nice looking place - and it had great potential - it's obvious their previous success went to their heads and the quality has just gone down hill.

• Pros: Conveniently located in a populated area of North Raleigh
• Cons: Wine prices, wine temperatures, and food quality

04/04/08

great Italian

by ncfoodman

We ate at Nina's on a whim early on a Friday night. I phoned for reservations and the hostess was able to fit us in at 6. The restaurant was practically empty (surprising considering how full the hostess said the reservation list was) and we were seated right away.

The bread was incredible as was the concoction it comes with (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, grated parmesan and some other things they wouldn't tell us about).

My wife ordered the eggplant rollantini appetizer with the house salad, and I ordered the ravioli con salmone. The salad was quite nice, with fresh tomatoes and gorgonzola cheese. I'm not a fan of eggplant but my wife loved it. It comes with a marinara sauce that I found a bit bland (I like a bold, spicy marinara and that's hard to find in a restaurant around here).

The ravioli sauce had a wonderfully complex flavor that made me order extra bread just to sop it up. The salmon was perfectly cooked, moist and flavorful and the fresh ravioli was delicious. My one (small) complaint was that the food wasn't as warm as I'd have liked, which I found inexplicable considering that the restaurant wasn't very busy. Hopefully that's a one-time thing as I intend to return to Ninas and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fresh, nicely prepared Italian food that goes beyond the traditional lasagne and spaghetti. As we were leaving, the restaurant was starting to fill up and the parking lot had turned into a jousting arena, so I'd recommend making reservations and arriving early to find parking!

• Pros: Wonderful bread, well-prepared dishes
• Cons: the parking lot

01/11/08

not number one

by rosiesdad

We read this place had won an award in a airplane magazine, so I thought we would try it. On a wednesday night it should not be too crowded, well after being seated with our reservation for 7:00. It was very packed and very loud. Good wine selection but the appetizer came cold. After a very good bread and oil we became impatient, we ordered another tray of bread cause the meals were taking to long.The waiter came out with our food, put it down on the tray and proceeded to fill another tables water glasses!, All of our meals were cold , or warm at best. Not a very "Best italian in Raleigh" .

• Pros: tasty, authentic
• Cons: need more waiters, serve hotter food, speed it up

10/10/07

Exceptional Food

by sammie27

My husband and I had reservations Monday night for our 24th anniversary. Chris, the owner, had taken the reservation and put us in a romantic corner table in the back of the restaurant. Steve, is one of the most professional servers we have ever had. I started with the mussel appetizer, which was superb, sweet succulent baby clams in wine sauce. I had to stop dipping the delicious crusty Italian bread into the juices to save room for my entree. My husband had Eggplant Rollantini, eggplant rolled with fresh Ricotta, other cheeses and baked to perfection in delicious homemade Marinara sauce. The Ceasare salad needed extra dressing, but otherwise good. My husband had Veal Saltinbocca as an entree. Tender thin veal cutlets baked with spinach, prosciutto, cheeses in an el egant Marsala sauce. The chef made my dinner from my specifications, Veal Napoletano, tender sliced veal with fresh mushrooms, peppers, onions and garlic in Marinara sauce baked to perfection with a side order of gnocchi, potato, ricotta pasta in Bolognese sauce with grated Romano cheese. The Tiramisu for desert was the best that my husband and I have ever had. We are both Italian decent and know how the food is supossed to taste. Nina's is without a doubt our favorite restaurant. We live 1 1/2 hrs. away and will be making the trip often.

We also give all of the staff, chefs and especially our server Steve 5 stars. It was busy for a Monday night with very large tables. All of the servers helped one another and were consistent, professional and personable to each other and all of the patrons in the restaurant.

Nick & Barbara Fallucca

Greenville, NC

08/01/07

Superior experience

by krstvan

We have enjoyed Nina's on several occasions. The waitstaff is exemplary. Steve has waited on us many times. His serivce marks the most professional representation of any restaurant in Raleigh. The food is exceptional and there was no rush to our dining experience. Nina, the owner, is extremely in tune with her patrons. The wine and champagne were fantastic. We highly recommend this restaurant...what a local diamond in the rough! Thanks for making our ninth and tenth anniversary memorable.

• Pros: no rush to finish your dining experience
• Cons: none at this time