Great for dine in, not for take out
Written: Sep 24 '04 (Updated Jun 08 '07)
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Pros: Excellent Italian food. Great garlic bread!
Cons: $3 delivery charge. Delivery portions are not a good value.
The Bottom Line: Dine in can be noisy but you are served better portions. Use delivery only for special cravings.
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| jessicarbt's Full Review: Nicola's Kitchen |
Nicola's Kitchen has good Italian food. This is the bonus side of visiting. Their portions when dining in are very fair, not overly generous, but you don't leave hungry! However, when you choose take out or delivery, you do not get the same amount of food.
They serve a broad range of Italian food, from pasta to chicken to pizzas. They even have some sea food. Some of the entrees and offering are not strictly Italian. For non-Italian lovers, you can get a Chinese Chicken Salad, a BBQ Chicken Salad, a Chicken Mango Quesadilla, Thai pasta, Seafood Jambalya, plus now they offer their salads as wraps. Their prices range from $9-$16, with their seafood dishes being higher.
Pizzas are around $13-19 each for a large, depending on the type and number of toppings. They have a divine slightly chewy crust, that is more like hand tossed dough. They do offer cheeseless pizzas. Traditional toppings can be found as well as more exotic toppings such as zucchini, jalapenos, goat cheese, artichoke hearts, and cilantro.
They have Rosemary Garlic foccacia bread that comes free with your meal. This bread is excellent and will be one of the reasons you return. They are generous with the bread! Be warned, when I say garlic, there is lots of garlic on the bread, so don't plan on visiting romantically with anyone who didn't also eat the bread.
If you were looking for a light meal, you could order a bowl of minestrone soup or corn chowder for $3.95. Between the soup and bread, you would have a filling meal.
I had a problem this past time I ordered via delivery. They charged $7.95 for a small plastic container aprox the size of a slice of bread full of salad. (Think a container the size of a Big Mac sandwich container.) Their "half Caesar salad" was stuffed into this. It was mostly romaine lettuce, with aprox 1/4 cup of grilled chicken, croutons, and parmesan cheese, roma tomatoes and sundried tomatoes on top.
The delivered salad was impossible to eat gracefully as it was falling out of the container when speared. The dressing was on the side. I had to put the salad onto a plate. The dressing could not be put on the salad because the container was too small for the amount of salad they attempted to stuff into the container.
The half salad is at least a third larger when you order it to dine in. $7.95 was too much money for this salad delivered.
The cheesecake slice was $4.50, and was a very small slice, not a slice worth $4.50 for cheesecake. It was NY style and aprox 1 1/2 inches wide at it's widest point and looked as if it had been cut from a 7 inch cheesecake. This was reduced from their previous generous portions and I was disappointed. Before, a typical slice of cheesecake was around 2 1/2 inches at the widest point.
For $13 plus $3 for delivery, and an additional tip, I felt as if they could have provided more food. (By the way, I was not informed that they had started charging a delivery fee when I placed the order, nor did they give me a total due at the time I placed the order.)
The in dining experience is usually better portion wise, but be warned they do not have good insulation so it's noisy even on a non-busy day. You can still talk without shouting, but it's not an "intimate" setting due to the noise. The seating is tables and chairs, no booths with some outdoor seating available. The tables are set up far enough from your neighbors that you are not jostling them when you move your chairs. Service is usually fast and efficent, and their staff is polite.
Parking can be confusing as it's in the back of the building, around the corner. There is street metered parking, but it is usually full during peak eating times. If you have a handicap parking pass, call ahead to check on where you should park as the main parking area could be too far to walk.
Their food is good, but beware of delivery charges, and smaller portion sizes. In short, it's better to eat in, than to order take out or delivery until they readjust their portion sizes. There are coupons to be found in the packs of coupons called Valupaks sent to people in the surrounding neighborhood.
They have a website if you would like to view their current menu and prices. www.nicolaskitchen.com has this information.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Their special chopped salad is excellent, as is their pesto!
Best Suited For: Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
jessicarbt
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Member: Angela
Location: Southern Ca
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
Rabbit and small animal rescuer
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