Nico Taverna — Restaurant in Ontario

I really, really wanted to like this place; but, unfortunately, I was so disappointed by the experience. First the good: the new restaurant is absolutely beautiful. The layout and design, the ambiance, the furniture -- all carefully executed and arranged. The kitchen is open and stunning. The front corner area of the restaurant even has a small but lovely view of the river and the Hiram Walker buildings and a small parquette.

Unfortunately, the food was really subpar, especially for the price point. We started with the arancini balls, which we shared, and had the Pasta alla Norma and the short rib entree for our meals. The arancini, while decent, was served only slightly warm -- not hot as it should have been, and the green sauce on top was minimal and had little flavor.

The Pasta alla Norma was a small plate of penne in a thin red sauce. I did not see any eggplant in the dish; there was only a dusting of grated ricotta salata cheese. Overall, the pasta meal had little flavor, and the serving was small -- I was still hungry after finishing it. And again, the food was not served hot, but slightly warmed. Not even close to being worth $35. In hindsight, I should have sent it back, but didn't see how it could be fixed.

The short ribs were ok, but the mashed potatoes underneath were cold.

No bread was offered. For dessert, we had the pumpkin cheesecake and it was just ok. Nothing memorable.

In addition, the cocktail menu was very limited -- I think there were only five options. I had the French 75 and it was adequate; my husband's Old Fashioned was watery. Though the service was good, the bartenders were clearly inexperienced, which is likely why the cocktail menu is so limited.

Overall, our dining experience was so disappointing. I really wanted to like this new restaurant (well, new to Walkerville). And we always want to support local, especially in our neighborhood, but I don't see us going back. It's a shame, because it really is a...

It was our (my fiance and l) first time to this restaurant, and our last. Besides the atmosphere, it was a horrible dining experience, both service and food.

As we walked in we were greeted and seated in typical fashion with our group (we were there for a birthday party of 8).

Food

To begin, we all ordered appetizers, in which, when they all come out, ours was the only one that was delayed (we ordered mussels, which typical don't take long). The waitress apologized and provided us with a free pita appetizer along with our mussles. Unfortunately, by the time we recieved our appetizers, the rest of the table was done eating theirs. I must admit the mussels were quite good though.

Next we moved on to the entrees, I ordered the fish of the day with greens and my fiance ordered lamb chops. The fish of the day order was below mediocre in taste at best. It was presented with a large piece of grilled lettuce. Neither the fish, nor the lettuce had any spices, absolutely bland. I cannot recommend this dish at all. I barely ate half of it, quite disappointing for fine dining. My fiance's lamb chops were mediocre as well, nothing to rave about.

Service

Our waitress was Jessica for the evening. She was quite nice throughout the evening, fairly attentive. However, that turned to a disappointment during dessert. They do not have a dessert menu that you are able to look at so the wait staff lists all the options. We had a group of 8 at a long table. Jessica needed to repeat the list of options 3 times as we were not able to hear all the options. At her second attempt, she showed frustration and anger, in addition, she started banging the back of my fiance's chair after each subsequent dessert option she announced. This had practically left all of us in shock, and pretty much dented any thoughts for a return visit.

Atmosphere: 7/10

Food:...

I have been hearing about Nico for quite a while now. My husband and I decided to try it on a double date as we had only heard good things and wanted an excuse to try it all. For starters we ordered the octopus linguini and the arancini. I was blown away by the arancini - it isn't the traditional red tomato sauce but is paired with a light, creamy basil pesto sauce that is honestly to die for. The octopus linguini came with mussels, octopus and pasta. This was a reach for me as I cannot handle spice but let me tell you I ate as much as I could and I didn't mind that my lips were vibrating from heat. The seafood and pasta was cooked perfectly. My friend ordered the gnocchi Quattro funghi - I got to try it and while I am not a pasta girl this gnocchi was so light and flavourful I might have to add it to my order options next visit. My husband and I both got the surf and turf grill. We enjoyed these plates but found the meal had a cajun like flavour to it. I had to scrape off some of the seasoning as again, it was a bit too spicy for my palate to handle but was tasty! Our other friend ordered the tomahawk which was absolutely delicious - I was a bit scared by the peppercorn sauce in the title but I would gladly order it next visit. For dessert we tried the tiramisu (I never turn one down) and I can't recall the other as it seems I can't find the dessert menu online. My only complaint with dessert was that the tiramisu wasn't larger. I could've eaten a couple on my own! Overall, a great experience. The restaurant was much smaller than I expected but it is always full with customers - and for good reason. The food, staff, chairs and washrooms are top notch. Definitely worth a visit - while it is on the pricier side you can even save it for a special occasion! Lovely time out - will...