Nola — Restaurant in Winnipeg

First issue encountered came at sitting where we were sat at the table with no service for about 8 - 10 minutes. Once our server did attend we placed our drink order's with a 20 minute wait till first drinks were actually delivered. After about 15 minutes i took it upon myself to wave down our server asking where the drinks were. She indicated they were bottle necked at the bar and the drinks would be coming soon. I ordered a neat scotch so I wasn't to sure where the delay was on my order, perhaps they couldn't find a knife to cut the seal on the bottle? Im not to worried about this concern however as the place was packed and it was understandable the wait with the circumstances of how busy it was.

Eventually we got to ordering where we were instructed we had to order our entire meal for the whole night at once. The servers exact words were "The chef decides what comes out and when it comes out so order everything up front now and she decides when you get it" We all found this to be slightly odd as we were not sure the portions of each meal or the direction our evening would take with food. When the waitress returned to take our order we raised the concern that we were not sure if we should get 6 plates or 8 and we were worried of upsetting the chef as the waitress made it very clean we were to order all plates up front. In the end we ended up going with 8 plates and it was more than enough food for 4 people.

We went with the beef tartare, sourdough, meatballs, baked gnocchi, seared scallops, pickerel with lentils, Japanese fried chicken and roasted pork belly.

The sourdough, gnocchi, fried chicken and seared scallops were perfect. the chef has done a great job on these plates and they are strongly recommended.

The beef tartare, meatballs, pickerel and pork belly were unfortunately a massive let down.

The beef tartare was presented perfect with the typical egg yolk on top however the first bite was way to over pickled. The pickled beats completely overwhelmed the plate taking away most of the other flavours and the wonton crisps that accompany it were simply a terrible mix. I ended up using the sourdough bread from the other plate to accompany the beef tartare where the wonton crisps ended up staying on the table till the end of the night where they became snacks with our last drink.

The meatballs were either over cooked or left out to dry. They were rock hard and almost impossible to cut without crumbling some of the meatball into a bunch of a little pieces. Flavour was good but just to dry and hard to really enjoy.

The pork belly came out looking delicious however was also far to over cooked. The skin ends were rock hard and inedible requiring us to spit them out after chewing it away from the fat. The fat was so over cooked it was like chewing bubble gum and the meat was so dry we all had to wash it down with more wine then necessary.

The pickerel was good but basic. I actually cant complain about the flavour or food itself with the pickerel, i think it was just a disappointment for the price tag on the plate. For $26 the chef could have done much better.

All in all the place has the principle down. They really have a great space and the environment works very well with the experience. The designer should be proud of what they accomplished with the space. The prices however are not in line with the quality of food we received and the flavours on some of the plate were questionable.

To put it in prospective, Passero in the Forks with a similar concept to shareable plates and environment is about the same price point as Nola however the food quality is not even close to being in the same realm.

Long and short Nola is not a bad place and you wont be disappointed. There are just a few things they can maybe address to better the quality and experience but regardless it will be a good time.

I hope Nola sees this review as a constructive criticism and not a hate on the establishment. I really wish them the best of luck and look forward to trying them out again in the...

My wife and I had read nothing but great things about this trendy restaurant since it came to our attention, and had been excited to try it for some time now. But like many families, our entertainment budget has been trimmed in these inflationary times and we had abstained from giving in to our desire - this is not something we are particularly good at or like to do, and it was quietly gnawing at us.

So when a family member was coming in from out of town for business on a couple days' notice and staying at the nearby Norwood, it seemed fated that Nola was where we should convene, and we immediately booked our reso online.

First impression upon arrival, the room was inviting and the staff greeted us warmly, taking our coats. They were patient as we ignored the menu while catching up with our out-of-town guest. The wine list is eclectic and reasonably priced, so we shared a bottle while dispensing with pleasantries.

Eventually we got to ordering food, starting with the corn fritters and the reuben gyoza. Both were passable, but neither was anything I'd be lying awake craving in the future (this is what I use as the benchmark of foodie excellence). The corn fritters seemed a bit heavy and doughy, and there was barely any corn in them which I found strange. The gyoza was underfilled and lacked the overall flavour profile of a reuben.

Next we tried the sourdough bread and the gunpowder carrots. The bread was warm and pleasant enough, although it lacked salt and was flavourless. Not really a sourdough, in my opinion it was more of a soda bread, and the compound butter it came with did nothing to mitigate the blandness.

The carrots were quite delicious, and in retrospect were the star of the night as far as flavour goes. But for $15 we expected the dish to be more substantial; 7 halfs of baby carrot with a few meager toppings is really just a side. Pictures I see here show a more well-rounded offering, perhaps we just came on an off night for the kitchen?

For our "main" sharing dishes we got the seared scallops and the braised lamb. Scallops were smallish, maybe 10/20 and there were 3 of them for $29. The scallops had a nice sear, and were cooked properly. Although I felt the seasoning was lacking again and the beurre blanc loose and poorly executed, it had a nice smoky spice flavour from the chili/goldeye compote and I enjoyed the bite.

The braised lamb at $29 was the biggest disappointment of the night, it may be an exaggeration to say there were 2 ounces of lamb in the dish. We were searching through a pile of brussels sprouts and coming up empty. My wife had to share her piece with me just so I could taste some lamb, which admittedly was really quite good and left me wanting for more. However there was no more, and it left us feeling sheepish about spending so much money on brussels sprouts.

Overall summary: the service was excellent and the ambiance upscale and vibrant. In fairness to the concept, I have to allow that we should have ordered 6 to 8 dishes at once for three of us, instead of the piecemeal way in which we ordered. But our consensus was that it did not live up to the hype. The food is overpriced for the quality and portioning. We would not be able to recommend it, nor...

Visited with my wife, and enjoyed the kitchen seats. It was absolutely a different experience to watch the chefs work. My wife and I barely talked, we were enthralled.

We had the chef's choice, which was a tasting menu for $55 per person, but easily enough to eat. I highly recommend this - for the number of dishes you get to try, for the time you get to watch the kitchen...

My wife had a glass of wine, it was a Bordeaux. It was lovely. I had a zero proof Tricycle Thief. Its flavours were nice at first, but I didn't consider the amount of ice in the glass, and it was soon watery.

We were told the chefs would engage if we talked to them but they were so busy, and it was loud. Neither my wife nor I felt comfortable disturbing them, and neither of them initiated.

Overall the food was good. We began with a Tuna Crudo which was unique. The tuna was tasty, and the strawberry granita stood out. I felt the Beef and Beet tartare did not look appetizing, though it tasted fine. The Reuben Gyozas were delightful and creative. The corn and Nori fritters were a miss, the corn was overdone leading to a chewy taste. The sourdough had just the right amount of crunch; absolutely delish. I highly recommend the Gunpowder Roast Carrots - the pumpkin seeds were a key part of the dish. We loved the Halloumi Waldorf Salad. The highlight of the evening was by far the Braised Lamb. The Brussels sprouts were exquisite, and the lamb melted in your mouth. Our final dish was Seared Scallops & Lo Bak Go. We were told this was the chef's signature dish. It was nice, but the Lamb was far superior.

Overall for $55 pp it's tough to complain, but I want to share feedback as I have had the opportunity to visit some high end restaurants. Nola is on its way but there's work to do. Dessert was not included, it was offered as an extra, but could have been substituted for one of the dishes. We were disappointed not to get to try the gnocchi. Also we felt there was an excess amount of salt used. I felt the staff's clothing was off. They were definitely aiming for a level of "granola." But I think the kitchen staff should have at least matching aprons, if not "uniforms." The wait staff were, in some cases, inappropriately dressed.

Overall a wonderful experience. Worthy of...