Nonno's — Restaurant in Houston

Went here for a date night with my husband and had a strangely awful time. hostess said 30 min wait so we went to sit at the bar where the hostess said we could get drinks and apps bartender immediately tells me we can only get drinks, no food. When I tell her what the hostess said, she says "well maybe you can get mozzarella sticks or a salad but that's it" which was not only confusing but rude? my husband and I consider leaving and she comes back to ask if we know what we want to drink. She also says that they only have one oven working so all pizzas will take 40 mins to make. we get up to leave but right as we do, a hostess comes to get us and seat us, so we decide to sit down and give it a try (this was roughly 5-10 mins after we got there so the 30 min wait was an exaggeration I suppose, not mad though) we get seated next to the little arcade area. There's 5 machines stuffed into a too small area and kids are falling down these 2 steps nonstop. Parents and kids are coming over very close to our table to get to these machines and waiting to use them. It was loud and honestly very frustrating to deal with. They got into the waiter/waitress's way multiple times and caused a huge cluster. my husband and I ordered two appetizers (the confit garlic & balsamic, the charcuterie) and a pepperoni pizza, expecting the pizza to take 40 mins even though our waiter said nothing about the wait charcuterie was $14 for a little plate of 4 pieces of 4 types of meat, one that looked like the mystery meat from the grocery store... not worth it at all pizza came out in 15-20 mins so I guess the bartender just lied to us about the 40 min wait time on pizza. Overall I liked the pizza but it was definitely thin crust and cut into squares (which I don't mind but my husband wasn't as thrilled by)

My thoughts? Liked the pizza enough to get it to go but I will NEVER eat inside again. That arcade is a nuisance and not even really enough machines to call an arcade or tout on a website/marketing. Food was okay but not great and definitely overhyped. Love toasted coconut next door but this place is a...

Nonno’s was chosen by our family for a graduation dinner. I wish we had scouted it beforehand. Although that can be difficult, because, for starters, they don’t open until 5pm on any given day. Still, we had high hopes for it.

Some people give Nonno’s points for atmosphere. This is odd to me, because the decor feels like a half-hearted effort at an old-school pizza parlor, but jammed into a building that doesn’t fit the vibe at all. The aisles are narrow, and the staff is buzzing around constantly, clogging the aisles and the path to the restroom. They have Pizza Hut lamps over a couple of the tables, but nothing that made 80’s Pizza Hut an experience worth replicating.

Yes, there are some arcade machines and pinballs (5-6 machines in total). But they’re coin-op, and cost about a buck a play so, again, nothing specials. Some came from local pinball spot, Joystix. My recommendation is to go and play the game there instead. Also, the low ceiling yields poor acoustics, so even the period music becomes overwhelming and detracting from the experience.

Now, let’s get to the food. It’s not bad. But it’s not inexpensive, and absolutely not the best pizza in Houston, Chicago or anywhere else. It’s on a cracker crust, so go in with low expectations (or no expectations if you expected a true Chicago deep-dish crust). Square cut, which is fine if you like those little triangles that have next to no toppings on them. For the price, which is not insignificant, you could stroll just a little farther in any direction from Nonno’s and find better pizza. Heck, go to Capone’s just down Richmond and you can have a better pizza, have it for lunch, sit in a really cool pub-like atmosphere, possibly hear live music (on the right night) and experience great service.

And finally - They don’t serve fountain drinks. I mean…WHAT? Coke in the bottle, Root Beer in the bottle…and water, I guess, to go with your cracker crust? If this is the best Chicago had to offer, I don’t know what else to say. Nonno’s deserves none of the swagger...

WOW! While this has been on my brother's list for almost 2 years, we finally ended up here last night, by happenstance.

Vibe - perfect if you want a clean retro atmosphere. Music set the vibe. Loud enough to keep energy happy & high, low enough to allow conversation. Tables looked mixed of all kinds of crowds: families, work groups, individuals, friends. Everyone appeared to be happy which tells you about the crowd it attracts. Oh, and we totally had the best seat in the house thanks to the host. Booth with a view of the entire inside.

Service - excellent! Super rare to find a staff where everyone chips in and all are attentive. I feel like we were checked up on every