Nonna Dora’s Tribeca — Restaurant in New York

First time at Nonna's and what a treat to walk in and be greeted by Dora herself! We had the trout tartare and the calamari for starters. The tartare was fresh with a kind of raw shallot throughout, topped with micro greens. I thought it could have used a little more seasoning but my palette might have been still recovering from an omakase the night before. The calamari was lightly breaded with a nice crunch and the paired marinara was bright with a lemony bite to it. I could have used a little more salt in the calamari batter.

For entrees, we had the orecchiette, malloreddus, and the ravioli per olivia. Every pasta type was beautifully made and cooked but the stand out flavors were the orecchiette and the ravioli. The rabbit ragu was rich and seasoned well with zero "gamey" flavor. The malloreddus was good though the saffron was a little bit too much for me. The pistachio pesto in the ravioli was unreal and will be actively seeking / creating this at home. We finished the meal with the "half-frozen" mousse, which seemed mostly frozen but nonetheless, delicious. Not too rich and more on the milk chocolate side. We paired it with a few digestifs which were recommended to us from one of the servers. One was a $6 pour of Amaro and the other was limoncello-adjacent. Both great.

Overall, we enjoyed the meal and while being on the pricier side, the texture of the homemade pasta was...

As a Tribeca local, I was genuinely hoping to love Nonna Dora’s. The space is charming, and our server started off warm enough. But the moment we offered polite, specific feedback about a few dishes, her tone shifted — suddenly we were being spoken to like we’d never dined in a fine restaurant before. (We have. Many times.) She tried to keep a smile, but it was the kind that says “bless your heart” more than “how can I make this right?”

Even before we sat down, our table of four was told to “be aware of our surroundings,” which set an oddly scolding tone for the night. The food didn’t help its case. The focaccia was dry and joyless — even an extra side of whipped ricotta couldn’t save it. The calzones were utterly forgettable (and truly, how does one mess up fried cheese?). The pastas were the biggest disappointment: the duck ragu was fine, but the crab pasta tasted like red tide, and the carbonara was so salty it could have been scooped straight from the Dead Sea.

And just when we thought dessert might redeem the evening, the cheesecake arrived — so bad one of us literally had to spit it out. I didn’t even know that was possible at a place presenting itself as fine dining. Nonna Dora’s trades on charm and nostalgia, but delivers neither.

As someone who lives in the neighborhood and wanted to see this place succeed, I walked out genuinely...

I was excited to try Nonna Dora’s — and really wish I could say it lived up to the hype. Unfortunately, the experience was uncomfortable from the start. Before we were even seated, our table was told to “be aware of our surroundings,” which felt oddly condescending. The service began fine, but every time we mentioned an issue — politely — another staff member seemed to appear to defend the dish rather than listen. It felt less like dining out and more like being scolded. The food itself didn’t help: dry focaccia, forgettable calzones, a crab pasta that genuinely tasted off, and a carbonara so salty it was hard to eat. The duck ragu was the only thing remotely decent. And somehow, the cheesecake managed to be worse — one of us literally had to spit it out. We left feeling talked down to, not taken care of. Between the attitude and the food, Nonna Dora’s was a huge letdown — especially for a neighborhood that usually...