Nonna Dora's 2nd Avenue — Restaurant in New York

Sadly, Nonna Dora’s was a disappointment. I was so excited about eating here and did not have a a good time.

I was prepared for the cozy space but was surprised at how poorly laid out it was given the relatively large space. There is an entire kitchen prep area that was barely used the whole evening, yet the dining tables were crowded together. The whole restaurant is essentially a bar area, with only high top tables and bar seats available. Not very comfortable. One of my dining companions had to move his chair at one point so an employee could take out trash behind him. Another had to switch chairs with a not yet filled table because his chair was so wobbly.

The service was kind but lacking a bit. My friend’s glass of wine arrived after the appetizers and cocktails the rest of the tables ordered. One of the entrees arrived 6-7 minutes after everyone else’s food. The small table was over crowded with appetizers and yet only on asking did the server remove the unused wine glasses.

The most surprising part of the service was that I was not offered to switch a dish or even offered to be able to order something else in addition when I complained about my food. When our server came over (late, after mostly people had finished food portions of their dishes), I explained that my dish was nothing like what I expected and that I was disappointed. He apologized but offered no remedy. He did not even offer to put in an order for a quick dish that I could have ordered in addition since clearly I was not going to eat this.

I ordered the cannelloni ($26), which was described as “STUFFED WITH BURRATA & RICOTTA, WITH CONFIT TOMATO & BASIL”. What arrived were a few sheets of pasta in a literal bowl of hot cheese with béchamel sauce and a few tomatoes. It was so salty and rich that I ate maybe 1/4 of it. I felt a bit sick after from the richness. My husband ended up finishing it once we learned there was no remedy to be provided, so I guess some people like this. It just wasn’t what I was up for eating that evening.

Also ordered by our table: Cavolo (baby kale salad) ($16) - Nothing special and smaller than expected for the price. It would be a good appetizer size for one person. I did appreciate the general serving of pine nuts on it.

Polepette (meatballs) ($16) - Best part of the whole evening. These were fluffy and perfect.

Tagliatelle with mushrooms and summer truffle ($32) - This was fine but not that good. It was fun that the truffle was shaved on table side.

Paparadelle with wild boar ($28) - Nothing special but fine

Dora’s lasagne ($28) - This had good flavor and arrived piping hot with generous tomato sauce. Overall the tomato sauce dishes seem to be what to get here.

The Negroni ($20) was good (note that they are pre-batched, not made to order, but that is not uncommon). My “fruity tropical” mocktail ($10) was boring and not well balanced. It tasted like a too tart canned grapefruit soda. I’ve had much better at other restaurants recently.

The restaurant still gets a few stars because the decor is nice and the meatball appetizer was amazing. If I had ordered differently, perhaps I would love loved this place. After this experience with underwhelming food and service, plus uncomfortable chairs, I...

The food is decent, but somewhat overpriced. The service was prompt and attentive. You will need to select from their 3- or 5-course tasting menu.

The portions are quite small — especially if you’re ordering salads for appetizers. The flavors are somewhat underwhelming.

For our dinner, we ordered meatballs and seafood salad for appetizers; squid linguine with clams and shrimp mezzelune for the main course; and panna cotta for dessert.

The meatballs were my least favorite dish. The ground beef was quite dry, bland — and just boring. The mince needed cumin, garlic, and onions, IMO. The marinara sauce was extremely underwhelming. It tasted like generic canned marinara sauce. It certainly didn’t taste like an Italian grandma’s slowly simmered Sunday sauce — or something that any self-respecting Nonna would permit to be served at the table. I sorely regret not getting the eggplant appetizer — which looked amazing.

The shiitake mushrooms on top of the shrimp ravioli were sad and flavorless. They lacked the delicious, umani flavor characteristic of shiitakes. I’m guessing they used frozen mushrooms — and didn’t sauté them properly. I say this as someone who regularly cooks with fresh shiitakes — and who once made the tragic mistake of using frozen. As a moderately proficient home cook, I could have easily prepared something better — so maybe I’m more critical than the average reviewer. Still, this is shameful quality for any decent restaurant. It’s a very small detail — but it’s what makes a meal special and exciting.

The restaurant itself is located in a very modest space, on the first floor of an apartment building. It’s easy to miss. The ambiance felt like something in a fast-casual chain restaurant — rather than in an Italian grandmother’s kitchen. Everything felt industrial and impersonal — and somehow unloved. Ironically, it’s right next door to a Chipotle.

On the positive side, our waitress was friendly and helpful. The restaurant was clean and quiet. The pasta was quite good. It’s made-from-scratch — and there were lots of gluten-free options. It was bouncy, chewy, and flavorful — and everything that you would expect from a Nonna’s homemade pasta.

Overall, the food wasn’t bad. The shrimp mezzelune and the panna cotta were my favorite dishes. The ravioli pasta and shrimp filling were very good. The fruit compote and vanilla custard were absolutely delightful — although the serving was tragically minuscule. (I considered getting seconds.)

It’s probably best to come during lunch — when you can personally observe Nonna Dora making the pasta. Perhaps the quality of the food is better during lunch, when Nonna is carefully watching — and standing at the ready with her rolling pin.

It’s 3/5 stars for me — it’s definitely not bad — but not anything special either. Instead of Nonna, it looks like Cousin Vinny was perhaps doing the cooking that evening.

The quality of the food probably depends upon who’s cooking — and whether Nonna...

Incredible handmade pasta, but don't be fooled by the low number of reviews into thinking that this is a "hidden" gem - we went at 830pm on a Wednesday and it was packed! We managed to snag the last 2 countertop seats. They save a few seats for walk ins but you can also reserve online (do so in advance!)

FOOD - we loved everything we ordered, cleaned our plates. There are a LOT of pasta and appetizer options and I can't wait to try more! We got: Buratta: solid app, tasty cheese, what more could you ask for Focaccia: DELICIOUS FREE BREAD. Need I say more Mini calzones: fun little pockets of fresh mozzarella cheese and a bit of tomato sauce. Could've used more sauce but tasty nonetheless Rabbit ragu orecchiete: perfectly al dente, great ragu. Not too salty and very flavorful (which for me can be an issue sometimes at Italian restaurants) Shrimp & mushroom stuffed mezzalune: incredible, the star of the show. Would recommend pairing with another more acidic pasta for variety, but the flavors were delicious and the sauce perfectly creamy Berry panna cotta: small but mighty! If you love panna cottas (or generally creamy pudding-like desserts with berry jam) you'll love this. Honorable mention - also got a tasty cocktail - they have some yummy tropical drinks. Forgot the name of the one we got.

PRICE - most pastas were around $28/plate, with seafood ones (like a lobster pasta) being a bit higher. Appetizers around $12-15 and dessert at $10. I would say mid-upper range for Italian but the portions were solid (no huge plates with 3 raviolis here) and all the pastas are handmade.

VIBES - surprisingly very modern decor - cozy but not the traditional grandmas kitchen/hole-in-the-wall vibes I expected. Place was also a bit larger than we assumed from reviews, although not exactly roomy. Mostly countertop seating next to other people although we did see a large table for bigger parties. Would recommend a reservation if your group has more than 1-3 people. Great for dates or just dining by yourself! Self date!

SERVICE - We had a super lovely waitress, I didn't catch her name but she was great. Food came perfectly timed, very friendly and great recommendations. We did encounter a few gruff older Italian employees (authentic I suppose?) but it didn't take away from the experience, was just a bit odd. For example the host at the front didn't say a word to me, it felt like I was having a conversation with myself. I asked how long the wait was since the place looked packed and he just nodded his head towards the last two empty seats, I asked if we could just seat ourselves / take those and assumed his noncommittal shrug-nod meant yes. Lol.

Anyway, overall one of my new favorite pasta spots...