Nataz — Restaurant in North Branford

This was not my first time there, but was definitely my most memorable. I took a date there on a spur of the moment thing. When we got there most of the lights looked to be off, but the front door was open so we walked in.

The owner, Richard McClain, was inside getting ready to finish up his books and close up for the night, but when he saw us there, he told us to "Come on in. I never want to turn anyone away."

It was incredibly gracious of him as I'm sure he and his staff were looking forward to getting some much needed rest.

What followed was an incredible meal. First a mixed cheese and fruit plate with a dizzing array of flavors and textures to choose from. Then two delicious salads that could have been a meal in and of themselves that had a fantastic balance of sweet and savory.

Next we had a porterhouse steak that could have fed a football team, cooked to perfection and seasoned minimally but precisely. It was so tender, I practically could have eschewed the steak knife and just used the fork. A house sauce was served on the side. It was unnecessary, since the steak was so good on its own, but it complemented the steak and turned out to be a welcome addition.

My date had the baked stuffed lobster which was to die for. It was at least 2-1/2 lbs, if not more. Unlike the usual breaded filling, this one was comprised of whole jumbo shrimp, sea scallops, crab meat, you name it! The lobster was cooked expertly. It was tender and moist unlike many I've had in the past elsewhere.

The meal concluded with a lemoncello marscapone cake and a flourless chocolate torte which I brought home (I was stuffed to the gills after the entree).

As amazing as the food was (and it was truly exceptional), our server Kaitlyn (sp?) helped make the evening truly memorable. She had a fantastic attitude. She was accommodating and friendly, yet professional. We were never wanting for anything, yet she wasn't hovering.

The owner (and executive chef) came over multiple times to discuss the food he would be preparing and his passion for his work was obvious.

In all, I could not have asked for a better dining experience. My date was amazed and delighted by the fantastic food and the outstanding hospitality demonstrated by everyone involved. This was her first time at Nataz, but it certainly will not be her last!

Thank you Richard...

I heard about this establishment from a co-worker who rated the food very well. I decieded to make a reservation. Upon entry everyone seemed very frazzled. After 10 minutes of waiting at the hostess station a waitress came up and asked if anyone help us, I relied no not yet, she then said well someone should come over soon. I showed up for my reservation 15 minutes early, finally a hostess came over and took our name. She advised us that someone was still at our table and it would be a few minutes. We then sat at a bar with four chairs that over look a refridgerator and over flowing garbage along with all the dirty dishes from the night. Once we sat down we noticed the wires hanging from the lights plugged into the ceiling and unmathing artwork along with a dirty carpet throughout. We over looked it seeing as how someone stated the food was fantastic. After waitng another 15 minutes a party of four was seated, the hostess then came over and said the people at your table wont leave, do you want to sit with the table of 4 I just seated, which I thought was out of the norm and I respectfully declined. After another group was seated I then started to get upset because its been 45 minutes now, the hostess said she had to seat a group of six which was unfair. At that point we chose to leave, after telling the hostess we were just going to leave a waitress came over and said whats wrong with right here. I responded by saying I made a reservation and wait to sit at a table, if I wanted to sit at the bar I would have ate by now and stated we were just going to leave. She then stated she can put a table in the hallway which I thought was so unprofessional, she also said she has put tables in the kitchen before which I thought was even worse. So at that point we just walked out and didnt look back without our meal. I would not recommend this establishment for any reason. The decor, horrible. Lacking professionalism and cannot handle a busy...

My wife and I had been wanting to go here for "date night" for a long time. Finally the timing worked out and we went without reservations. We were very optimistic when the hostess saw us and said we could sit at the bar, despite the very full parking lot and waiting area. Once we sat down a waitress came and saw us right away, gave us menus and offered us bread and cheese plates. After that, we barely saw her again. As we sat at the bar we were able to hear all the waitresses complain about their job and the patrons, handle desert with their bare hands after picking up silverware that fell on the floor (next to the overflowing garbage) and wonder if we had been forgotten. It took us very little time to get our appetizer and bread, but after that we waited for about 45 minutes for our salads and then another half hour for our entree. I understand that the place was busy, it was a Saturday night, but we saw countless waitresses while we were twiddling our thumbs at the bar and they could complain but never asked if we needed anything. Finally after about 20 minutes following our dinner I asked if we could get dessert to go (although I was wondering if it was safe) and then another waitress was nice enough to tell us what the dessert choices were. Once we got the check our waitress materialized and we were asked how everything was. The food was very good, but honestly I hope if you get a reservation you get better service. The tree topper was that the waitress had enough time to review the check and the tip I wrote down (which wasn't good) and gave the check a look that was somewhere between the evil eye and pure astonishment. I've never had that happen and I'm usually a good tipper, but in this case I just couldn't justify it. We were there for over 2 hours and had bread, an appetizer, a main course and...