Nicola's Italian Wine & Fare — Restaurant in Omaha

This well-loved Omaha establishment has been at the top of my list for quite some time and we finally got the experience it Friday night.

They don’t accept reservations, so we arrived a little after 7:00pm and got our name on the list with a 45 minute wait. They said they’d call when they were ready for us, so we went down the street to Brickway Brewery & Distillery and had a couple drinks while we waited. They were right on the money when they called us, and we were seated on the patio with the rest of their guests (indoor dining wasn’t available).

We ordered drinks and split the Panino alle Polpette to start (homemade meatballs topped with ragu sauce, parmesan, and fresh parsley). This panini was PHENOMENAL. Definitely a messy one but it was so worth it. Their meatballs and ragu are out if this world!

We got house salads with our entrees. They were pretty average in my opinion. I’m more of a caesar salad girl if given the choice.

For our entrees we got the Bianco Pizza (cream sauce, pancetta bacon, grilled chicken breast, and shaved parmesan) and the Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Jumbo Shrimp (spaghetti with sautéed pancetta in a rich cream sauce with parsley and parmesan). The Bianco Pizza was so creamy and amazing. The crust was a bit thick and dense but the toppings were absolutely delicious! The pasta was definitely my favorite! The bruschetta was average (I would’ve picked a different bread option if I had the choice) but oh my gosh the creamy carbonara was heaven! I think they forgot about the jumbo shrimp I added to it bevause they came out several minutes later than the rest of our food but once added they were an excellent addition! I’d get that carbonara again and again!

For dessert we ordered the lemon cake and the tiramisu. I’ve heard a lot about the lemon cake so that was a must. Plus I’m on a huge lemon dessert kick this summer so I was really looking forward to this one. The layered cake was incredibly moist and delicious. I was a little surprised that the lemon flavor was pretty subtle. Coneflower Creamery’s Grandma Minnie’s Lemon Bar ice cream and Mary's Mountain Cookies’ iced lemon cookie still rank above this as my top two lemon desserts in Omaha! But this was a delicious ending to our meal.

Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts of all time, so anytime I’m visiting an Italian restaurant I have to try theirs. I’ll be honest though - we were kind of let down on this one. It wasn’t a traditional tiramisu. No lady fingers and pretty heavy on the whipped cream. We only took a few bites of it because the lemon cake was better by far.

All in all we had amazing panini, pizza, and pasta choices here. That along with the great service and romantic vibe out on the old brick patio made for an incredible experience! Such a great date night spot. We’ll definitely...

OVERALL: 7/10. A beautiful and quaint restaurant run by caring and friendly people that is unfortunately subject to Douglas County officials more concerned with restaurant taxes than maintaining the alure of the Old Market. COCKTAILS 10/10: Well executed and delicious. APPETIZER 8.9/10: An excellent antipasto with a very delicious assortment of cheeses, olives, grapes, etc. Well presented and perfectly portioned so as to not ruin your appetite for the main course. CHICKEN MARSALA: 6.5/10. It wasn't bad. It just didn't wow. Chicken could have been cooked a bit less and the mushrooms could have been cooked a bit longer. The marsala sauce was just fine. TORTELLINI FORMAGIO y PROSCIUTTO: 3/10. It just missed and was very light on the prosciutto. SERVICE: 10/10. Our waiter had the rare ability to balance attentiveness without hovering. Well done. ATMOSPHERE 5/10: Warning to the uninitiated as it relates to the Old Market. It's a unique place full of opportunities for people watching. But the vibe has gone from Bohemian to aggressive. This isn't Nicola's fault. Their patio is quaint, clean, and (should be) a perfect spot for a warm-fall-evening. But the city of Omaha is great at passing noise ordinances. It's just indifferent when it comes to enforcing resonators on mufflers, thumping speakers on cars pumping out violent rap music, and homeless guys aggressively begging for money while I'm trying to eat. When I'm celebrating my wife's birthday at a restaurant my hand should be on the steak knife for culinary reasons - not self-defense. HIGHLIGHT: The people at Nicola's are incredible. LOWLIGHT: Douglas County officials are allowing the once great city of Omaha to slip into a quagmire of homelessness, aggressive behavior, and blight. That's not political. That's social. Diners have a right to good vibes when they eat. Nicola's owners have a right (paid for by their taxes) to expect city officials to give consumers a reason to visit their business district. RETURN VISIT?: It saddens me to say this because I really want the people at Nicola's to succeed, but I'm becoming very turned-off with the Old Market. Give this restaurant a try. But maybe go for lunch...

There are a couple of things deciding this review. I'll point out that I did make a reservation and we were running about 8 minutes behind. However, that was our only fault besides deciding to choose to eat here. Coming from out of town, we saw fine dining and thought it would be a lovely evening to celebrate a birthday dinner. When we walked in the door, we instantly realized this wasn't the restaurant advertised. All of the photos of the restaurant are all of their outdoor seating and not of their indoor seating. The indoor dining equates to a coffee shop with a bar. The server John was running around and was polite but inattentive (took about 15 minutes to check on us once we were seated). The entire experience was rushed and the food was not particularly good (especially for $20 a plate). I believe if you're looking for an authentic Italian restaurant and fine dining experience, this small venue does not equate. (The servers were in jeans and tshirts with stains). When we were asked about dessert, we asked if they had tiramisu and the waitress replied yes and left. We were then greeted with a cake on a plate dropped in the middle of our table and the girl walked off. (We never ordered, we asked because she said they were out of cannolis but said we wanted to think about it). I was a bit shocked, but decided to proceed anyways. In most high priced venues you pay for the experience, the ambience, and the service. All these were extremely lacking. I did leave a tip, however not a large one (about 5%), and the server John obsessively called three times once we had left (I'm assuming he pulled my phone number from my reservation?). When I finally called back, thinking something was wrong, he berated me for only leaving a 5% tip. I would have just left the tip as a message, however after being harassed, I felt this review was necessary. Please consider this a review of how you approach your customers and a warning for those who decide to look at dining at this...