Nicolino Ristorante Italiano

We have been going to Nicolino for years- it's always been a great place for food, service & atmosphere. We love the lasagna, chicken Caesar & lately we've been getting the prawns to share. We love the bar- they just expanded & remodeled it & it's beautiful & cozy. We love starting off with their delicious bread & dipping oil- so delicious! The owner Jessica always remembers us & our names & is so attentive. Vic the chef is happy to make your order to your liking as well.

Woah - what a treat. Was in town for the Tunnel Marathon and looking for some good Italian food. Nicolino had some good reviews on yelp, so figured we would give it a try. We were seated quickly on a Saturday night and the place was pretty crowded. They apologized for the wait and slow service a few times, but it wasn't that bad. I think they were understaffed for the night.We started with the special salad that was a strawberry and apple salad. I then had the roasted bell peppers and my wife had the rigatoni dish. Everything was hot and delicious. This is my ideal Italian restaurant. A simple menu with many staple items. Cooked to perfection. Reasonably priced. I would make this at least a monthly visit (probably more) if I lived in the area. I kept telling my wife how good I thought it was!Glad that I found it, and if you are in town for one of the marathon's definitely check it out for a pre-race dinner. The portions are large, so you probably would have enough for left overs the next day. However, it was so good that I just couldn't stop eating so I ate the whole thing. Now I feel very full. Hope it burns off while I sleep before the race tomorrow! Cheers and grazie!

Gotta love a family-run small business with friendly people, attentive service, intimate vibe, and rich delicious flavors. Word of mouth got us here. I tried the following dishes:- Ravioli Pesto - really good and creamy- Spaghetti Carbonara - big pieces of juicy bacon, lots of flavor, and my son said, "sorry mom, but this one actually beats yours", he was sorry not sorry- Pollo Cardinale: Amazing. So much gooooood flavor. I have no idea how they prepare the artichokes, but they must never stop! This will be my order next time!The interior was pretty. The different colors of lighting at the bar looked cool. Super happy to have found it.

The food was delicious! Our party ordered the Lobster Ravioli, Rigatoni Polpetta, Pollo Cardinale, and Della Casa. Portions, flavors, and textures were all on point! We also liked our waiter, Ried. He was kind and accommodating, especially when we needed to change our seats. That being said, don't sit in their atrium unless other dinners are out there; it's cold. Even with space heaters, we were freezing; do not recommend. The interior is richly colored and romantic. We showed our vax cards before we were seated, but we weren't asked for them from our hostess. We would be willing to go again to taste more of their menu.

Super slow service on a Thursday night. Dining room was very loud and unpleasant. Food was lacking in inspiration (and flavor). Menu had limited vegetarian options. Expensive and not worth the price. Disappointed as this restaurant has come highly recommended.

Five stars from me even above the myriad amount of opportunities for improvement. Food: I had the linguini with spicy red sauce, garlic, anchovies, and olives. It was flavorful and yummy. I've eaten here three times and the food is one of the aspects that brings me back. I would say the food is upscale Italian, or at least it wants to be. I didn't notice pizza on the menu though I thought it might help. I think the menu is more limited than I remember. Service: Only the husband and wife were serving. It wasn't as busy as I'd remembered in the past. They did a fine job of keeping up and were pleasant servers. I felt the service was important to them and I appreciate that. Ambience: This place is screaming to be more, screaming to be more than a casual hole-in-the-wall that it has been allowed to become. There is a bar, thirteen dining tables, and an outside area. The space faces east and the lighting is dark. It feels like a place trying to hang on which it may be. It feels like a place of priorities, food and service with everything else slowly fading. For example, the owner could dress better than a cotton T-shirt. The single urinal in the bathroom was out of order. The place feels tired when it has the bones to be bustling with energy. Gilman Village is artsy, creative, and relaxing. Issaquah is one of the most beautiful cities anywhere. The evergreen smells are intoxicating, Especially the cedar trees. Still, I enjoy coming here to eat when in town and will continue to do so. Nicolinos is a lovely and memorable name.

First of all wait times were extremely long. This is on a Friday evening. We were told 15 minutes but was about 30 minutes. Just plan in advance.Food was awesome but again waiting for 40 minutes between the appetizer and entree made it painful with a kid around. It's a pretty space with lots of table and few helping hands looks like. But the food quality was too good.

What has happened to our beloved Nicolino? Two people for dinner: $150 + tip for a very mediocre meal, at best. We have eaten here as a family and with out-of-town guests many times over the years. We returned last week for the first time in about six months. It felt great to be back in the dining room, but as I had time to reflect on the experience, it was a major disappointment.We ordered the mussels and seasonal pear salad to start. The mussels sauce was not what I remembered and the mussels themselves were small and overcooked not plump and juicy like I remembered. The pear salad was piled high on a tiny plate. It was overdressed with a sweet vinaigrette that lacked sophistication. For main course, we had the lobster ravioli that I have eaten here many times, and the smoked king salmon pappardelle special. The salmon dish was bland, lacked salt and complexity; the pasta was not al dente and the smoke of the salmon smothered by the cream. The lobster ravioli sauce was unbalanced, unsophisticated, and overwhelmed by (the saffron?). Big disappointment - nothing like what I had been served when I ordered thsi dish in the past.I noticed that the wait staff did not ask us how was our food. Maybe they knew the answer already. I hesitated to write this, but I found no way to email or message the restaurant on its website, so I decided to go with this public review. I feel let down, if not cheated. I did not expect a check for $150 or I would have sent the food back. Such a bummer. I think that may have been our last time at Nicolino. If you sort the Yelp reviews by Newest first, you will see that our experience is not unique. It seems that the quality here has fallen off over the past 6-9 months. Until they can turn things around (I hope they do), it is not worth the price or our continued patronage.

We had a amazing dinner last night! Service was wonderfully friendly and attentive. The tomatoe and mushroom bruschetta is so good! We each ordered one of the dinner specials. My wife's was a great pasta dish and I had the New York strip which was perfectly cooked! As always the desserts were amazing. Can't wait for thier wonderful patio to open for the season.

This place is pretty underwhelming unfortunately. Agree with another reviewer who said the menu was uninspired. Just basic Italian food. Had two chicken dishes. Chicken breasts tasted like they were frozen and reheated. Bottled salad dressing, canned artichokes, etc. Service was average and they do seem understaffed but doing the best they can. Loud and crowded dining room on Friday night. Will not be back sadly.