Nicola Restaurant and Bar

A very solid 4 stars.
Good, upscale, neighborhood Italian restaurant. White linen tablecloths and candles — the vibe is more fine dining than casual, though we were dressed casually and felt welcomed and right at home.
Very good food. Attentive, informed service. Nice wine list with a variety of price points (our favorite was $ 28/​bottle Nero ‘d Avola — I love a restaurant that will put good, affordable bottles on the list).
Food was very tasty. Portions are a little small, and a little full-​priced for the modest portion size. With food, drinks, tax & a nice tip the check was $ 60/​person. They’re not trying to be a bargain — its a nice restaurant on the edge of Upper Arlington.
The dining areas are bigger inside than they appear from the outside — there are plenty of tables and we were able to get in on a busy Saturday night with no problem.
They have a really, really pretty outdoor patio dining area for when the weather is nice, and their own garden on the side of the building growing fresh veggies and herbs.
They can accommodate bigger groups, too.
We really liked Nicola, and will again return soon.

Always an enjoyable evening when we have dinner at Nicola’s! This family owned restaurant has an extensive menu, daily specials, an incredible happy hour, and employees who understand hospitality!

Genuine! They care. Owner came out after meal to make sure things were to our satisfaction. Definately going back.

This was a fantastic happy hour choice. There was a huge selection of 5 dollar apps, cocktails and wine. Nicola even came out and had a chat and a drink with me.
Baccala Frito: just cod, not salt cod (thank god) fried with a few potato wedges and a peppery red sauce (romesco maybe). Tasty.
Gnocchi con Gorgonzola: light, fluffy potato pillows in a thick, ultra rich, creamy cheese sauce with some wilted spinach and walnuts. The chef confirmed my suspicion that these are made in house as are all of their pastas. This dish looked small but was deceptively filling and more than fairly priced.
Nicola smash: Even though it was made with a well rye I had not heard of before this was still really tasty.
Ruby red: Interesting and complex, not my fav but not bad at all.
Nicola’s limocello: nice and creamy, great lemon flavor.
The check was just over 20 bucks, It was indeed a very happy hour.

Friendly staff, outstanding food and balance.
We started with salad and the sausage barley mushroom soup. Soup was outstanding and lighter than it sounds.
We went on to three separate dishes. The 5 cheese ravilois, chicken piccata and marsala. I feel the marsala was the best I can ever remember eating. The other dishes were of very high standard. The pasta is perfect and fresh.
We had some of the seasonal gelatos for dessert and the lemon cake. All were outstanding! Best gelato was caramel, and the lemon cake was perfect.
So why not 5 stars? Tables are much too close together and it leads to a lot of near misses to walk around, and you are very close to other diners.

The food was great– however, the portions and price were a bit off, hence one star missing. The bread and oil were great! The service was also great. I would love to go back for a happy hour. Also, please note, they charge to share a dish.

An amazing meal and a great experience at Nicola’s. Highly recommended, it’s a must try!

First timer for dinner on a lazy Wednesday.
Nice atmosphere, Italian chic. Menu is very extensive, with lots of specials added, to choose from. Complete bar.
Overall very nice, food offerings are good but not special. Lasagna was served room temp as opposed to Z Cucina’s piping hot; but it was very tasty. Caesar salad was too wet, flavorful, but no anchovies. We incurred a split charge for the salad. Bush league. I hate split charges, so unnecessary. Wife had the spaghetti and it was VG.
All in all pretty good but I’m not sure I would schlep from the east side.
Attentive service and management. Bathrooms were well tended to, thanks for that.
Nice place for this part of town in a nondescript strip center at Reed and Henderson.

I’ve been coming to Nicola Restaurant with my family for years, and it’s a perennial favorite. Not only is the food delicious and authentic Italian cuisine, but the atmosphere is lovely and the service is always excellent. My favorite time to come to Nicola is during the late spring and summer when their patio is open and you can enjoy your meal outside, surrounded by beautiful plants and fresh herbs.
The chef, Nicola, loves to play with the items on the menu so you are always guaranteed something fresh and new to try out. It’s not just your traditional Italian fare, however – the chefs frequently introduce more obscure dishes, like polpo (octopus), paella, and even full seven course fish dinners during the Christmas season. Where else can you get a real taste of Italy like that in Columbus, Ohio? Nicola is especially talented, his wife Speranza is gracious and professional, and their serving staff, particularly Corey and Dawn, have treated us exceptionally.
Definitely check out Nicola, possibly on a Friday when they have live background music. I especially recommend the cioppino (seafood stew), paella, and veal dishes. Their seabass is also excellent. They even have in-​house made Italian infused liquor! Supporting local businesses like this is easy when they have so much to offer from genuinely passionate, talented people.

WARNING — THIS IS A LONG POST BUT WORTH THE READ
I am a 3^rd generation Italian with Tuscany routes who has spent his entire life in an opinionated Italian family, and growing up for 30 years in Northern NJ just 40 miles from NYC, I spent years going to some of the best Italian restaurants in the tri-​state area and I can tell you without a doubt Nicolas is better than 95% of them and I cannot wait to go back.
My father, a 2^nd gen Italian, went to Nicola and we were absolutely floored by how authentic his dishes are made.
First, the bread. I’m not sure where he gets it or how he does it, but it’s the best I’ve had since I’ve been in Ohio for the past 12 years. If you butter this instead of dipping it in the EVOO they provide, stand up and walk out because you don’t deserve to eat the meal you are about to experience.
To start we had the vegetable soup off the regular menu. My grandfather, 1^st gen Italian, had his own huge garden my entire life and he made a vegetable soup with all the fresh veggies from his garden and Nicolas vegetable soup was the closest to its taste I’ve ever experienced (thanks Nicola). It is absolutely amazing and 100% authentic Toscani soup so do not pass it up just because it’s soup.
Pasta is not just pasta at Nicola. He has great dishes throughout the menu, but his pasta, once again, is truly Northern Italian home cooking and brought me back to my roots and making pasta with my grandfather.
My father ordered the lasagna because the guy sitting next to us had it on his plate and it looked amazing. The lasagna came and as expected the sheets of homemade semolina pasta were thin and plentiful. Here in the states we’re accustom to 2 – 3 layers of thick pasta with fillings in between which makes a usually heavy dish that sits in your stomach for hours. This place is true Italian as this lasagna had at least 6 layers of almost paper thin, tender and delicious pasta filled with meat, but instead of a heavy handed dish you would be used to it is light and easy to eat. Also, If you want ricotta cheese in your lasagna head over to Olive Garden because authentic Italians don’t use it, they use béchamel sauce as does Nicola. The lasagna had the right amount of both homemade sauces, tomato basil & Béchamel, which made every bite silky smooth and creamy leaving your mouth dying for more. Once again, the only lasagna I’ve had better was my grandfathers homemade, but that is most likely favoritism because this is stupendous.
I ordered the veal ravioli because my grandfather used to make it homemade and I had to compare it to his after having the soup as my starter. When I ordered the ravioli, instead of the tomato-​basil sauce, I asked for the bolognese sauce, but mostly because I was dying to taste it. The plate came and it looked like a painting it was so perfect. Three extra large ravioli (6“x 3″ at least) centered in the plate with a small pile of meat sauce in the center and a piece of parsley — Bön appetite! The small amount of bolognese sauce was just enough once spread out across the homemade pillows of ravioli. Northern Italian cuisine is about the flavors of the food not drowning it in sauce which overwhelms the flavor of the food. The veal filled ravioli were nice and thin in the center as you could see the filling underneath just begging you to cut into it and experience its flavor. I cut into one and the filling did not come pouring out because the pasta tenderly gave way to my fork as I sliced through it which helped the filling stay put. Point to Nicola for that one! I feel the edges of the ravioli were a little thick, but I think it’s done on purpose to maintain the integrity of the shape for us Ohioans. Thinking back my grandfather kept it thin all over which was delicious, but even though they were delicious they always fell apart. I finally placed my first bite into my mouth and I was immediately transplanted back to my youth in NJ eating Sunday dinner with my family. Without a doubt the best ravioli I’ve had since my grandfather. I can’t recommend these enough as they are amazing and it is plenty of food with an appetizer and the great bread.
Final round, dessert and coffee. I was full by the end of the meal, but when you strike gold everybody wants more so dessert it was for us. Since the meal was authentic it was time to try an authentic northern Italian dessert which I adore, tiramisu. Real tiramisu should be light, airy, creamy, slightly bitter with an intense coffee flavor that does not overwhelm the dish. I’ll make this short and sweet, it was the best tiramisu I’ve ever had, save one I had in Venice Italy which will never have an equal. If you like tiramisu, you have to get it because it is beyond compare in Ohio or maybe the entire US. The coffee was excellent and the couple sitting next to us said they crave the cappuccino it is so amazing which I will get next time.
People, I cannot recommend this place enough, don’t think about going here, go now!

Nicola Restaurant is the absolute best Italian restaurant in Columbus. We have eaten here numerous times and the food is outstanding. You could blindly order from the menu or specials and always have a great meal! Nicole & Speranza make you feel welcome and part of the family. We come to this restaurant whenever possible.

We’ve been to Nicola a number of times, and it is absolutely wonderful every time we go. We’ve enjoyed just about everything we’ve ever ordered… the cioppino, scallops, trout, and agnolotti are particular favorites. The specials are usually amazing as well, especially sea bass and ossobucco specials. The wine selection is also excellent, particularly the Italian reds.
But more so than anything else, Nicola and Speranza make us feel like family every time we come in. When you combine a warm, welcoming environment with the most authentic – and arguably the best – Italian food in Columbus, the result is a restaurant worthy of many repeat visits.

We had a WONDERFUL time. Nicola is a warm, welcoming and scrumptious place to dine. The variety of dishes is plentiful, the presentation delightful and the food delicious. I had a glass of wonderful Riesling, the Mista con Gorgonzola salad, a glass of great Lemoncello, the Walleye special and the Tiramisu. Fabulous dinner!

I came here last Thursday with my wife and unfortunately, it was not a great experience. I always hope for great evenings with locally owned restaurants, but this was not the case. (at least this time).
Upon walking in, we stood at the door for a good 5 – 10 mins or so with nobody really helping out. We thought this was weird as not even a waiter came to acknowledge us and everyone did their own thing. We picked up a menu and waited… and waited. The hostess then came up and apologized, and stated she thought we were waiting for someone. A strange excuse since we were standing there, how would you know we were waiting for someone else and why would you just assume?
We were sat down at our seats and provided menus. Then, we had to wait another long wait (I timed this one and it was 12 minutes) for the waitress to acknowledge us. Interestingly, she was serving the table right next to us. Gave them wine, brought them their checks, and returned the check all without even glancing our way and indicating that she’ll be with us in a moment.
After ordering, our food was brought out but we didn’t get any bread service (every other table had bread service when we glanced around). So we had to ask for bread. My wife had the gnocchi and I had the ravioli. My ravioli was decent, but a little heavy handed with the olive oil for my taste. My wife’s gnocchi was a basic mush of starch. It was over cooked and had no firmness? Maybe it was their personal style, but all the gnocchi I’ve had in my life had some firmness in the center. This was all mush. Also, while other servers provided the option of Parmesan cheese and fresh cracked pepper, ours did not, so I had to ask for it.
Oh, and the waitress didn’t check up on us at all during the meal. At this point, we were pretty sour. The hostess then came back and apologized for the wait at the door and asked us how our meal was (I think she must have been the owner or part of management). I had to mention all these issues and she seemed very concerned and apologetic, so that was a nice of her to try to rescue the evening. She came back later and indicated that she spoke with the Chef about the gnocchi and spoke with the waitress about her service. We were provided a discount and ended our meal. What was weird was that the waitress didn’t even apologize for the service or even pretend to care or know about how atrocious her service was.
Overall, I’d like to give this restaurant another chance since it’s so close and locally owned. Unfortunately, just a lot of mis-​steps the entire night regarding the experience. Better training of staff and just being a little more concerned about customer service as a whole would help lift this restaurant.

Had a very nice experience here last night with my family. Glad we didn’t let one, over-​the-​top, vindictive review steer us away from this lovely place.
I lived in Florence and am picky about my Italian food so I’m glad we found this place. All at my table enjoyed the food, the olive oil was superb! Wine was good too.
The interior was so nice and beyond what you would expect from their location. We felt a little guilty because it was our Apres ski dinner so we were pretty casual. Despite our dress, we were treated warmly.
We’ll be back as my nephew proclaimed that Nicola was his new favorite restaurant (and he’s quite the foodie!)

Last night Nicola’s owners threatened me after I approached them about the message their waiter sent me. Nicola, himself, threatened my well being after I presented him and his wife the message their waiter sent me on Unilocal. He insinuated that if we were in Italy things would be different and he could hurt me and get away with it. For those wondering, I attached the message Shawn W sent me in a previous post. After the owner threatened me, his wife then threatened to add misc charges to my credit card as pay back because she could and as I would not let the incident go.
I have spoken to my lawyer in case the owners try to charge me for no apparent reason. Shawn W, Nicola and his wife are without class, without etiquette and refuse to take responsibility for their actions and terrible service. Shawn told me I should go to Olive garden from now on. Folks, I am Italian and cook my own Italian food weekly. I am not a fan of Olive garden, but I would gladly go their from this moment on as they understand a good experience and try to make their patrons enjoy their experienced. Nicola’s has terrible food, terrible service and most importantly no class.
Please friends, avoid this place. Everyone I know says it is terrible. They must ask their associates and family to post false testimonials on here for positive reviews.

We had a really nice time at Nicola last night!
Wanting pasta and a nicer dinner (we’ve been really good about not eating out constantly, so I think we deserved it!) we found Nicola. It was nearby and the reviews made it seem like exactly what we were looking for.
We walked in, and there was no one at the front to seat us. We were starting to feel a little uncomfortable, looking around to see if we were supposed to seat ourselves, or just wait longer… eventually, the woman who ended up being our waitress came and seated us.
We sat down and looked over the menu. Nicola probably isn’t $$ as Unilocal says, maybe more like $$$. Even most pasta dishes were close to $ 20.
I decided on the gnocchi. I believe it was the typical potato-​filled gnocchi with gorgonzola cheese, spinach, and walnuts. My boyfriend got the tortellini. While we waited on our food, we ate some of the bread. The olive oil was nice; I think it could have used a few more herbs in it. The bread, unfortunately, was a little burnt. The inside was fine, but the crust was pretty blackened, which permeated most of our bites.
Our food came out really fast! We were impressed; we were a little skeptical that it was even ours! It was that quick. There was a small glitch with my boyfriend’s tortellini; he was served ravioli instead. When our waitress came back, my boyfriend told her and she was extremely apologetic. His tortellini came out shortly after and we were able to take home the ravioli as well (which is awesome, because it looked really good to me!) My gnocchi was really nice. I loved the flavors and the spinach. I tried my boyfriend’s tortellini and it was also really good. I preferred mine; I felt like, even though I had gnocchi and he had tortellini, mine was lighter. I don’t know that I could have eaten a whole plate of his tortellini (but I know I’m gonna be eating a whole plate of that ravioli; yum!)
To make up for the mistake, we were given a complimentary dessert. We had the cannoli, which were yummy. There were 3 of them and they were miniature, which was great, because I don’t know how much more I could have eaten at that point! The owner also came over and personally apologized to us, which was really considerate. She explained that our server was new, but even the most seasoned servers occasionally hear «tortellini» as «ravioli.» I felt like they really went above and beyond when it came to making up for the mix-​up.
Our bill was about $ 45 with tip. Eating at Nicola won’t be something we’ll do on a weekly basis, or maybe even a monthly basis. But for a nice Italian dinner, we will definitely return in the near future!

This place is quickly becoming one of my favorite lunch spots!
The pasta is made in house daily, and is SO fresh.
Today I had the ravioli special…
Pumpkin Ravioli with a Sage, Apple and Pancetta butter sauce. $ 14.00
It was like Fall on a plate.
Pure Bliss :)
The flavors complimented each other beautifully.
(I was a clean plater.)
Fresh baked bread is also brought to each table with their own blend of an amazing Rosemary olive oil. Yum!
Bön Appetit peeps!

So, I’ll preface this review by saying I visited here on quite possibly one of the most beautiful summer evenings of the season. We arrived to the sound of a live accordion player on the patio where we were promptly seated. The server was cute and bubbly and gave a droolingly wonderful description of the specials.
We started with the side house salad and the commentary bread. Perfect. Oh and put the olive oil on the bread. All over it.
I was pleased to see a few vegetarian options which can be troubling at nicer restaurants. I decided on the Gnocchi alla Gorgonzola e Rucola and was blown. away. I’m not kidding one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. I’ve visited Italy and this rivals any of the meals I had there. The sauce was a perfect balance of creamy and tangy and the gnocchi were unbelievably fluffy and tender. Could not have asked for more.
In all, it is worth every penny and I will absolutely be back. We made it a reasonable trip by skipping out on wine and dessert but I can’t even imagine the amount of delicious a dessert here would be… Bravo Nicola!

Nicola definitely deserves an update — I’ve been back several times (my parents love it there), and each experience has been better than the last. I’m rating them on the high end of a 4 star, well on their way to 5 stars for sure.
First, I’ve had more interactions with the owners, and this presence has made up for (and totally eclipsed) my previous experiences with strange servers. The owners frequently go to Italy and are very passionate about the restaurant and clientele. This feels like a legit neighborhood bistro– part of the community and fostering regulars.
Most recently I attended an amazing wine pairing event. Four courses paired with generous wine pours. Each wine and course included some brief education on the region, wine-​makers, etc. AND this event was extremely high value — affordable and unique. Food was prepared exceptionally well, including the radicchio risotto (which was a HUGE improvement on the last time I had it – not bitter this time at all, just creamy loveliness).
I highly suggest checking their calendar for a future event. You won’t be disappointed. If you’ve had a ho-​hum previous experience, please consider giving an event a chance.
Huge improvements over time since my first visit. I look forward to more.