Ninis House of Tapas

Excellent restaurant. Service was great, food was great, and owner was fabulous! Highly recommend!

I wanted everything on the menu but settled for the steak and green beans. To die for! Nice ambiance. Owner, Felix, is very nice and our waiter accommodated us very well. Will definitely be coming back.

Really unimpressed. The food was average and the service below-​average. We wanted to love this place but we were served tasteless three heart salad, truffle fries that are not nearly as good as those down the street at 116 Crown, and greasy Thai (why??? didn’t taste Thai to me) crab dip… When the server brought over the Windex to spray down the table next to us, we knew it was time to ask for the check.

My boyfriend and I came here for the 5-​course tasting menu a little while back. With a LivingSocial in hand, it was a steal — for $ 50, we got two 5-​course meals and a bottle of wine of our choice. I think it still would have been worth it at full price, but I also don’t think we would need to order as many courses on our own, so this would be a reasonable place to go for a nice dinner. The food itself was very good. The smoked salmon over potato pancakes was quality, the sulmaneria plate with assorted cured meats was huge and came with a delicious fig jam, my short ribs were perfectly tender, and after a few courses, I had to pack some things up to bring home and ask for dessert to go. Our waitress was friendly, and our meal was well-​paced. We were the only ones in the restaurant the entire time, but it didn’t feel too awkward, and our waitress seemed to know exactly when to come out to check on us.
Based on the food and service alone, I would probably give the place 4 stars, but I have to knock my rating down a star for the owner’s note before you enter the restaurant website. (I checked today and the note is still there.) Clearly in response to some negative Unilocal reviews, the owner writes, «If you are a would be critic and your only intention is to point out the negative in an establishment please pass us by… there are 100’s of other potential targets for you to hit to make yourself feel important.»
I found this comment to be a really off-​putting introduction to his restaurant, and it made me a little nervous about making a reservation. I find restaurant reviews to be useful, and I don’t think most reviewers are writing to make themselves feel important. The owner’s negative attitude might be the reason why we were the only ones in the restaurant, or why the atmosphere felt a little cold. Thankfully, the only member of staff we met during dinner was our warm and welcoming waitress, and we were still able to enjoy a good meal.

If I could put zero stars, I would.
Purchased a living social deal for $ 50 and called to make a reservation to use it the last week of the time period and was told upon calling they had no more reservations available and that it would not be valid. They are only open certain nights am at certain times making it difficult to not only get someone to answer a phone but to actually go in and eat.
I would love to say it is fabulous but the person I spoke with was rude, condescending, and incredibly unhelpful. Her demeanor turned me off that I don’t even know if I would actually go, as she strikes me as the kind of person who would spit in people’s food.
Sad. The menu looks amazing. Really sucks. Would’ve loved to have gone. Now we are out $ 50.

The food is tasty. The 3 course for $ 30 option is worth it. BYOB with a $ 10 corking fee is not too terrible.
The service is AWFUL. Sat down with our own bottle of wine and was told twice by the waitress that she would be over with glasses to take care of the wine. It took her 20 minutes from the time we sat down to open the wine. It also took a solid 10 minutes to get menus because they didn’t have enough for the number of patrons. I just think this is weird, not necessarily bad (maybe they change the menu so often it isn’t cost effective to make 30 per night?), but really weird. We both chose the 3 course for $ 30 option. The first course came without issue (chicken satay and fried portobello mushroom sticks were really good). Then came the next course. We had ordered 2 salads and then a sandwich and tuna as our 2^nd and 3^rd courses. The waitress brought the sandwich I ordered and a meat plate as our 2^nd course. We didn’t complain because my date was happy with the meat plate too and didn’t want to inconvenience the girl who was having a problem keeping up as it was. Turns out the entire course was meant for another table. How was this handled? The waitress blamed us for not telling her she messed up. I explained later in the evening that we didn’t say anything because we deduced that she just messed up ½ of 1 course, not an entire course for our table and another table (excuse us for not thinking you were a moron). Her attitude left a bad taste in my mouth.

Came here for the first time with a living social deal. The food was ahhh-​maaaz-​ing! The deal allows you to choose 5 courses. I had pork tenderloin, cheese plate, butternut squash bisque, steak with snap peas, and crème brûlée. Everything was super delicious, and I was surprised by the larger size of the portions, in fact I could only finish 2 of my three courses. The deal also came with a bottle of wine. On deciding which bottle to purchase, the waitress allowed us to taste test, which was great. Service and food was excellent and I will definitely be returning.

Wonderful place! What a special and unusual meal. Small bistro atmosphere and great personal service. Our waitress took great care of our large group and the owner even brought out an extra plate of eggplant to share.
The food was all excellent — I tried a bit of at least 7 or 8 dishes. My favorites were the Thai cocoanut shrimp and the steak topped with melted Gorgonzola and dried shiitake mushrooms.
Other reviewers need to understand that tapas are small plates, so for a full meal you should order 2 or 3 plates.
This is great place to spend a special evening!

I’m underwhelmed. My mom and I each ordered a salad and one tapas dish – we hadn’t been here before and figured we’d start small and then build. For some reason, it took 40 minutes to even hear a word from the server about our salads. I work in customer service and have worked in food service in the past; I know that things are sometimes forgotten, or other tables take priority, but that was a bit much. I also found it odd that the server came up to our table three times within five minutes to see if we were ready to order (it’s a big menu for a first time customer to look through!) and then neglected to even make eye contact with us for the next 30. Having since read other reviews, I suppose the wait could largely be a result of poor staffing. I certainly understand that there can be more to slow service than the server, and I hardly think the blame all lies with her, but it was disappointing. Eventually our tapas dishes (satay chicken and veggie samosas) did arrive, which we finished off in five minutes or so. We were both still quite hungry, but couldn’t face waiting another 45+ minutes for another dish, so we paid our bill and headed over to Ashley’s.
The food was good, though I might recommend skipping the raspberry dill dressing on the house salad – the raspberry seeds leave an odd grit that makes it feel like the lettuce isn’t clean (to be clear, this is truly just the raspberry seeds. I do believe the lettuce was washed). For the service alone, though, I think you’re better off trying one of the other tapas restaurants in downtown New Haven. I am willing to give Ninis another shot before I write them off completely, but I don’t think I’ll make the mistake of walking in as hungry as I was last night next time I try it.

Probably one of the most under rated restaurants in New Haven. Can’t beat the paella, the pork osso bucco is amazing and the desert menu is like no other Restaraunt. Deserts are original and amazing. In addition, the menu allows you the option of ordering one tapas or combinations pre fixe. Besides the well prepared and presented food and posh atmosphere, they are very affordable when compared to comparable restaurants. A great place to go when leaving Skappo, still hungry and broke.

Hello,
Went last night to celebrate Boyfriend’s birthday. It was just us and another couple, but it was a Wednesday night, so I will have to go back on a Friday or Saturday.
Things NOT to improve:
The food was impeccable, great servings, chef knows what he’s doing and has a passion for it! Owner was friendly, a dog person!
Things to improve:
–ambiance, they had cute pumpkins in the front, but then I looked around and had random empty shelves, potted plants placed really high, the gold trim doesn’t fit. Nothing blended.
Just needs a few touches, but I would go again. Those canolli nachos are so good!
The owner says they do weddings and catering, so I can guarantee everyone will enjoy the food, just wish there were a lot more people around, maybe they need to do a groupon deal, or more marketing.

One of those 3.5 star cases…
Husband and I came for our 8 year dating anniversary and generally enjoyed the food, though found it a bit overprice (not terribly overpriced though!). For 8 total plates (yes we were hungry), 2 beers, and a soda, it was $ 100 with tax, without tip. It was a Friday night, but we were the only people there all evening. Service was fine because, well, there was no one else there. So slightly strange atmosphere, but the place itself is cute and would have a nice vibe with a few more patrons.
We both LOVED our soups (me: Thai butternut squash, him: French onion). We liked the garlic bread well enough. The tuna sushi martini was good, not great. The special of salmon crabcakes with horseradish was ok– couldn’t taste any horseradish. The paella was sorta bland and didn’t have enough seafood, but was a huge portion… I should know better than to order paella anywhere that doesn’t specialize in it. The meats plate was good, but didn’t blow us away and was small relative to price. The rocky road brownie was fantastic– in a unrefined type of way. We probably ordered 1 plate too many.
So we may go there again someday, particularly if we again have a
certificate, but it won’t be a fav.

Generally confused about what this place offers. Tapas are Spanish, but this place offers English, French, Italian, Scandinavian, Greek, Thai, American, and Latin American dishes. OK a little variety, fine. Tapas are small «taste» plates (at a correspondingly lower price) but this place either offers large plates or large prices (or both!). The food execution was solid, but did not leave us coming back for more (especially at this price point). Cute and small space in a decent location but the Unilocalers are right that it is still under-​staffed, resulting in slower service. While I love a good hidden gem, sharing the space with only one other couple during prime hours on a Saturday night was not a good sign — the people have spoken!

Whoa! Yup, whoa. Went in for an early Saturday dinner, and was blown away by the food. The service was slow, there was only one waiter, but I was able to quickly overlook it when the AMAZING food came out.
Thai Butternut soup, beef tenderloin, grilled cheese and tomato soup (yes, it sounds very plain but trust me its not!) and my favorite dessert of all time bananas foster.
If you have the patience, this place is a must. Sit back and just enjoy.

We hadn’t been to Nini’s since they first opened, 10 years ago. I had gotten a Groupon and decided to give it a shot.
What a fabulous experience. There are many ordering options… prix dice and small plates. Michelle, our server, was endlessly patient and gracious. It was obvious that she loved the food and felt a connection to the place.
Frutti di Mare, Thai Butternut Squash Bisque, Thai Curry Mussels, wild Mushroom Ravioli, Native Tomato Panzanella Salad… served beautifully, paced perfectly. And you can BYOB or order from their wine list.
We will return… soon! Hope Michelle is there!
Don’t believe the crotchetty message when you call. Just go!

I’m not sure why Nini’s is getting a bad rap, because the food was phenomenal.
I went for lunch, their $ 9.95 lunch menu is excellent, portions are HUGE and filling and every single plate that came out of the kitchen looked stunningly delicious, fresh & piping hot.
I ordered the «create your own pasta». Fettucini with Mushroom Cream Sauce, sausage, capers, artichoke hearts & parmesan cheese.
My salad came out with parmesan peppercorn dressing and it was tasty & fresh. The homemade croutons were excellent.
I went with a buddy from work and his entrée was a chicken, bacon & swiss sandwich which came out on a full french baguette, the sandwich was enough for 3 people, plus a huge mound of fresh cut potato chips.
My pasta came out piping hot and was really good, the capers gave it just the right amount of saltiness. (I can see how people can get a bad dish here though, just by picking the wrong combination. So if you’re not sure, ask the chef!)
For desserts we got the crème brûlée cheesecake, which my buddy polished off before i could even look up, so it had to be good.
I got the berries & honey marscapone which was perfectly creamy although it was a bit heavier than i expected.
We had a
gift certificate, and with tax & tip it came to under $ 27.
Overall an excellent meal and I would return.

European food, mix of spanish and french.
Beautiful, original and tasteful shrimps.
Excellent dinner, i ll come back most likely

Not bad, cute concept, unfortunately we felt incredibly sick after eating here.
The salad with goat cheese was great, as was the braised lamb shank thing, but stay away from the mac and cheese balls, I think they were what destroyed my stomach. I might be back here, but probably wouldn’t go too far out of my way, there’s just nothing all that exciting going on.

Consistently amazing food, cozy atmosphere, and great prices!
Seriously, why have you not tried this place yet? It’s easily one of the best restaurants in New Haven… and oh-​so-​affordable!

Deeelicious and creative food from fresh-​tasting ingredients!
Our server, Christine was laid back and friendly but professional.