noca

I have visited Noca twice now, both times for their Nocawich sandwiches. The first time I got the «The Groucho» (Duck Confit, Cracklin, Walnut Pesto, Arugula, Demi-​Baguette). Really good and really unique. The last time I went back I got «The Dixie» (Fried Chicken Breast, Fried Farm Egg, Kurobuta Sausage Gravy, Blis Maple Biscuits). Let me tell you that was one of the best things I have ever eaten, just delicious. I got the potato salad on the side, also delicious. I would certainly recommend this place to anyone. Each day offers a different special sandwich, and a unique burger as well.

This review is not about the quality of food, as you will see, I did not have an opportunity to try it. This is from Wednesday, July 23^rd.
I came across Noca on the NewTimes website listing them as one of the best pizzerias in the city. Intrigued, I looked online and found they were open. I was excited to take my girlfriend out for a nice dinner, we had not had the chance to do this in a while due to the hectic schedule we both work under. So, after driving down the road (incidentally, I live just a few minutes away), parking in the overcrowded lot and walking up to the door, I discover a paper sign posted on the door stating they are closed for dinner for the month of July… What?
First of all, I have never heard of a restaurant that shuts down for only ONE shift for any period of time, let alone a full month. Second, this is not posted anywhere on their website, leading to, I’m sure, many potential customers such as myself to drive over and be turned away by a paper sign. This lacks professionalism and just exudes arrogance. Maybe you do have a great pizza. Maybe you are one of the best in the area, but I wouldn’t know. I understand that maybe the lunch crowd is their money maker, but who leaves a paper note on the door to tell their customers they are closed for dinner for a full month? Post something online, change your hours listed on your Unilocal page, do something.
So, I instead went to Federal Pizza on Central just North of Camelback, and they were amazing. Even for dinner rush, the wait was no longer than 10 minutes, the pizza was amazing to say the least, and the service was fantastic. Maybe it seemed so much better because of the disappointment I felt at Noca, but they definitely exceeded my expectations.
I won’t be going to Noca any time in the near future.

I’m so sorry to write this review, but I believe in honest criticism!
We visited Noca during Az Restaurant week this past May. We weren’t too impressed with the restaurant week menu, not to mention the prices were extremely confusing (you’d have to see the menu to believe it). Anyways, it was interesting that there were 2 pork entrée options, and no chicken. That’s not the main problem though.
The main concern was service. We waited almost 2 hours to receive our main course. This we found was extremely odd as during restaurant week, they only had the special menu available and not the regular menu. (that was actually a litte irritating as well). Anyways, we were watching other people who came in before us receive their food while we just sat and watched salivating. The waitress was a nice girl, however no one came to acknowledge or apologize for the delay; in fact, they barely came to our table at all! We actually grabbed one of the bus boys to ask what was going on. It was quite frustrating, and we were very hungry.
The food itself wasn’t super fantastic. I had the duck confit appetizer salad, it was really salty. My main course was the pork ragout with pasta (I can’t remember the name) To say least it was quite bland and had the consistency of Chef Boyardee. No one at our table was super impressed with the food. However, the one thing that was a big hit were the milkshakes.
I normally give restaurants a couple of chances, but considering the caliber restaurant they should be, they should have got it right the first time. No more Noca for me.

Our final foray into a new dining experience with Restaurant Week.
We arrived to find noca in a strip mall. It is not a stand alone restaurant and it is a little on the small side but their food and service makes up for it.
Our «greeter» would also be our waitress. I say waitress because we had 4 different «servers»…which was fine because it kept the transitions very smooth and seamless. the meal started with an amouse bouche (sp?) of carrot purée and walnuts. it was a quick taste of the great food about to be had!
i started with the parsnip soup. it was creamy without being too rich. flavorful pecan halves were sprinkled on top to add some texture. for my entrée, i had the oil poached cod. it came with seasoned couscous and some lightly grilled vegetables. my first bite came off as «good, but not overwhelming». but as i took my time and tried not to wolf the meal down (working on actually enjoying food vs functional eating all the time, the fish seemed to taste more flavorful. it was very soft but the al dente couscous added some crunch and the subtle flavor of the oil started to really soak in.
after the meal, we were treated to a heaping bowl of grape cotton candy-can’t remember when i last had fresh cotton candy. then had the real desert: 2 warm and cinnamon/​sugar coated mini donuts with a small vanilla milk shake «shot». absolute deliciously divine.
our water glasses were kept full and we were tended to just the right amount. don’t let the strip mall locale fool you… noca’s food is fantastic.

Sometimes, it’s good to look at things from a young person’s point of view.
The adults in my group were nonplussed in their overall experience, but not me – and my little cousins (under 18).
I’ll weave the shortest version of this story as possible:
First, we were late for our reservations by 15 minutes. And if you know me, that’s enough to drive me to drink (hey, not that we need a reason, right?) so the fact that our table was still held was pretty amazing to me.
We were sat immediately and the low-​lit quiet but jolly atmosphere with the open kitchen was really appealing. Our service was beyond the realms of usual friendliness ALL evening!
Not a fan of Italian food in general, I was still excited to be with family and dull the echo my stomach was making the entire car ride there. But being a large, later-​in– the-​evening group, I knew that we would have a slight wait to be served.
We ordered our dishes and waited. And when the wait felt a little long, an amuse bouche – almost on cue – landed on the table. The small taste of fresh pickled veg was nice, and was quickly followed by a taster of the lovely carrot soup I hemmed and hawed about ordering. They knew the food would be later and were proactively anticipating this ;)
We ordered apps, but one particular app was replaced by a sea scallop – since they ran out of the fish app we ordered. I guess this is when the adults (except me) were unhappy because of the wait plus the substitution without being asked. Me? I was happy that the chefs were moving onto the next dishes! The scallop was good and they announced that they were comping our entire first courses! WOW. Somehow, my group remained unmoved – minus my cousins and I.
The next courses came quickly after: I ordered the seafood Malfadine; squid ink malfadine noodles in a tomato sauce with tasty mixed seafood. It was darn good, but to me squid ink pastas deserve a lighter, citrusy prep. Just preference.
My table wept with pleasure at the pork chops; so if you eat pork, get on this if you can.
They didn’t ask us what we wanted for dessert (no problem for the younger kids and I) but again, the adults were cranky about it. They straight up served us homemade doughnuts with honeycomb and homemade GRAPE KOOL-​AID-​flavored cotton candy! How FUN!
Our bill was over $ 100 less because of their generosity, and my little cousins and I got to share a silent meaningful moment, appreciating thoughtful and kind service. Well done, noca. And a special nod to my cousins! You’ll make fine Unilocalers someday ;)

I won’t deny that I’m typically a comfort-​food guy, but Noca is where I go when I’m looking for haute cuisine. Their menu constantly rotates and usually contains a half-​dozen words that I’ve only heard on Chopped. I check ahead on the website, especially since I don’t eat pork, and there are hundreds of different names for pork.
On Wednesday, I found the restaurant to be strangely empty. We started with a glass of wine, a Belgian beer, and my first-​ever Panzanella, an Italian bread salad. The roasted vegetables, croutons, pecorino, and balsamic dressing meshed fantastically. It was a real highlight, moreso than the squash chutney amuse bouche or the sliced bread served without butter or oil. (I’m not complaining about these free items; they were tasty, but unspectacular.)
We played it safe on the entrees, opting for skirt steak and striped bass. The striped bass was absolutely perfectly cooked, and beautifully plated. It was moist with a very crispy skin, and complemented well by rainbow carrots and a farro dish that resembled brown fried rice. The marinated steak was sliced over smashed potatoes with straw mushrooms. It was tender and delicious, but a little cold when it arrived.
The service was fantastic, answering questions and never rushing us. Along with the signature cotton candy (today’s flavor was grape), they also threw in a glass of champagne and a cookie for each of us, since it was a special occasion. Although the portion sizes are a little small, the price is reasonable, and the quality is top notch. Noca did more than enough to retain its crown as my favorite restaurant in Phoenix.

Great experience tonight for their Sunday Simple Supper. 3-​courses for $ 35 and they do fried chicken the last Sunday of the month. I really enjoyed everything! Try the Nocahot fried chicken. Can’t wait to go again! Excellent server too.

I have been to nocawich 2 times and couldn’t wait to try out noca for dinner. Well, it sure did not disappoint!
We both started with the simple salad and simple, it was not! It had almond croutons, cherries, and manchego cheese with a champagne vinaigrette — yummy! My husband had the pork chop for his entrée and he said it was the best pork chop he had ever tasted. For my entrée I had the appetizer portion of the scallops and the tagliatelle… heavenly. The scallop was caramelized and cooked perfectly over a bed of cauliflower. The pasta had asparagus and tasso ham with a sinful cheese sauce. It was lick your plate good!
They actually don’t have a dessert menu… they bring everyone complimentary cotton candy (grape flavor during our visit) and warm chocolate chip cookies — such a nice touch!
I highly recommend this restaurant… it is a dining experience you won’t soon forget.

Just had their ramen burger, cauliflower soup and their fingerling potatoes and I’m leaving with a huge smile. Great food, creative whimsical dishes, and superb service.

Good food way over priced & Extremely small portions. Spent $ 80 and had to go to applebees after to get more food! Not recommended if your actually
hungry.

(Lyrics — Shakira — Loca)
I’m hungry all the time
Just to keep it fun
To get you on like (Mmm!)
Be careful amigo
I’m writing and reviewing just to keep your appetite up
You’d die for pasta
But I’ll start with drinks only, pleases
Sigo tranquila
While I’m feasting in Arizona
Sippin’ my Corona
Like it’s nothin’ goin’ on
I ain’t leavin’ you alone
What is meant for me
No other boy will review it
So give it up
And I’m Unilocaling, but you like it noca noca noca
You like with some stars please noca noca noca
I’m Unilocaling but you like it noca noca noca
Unilocaling but you like it
noca is located in the Northwest corner of 32^nd St. and Camelback. Kind of hidden, but this location seems like a hot spot for awesome restaurants (Central Bistro, Keegans, Delux, etc.) noca is a seasonal restaurant which means their menus change like the 4 seasons. Locally, purchase products allow them to seek the best to use at the time. They’ve been awarded with several accolades from the culinary world so this is must visit being a foodie I am!
My first impression was noca was a little quiet during the weekdays and I’ve never attended during the weekend. However, giving this place 4 stars means I’ll probably stop on by to check it out again! I started to order the spaghetti, but later a friend told me it was just the spaghetti; no protein. Weird I thought cause I was thinking it would come with meatballs or meat sauce at least. So I changed on a whim with no problems to the lamb fettuccini. Whole wheat pasta! Yeah, it’s a rare thing to see, but I get it the world is treading towards healthy eating and so am I! I thought overall my pasta was pretty good. I don’t eat a lot of pasta, but gotta say this one gets an A! Creamy and saucy this fettuccini makes me want more, but gotta control the carb intake!
Dessert was served compliments of noca! Triple brownie and fresh made donuts with raspberry sauce. noca you make me loca and need to dance like Shakira to burn all this off. Guess it helps with a badonkadonk butt! — Enjoy!

I really wanted to give this place 4 stars because they served us two free desserts and didn’t seem to mind that our party sat and had dinner for 2+ hours, but I couldn’t give it 4 stars in good conscience because I honestly probably wouldn’t come here again (unless one of my friends really wanted to go).
I ordered the Insalate de Mare ($ 13) which was a tasty dish of squid, baby octopus, shrimp, celery, and potatoes. The only thing I didn’t like was the baby octopus legs. I’m not usually squeamish about eating seafood, but eating the legs with all the chewy tentacles was a little too much, even for me.
For my entrée I ordered the Crespelle ($ 14), which was basically a crêpe filled with ricotta cheese and basil and topped with red sauce. I wanted to order the spaghetti, but I found out their spaghetti doesn’t come with red sauce or any kind of meat! I know this place is trying to be innovative and fancy but, really? You have to offer a spaghetti dish with a tomato-​based sauce. OR at least offer a protein add-​on. When I asked if I could order the spaghetti (which comes with just a garlic and olive oil sauce) and add on a meat like shrimp, chicken, etc. I was told that I should just order something else. lame.
On top of that the Crespelle was only ok. The sauce wasn’t hearty or rich enough and I would get random bites where I would taste this strong sharp herb taste (not the basil). I’m not sure what that herb taste came from, but I didn’t enjoy it.
Dessert was the best part. They served us their doughnuts with caramel and blueberry sauce — so delicious! the doughnuts were hot from being freshly fried and covered with sugar. They also served us brownie bites which were very chocolate-​y and rich and not dry.
Noca, you get an A for effort, but I’m not dying to come back.
p. s. — one of my friends ordered the grain salad, but it needed more flavor so she asked for balsalmic vinegar and was informed it would be an extra $ 1.50, weird…

Squid Ink Fettucini! Whaaaaaattt?
Yeah that pretty much sums my curiosity of that splendid pasta. I was expecting iron or mineral taste coming out from it (hence the ink) but the taste was so wonderful and the pasta is as good as it gets. With the king crabs meat and yummy sauce I definitely hooked to this food. The restaurant itself is a bit in tricky location cause it is right behind the keegan and on the left side of the safeway. I am having a bit trouble with the GPS when I tried to find it, but when the food came its all worth it.
They gave us complimentary doughnut that to die for, the crunchiest doughnut that I’d ever tasted, and complimentary brownies. With this much good food to offer, I would definitely stop by this restaurant again!

Third visit — items selected include:
Noca Royale — Prosecco, Compari, Lime Cordial
PB&J — Peanut Buffalo Trace, Raspberry, Lemon
Bread
Arancini
Potato Croquette
Funghi Schiacciate — Alba brown and white beech mushrooms, Parmigiano, Mozzarella, Oregano, EVOO
Pork & Beans — Kurobuta Pork Belly Confit, Bean Cassoulet, Mirepox, Bacon
Lamb Porterhouse — Controne Beans, Beech Mushrooms, Peperonata, Olive Cocoa Pesto
Ravioli — Potato, Red Pepper, Mozzarella Filled with Thyme and Brown Butter
Creste di Gallo — Kurobuta Pork Ragu
Six Points Kurobuta Pork Short Ribs — Pommes Purée, Braised Greens, Carrots, Cuisson
Flourless Chocolate Cake — Roasted White Chocolate, Brandy Tuile, Angelfood Crumble
Citrus Semifreddo — Cranberry Campari Marmellata, Toasted Vanilla Bean Angelfood Cake
Cream Cheese Beignets — Chocolate, Goat Caramel, Key Lime Cream
Green Apple Cotton Candy
While my first meal at noca was amongst the best I’ve had in Phoenix my second was unfortunately the disappointing Fried Chicken Face-​Off with FnB — a meal that I assumed was an aberration, but one that did not exactly send me running back to either restaurant until my mother and aunt came to town and we decided to visit both spaces on sequential nights… the first a return to noca that proved my speculation correct in providing another meal as good as the first on a crowded Thursday night with the kitchen firing on all cylinders from free gifts of Arancini and Potato Croquettes through the new Pizza/​Schiacciate program all the way to Tracy Dempsey’s desserts.
Having enjoyed Italian the night before at Bianco’s Italian Restaurant but well aware of Chef Claudio’s skills with pasta and Eliot Wexler’s strong dedication to sourcing top quality pig and lamb our selections focused heavily on the night’s more hearty and rustic dishes and, as anticipated, our reward was plate after plate of truly excellent cuisine — the Creste and Short Ribs particularly balanced and immaculately prepared while the delicate ravioli and gamey lamb, both delicious, touched on entirely opposite ends of the spectrum — the former silky and subtle while the later was amongst the most flavorful lamb dishes I’ve ever encountered.
Moving from savory to sweet, while I cannot say I’m happy to see yet another restaurant in the area relying on outside sources for their desserts, it goes without saying that Tracy is extremely talented and her range is amongst the best in the business, the dense chocolate cake and light, silky semifreddo equally impressive while the beignets stole the show — each donut light and entirely greaseless while the caramel and key lime cream both warranted a finger to wipe the plate clean.

They started us off with an amuse bouche of tiny marble size arancinis (fried cheesy rice balls) They were so tasty we thought about asking for more but didn’t.
We tried the tasting menu and had a long parade of things to try.
I was very impressed with both of our starters. I’ve been fortunate to have dined at great places in Las Vegas and Napa and had Raviolos in those places and I have to say the Raviolo I had at Noca was truly the best tasting Raviolo that I have tried so far. The pasta was thin and seasoned just right with the right texture. The egg oozed out in a sexy way revealing a light fresh cheese. The browned butter sage sauce just was the best I’ve had cooked carefully and enough, not burnt being very tasty and nutty and it had the perfect seasonings. This dish was special.
To me the other starter dish was also a very masterful and well thought out dish. I’ve never seen a soft boiled FRIED and lightly breaded egg before. That truly isn’t the easiest thing to do with the yolk not coming out chalky but moist instead. The dish was embellished with painstaking shaved asparagus, prosciutto and morel mushrooms. I never seen anyone before cutting the morels in half but I was impressed with that because I know that is the only way to clean a morel. If you didn’t know that morels harvest the most dirt of any mushroom because of all their crevices.
In between here and dinner we had the lemon rosemary flat bread. I don’t know if they made the wrong portion size or not but they gave me a whole bread. It was made very nice and was very thin but crisp and had a very good aroma from the lemons and rosemary. My husband had the fresh made pasta with Lamb Ragu and Fava beans. He said it was very good. The lamb was nice and tender. The favas were very fresh and the pasta was perfect.
For dinner my husband had the Burrida it’s basically the Italian version of Cioppino. The Burrida was packed with fresh mussels, Whole Prawns, Calamari, and Branzino in a spicy tomato broth. My husband said the mussels truly were the best he has ever had.
I had the Hake. It was fresh and very light and almost a tasteless fish but it was seasoned nice and was adorned with Italian condiments including mostarda that made it taste good. I almost want to run out and buy some mostarda now. This dish only came with a high end grain salad being mostly black barley and I think it had a little kamut in it and maybe a few other grains.
Then came a long parade of desserts that I didn’t need because I was past my limit at this point.
A big bowl of cotton candy. A Chocolate enrobed chocolate cake stuffed with Nutella Mousse with a fancy cookie garnish and caramel sauce. If this dessert doesn’t give you a buzz nothing will. And our other dessert was a blueberry tart topped with a little vanilla ice cream. We thought we were done but then they brought out two small chocolate coated cubes stuffed with a light chocolaty like mousse center.
All I can say is WOW!

Very disappointing. The evening started off well when I noticed they had foie gras on the menu and it wasn’t just a foie gras pâté, but the whole foie gras seared. It was pretty good, although the radicchio didn’t go well with it. It also could have used another 30 seconds of searing.
Everything was downhill from there. I have never seen a smaller or eaten a blander ceviche. Ever. If you’re going to call something ceviche, it should be served in Peruvian fashion and taste something like ceviche.
The lobster risotto was pretty good and had a nice little kick to it. All three bites of it.
The black bass was forgettable. The prime rib eye is misnamed. If you aren’t going to include the eye, which is the best part, then call it something else. It was ok.
Even with the complimentary soup and appetizer, we left unfilled and went to Smashburger around the corner for our second dinner.

I had never been here before but it was recommended by a few colleagues of mine. I went with a few of my girlfriends for a nice girls night out dinner. We sat up at the bar in front of the kitchen. It was nice to have a front row seat to the action and become immediately enticed by the aromas emitting from the cuisine. The chefs all greeted us with friendly smiles. It took a bit of time but were eventually offered water and menus. My friends and I ordered a few glasses of wine and almost immediately decided to get two entrees and split them between the three of us: The hangar steak with red wine sauce, mushrooms, and fingerling potatoes and the pork short ribs with heirloom carrots, polenta and tomato sauce.
While we waited for our entrees, the chefs sent out an appetizer course on the house… the manager delivered fresh spaghetti with a traditional amatriciana sauce. It was quite tasty and a nice surprise to hold us over until our food was finished being prepared. In the meanwhile, our server was no where to be found. We saw her once when she took our order and again to pour our wine. What was interesting was that the other members of the staff picked up her slack. When our dinner finally arrived it was quite delicious. The meats were cooked well and allowed to rest to retain the ideal tenderness. The red wine sauce was reduced perfectly and the pairing of the house made tomato sauce with the polenta was fantastic! I was culinarily impressed.
Afterward, we waited and waited and waited to see dessert menus. Finally had to ask a busser. We were going to order some more drinks but all the constant waiting was silliness. We split the flourless chocolate cake and were given the house cotton candy as well. Again, a nice culinary surprise. We waited for the bill… well, actually, we waited… and waited… and waited… ha! Then out of the blue, the owner himself (Elliot) came over and told us that our dinner had been taken care of… it was on him. Wow! …that was all I could say.
All in all, the service was very slow, not attentive and lack luster. Meanwhile, the food was absolutely incredible! The experience was a good one due to the fantastic food, the charismatic chefs, attentive support staff and a great manager and owner. Thank you for making it a good experience to remember, I will be back :)

You pretty much have to write two separate reviews; one for the ‘wich’ and one for regular Noca. I will focus on the sandwiches. The lunch menu isn’t large and the sandwiches are what you’d get elsewhere. The difference is in the quality of the craftsmanship and ingredients. It is neck and neck between this place and Pane Bianco for the crown of best upscale sandwich in Phoenix.
Also, try to come on Saturdays so you can partake of the gift of the seas otherwise known as the Noca lobster roll.

The ambiance here is great.
The food however was unimpressive. I had «the best lobsta roll in Phx». Im from New England… that was not the best lobstaH roll in Phx. It was good, but not great. Too much mayo. My husband did enjoy the duck fat fries that came w/​it though. We did enjoy the amuse bouche between courses, especially the large bowl of cotton candy before dessert. Now the desserts were fabulous. I had the 3 sorbets (chocolate caramel, marshmallow bourbon, and strawberry) so, so good. My husband had the doughnuts which he emphatically recommends (the small bites he’d actually give up were delicious).
The wine list was great. We also tried the «United Kingdom» martini. delicious.
I was so disappointed in the food, BUT am excited to go back for lunch sometime and try something off of their sandwich, excuse me, Nocawich menu.

2.5 stars… and here is why:
Location —
Strip mall, nothing special. Open kitchen is a nice touch. Too many tables (no one could get into the back tables without bumping into the tables next to them).
Service slow —
We’re talking AGES here. This was not a timing issue. This was a… I just don’t care enough about my tables to check on them issue. We sat, without anything but water, for twenty minutes after we finished our appetizers before the waiter came by to check on us. One hour after we ordered, the waiter comes by our table and tells us that they’re going to have to make a substitution on one of our entrees. The chef was not happy with the skate that came in. So, we got our entrees twenty minutes after that.
Out of everything —
When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. We’d already been notified there were four changes to the menu when we sat down at 7:30 p.m. for dinner. Not a big deal. We’re adaptable. Then while waiting for our food, we are told they are completely out of fish. They had a seafood tasting menu the night we went (June 30). How could they just RUN OUT of fish? The funny part is that my dining companion was excited about one of the sides with the halibut, and had originally asked if he could have that with his skate. The waiter was very quick to say they make no substitutions. HA!
Substitutions–
I guess Noca really got an abundance of Halibut and nothing else. The cod and skate were both sold out and guess what everyone got?
Even the dessert menu had substitutions. I mean, they ran out of marscapone gelato. Was there really a run on marscapone gelato that night? I think not. Almost everyone was ordering donuts.
Mediocre food /​no finesse in presentation–
Okay, so this is what people really want to know. How does the food taste? Well, I will break it down for you…
For appetizers, we ordered the fried clam po’ boys, the farm salad and the burrata. I did not try the po’ boys. My dining companion literally just removed the clams from the two small sandwiches and left the rest on the plate. And… he is someone who CAN eat a lot (at 6’5″+, he should). He said he enjoyed the farm salad, which just seemed pretty standard to me.
I tried the burrata. Boy, was this unimpressive. One slice of cheese atop three slices of heirloom tomato. THREE. And the tomato was over ripe. The presentation was atrocious. It looked like someone threw up on the plate. I am NOT exaggerating. Well, maybe a little.
I had the hangar steak (which was a menu change from the filet they were supposed to be offering at the same price of $ 30). It was on a mushroom risotto. Honestly, the steak was a little overcooked (it was medium well instead of medium). But it was quite good. The mushroom risotto was very… slimy… for lack of a better word. I have had some good risottos in my time and this was NOT one of them.
My dining companion had… the halibut. I tasted it and it was… well… halibut. There was nothing special about it. It was not even presented well (see the pics I’ve uploaded). In fact, it was quite bland.
For dessert, we ordered the Sticky Toffee Pudding, which came with a lime gelato. The gelato was delicious and the sticky toffee pudding was a little… dry? But the flavors were not very complementary. The waiter said that everyone else LOVES those flavors together. So, maybe we are just not part of EVERYONE. We also ordered the three gelato sampler and chose salted butter, vanilla and chocolate (chocolate was a last minute choice since the marscapone was out). The salted butter gelato was the HIGHLIGHT of the meal. Absolutely do try it if you MUST go to Noca. It would have been perfect with the sticky toffee pudding.
The waiter gave us a chocolate chip shortbread as a takeaway. I had that the next day… I think that whoever baked it deserves a pat on the back. Well done. Find another job quickly. The Noca ship seems to be sinking!
Other than the above, my dining companion had a cocktail (which he said was quite good). I am sorry to report, I didn’t catch the name of the drink.
In conclusion, if you get dragged to Noca… get the farm salad, the steak and the salted butter gelato. Maybe have a drink. At least you’ll be safe.
But plan on spending a couple hours waiting for those things. And if you expect bad service, maybe you will have a great time.
I will NOT be returning. You could not drag me here… even with the promise that a handsome billionaire wanted to make me his pet project. I kid. Sort of.
A MUCH better alternative? POSH. Run, run, run to Posh.
P. S. Yes, they brought us raspberry flavored cotton candy. No, this is not innovative or kitschy. Rustler’s Rooste has been doing this for awhile and I think it is a lot more appropriate venue for it than Noca. At Noca, it was just sad.