Norabella Restaurant

We live nearby and have been to Norabella several times, last night was the last ! There were six of us and not one of us commented on how good our meals were. Mediocre at best, I had the Veal Milanese which I can best describe as veal pounded and over cooked to the texture of burnt bacon. Awful meal and I was surprised that a cook would let that excuse for Italian cooking leave the kitchen. Well, with all the family ready to eat I kept quiet. We finished our wine & food — never to return.

Norabella has become our favorite place to go when we want finer dining. We have eaten there numerous times after finding it last fall. It never fails to wow us.
Our oldest calls it his favorite restaurant — anywhere. Granted he favors Italian cuisine, but the fried polenta and eggplant rollitini are fabulous — even our pickier eater loved them. My favorite is the veal chop and it is cooked to perfection (often done as a special too).
Service has always been spot on. Totally bummed that others have not had the experience we have had.

I would go back to this restaurant every time I visit the Cape. The environment… service…and food are out of this world! YUMMY!

Had dinner last night with some friends at this wonderful restaurant. Our reservation was at 7:30 and there was a bit of a wait but the delicious food made up for it. I had lasagna with homemade spinach noodles, grilled vegees and ricotta cheese. It was amazing. Light and so flavorful. My friends also enjoyed their meals. The cannolis for dessert were fabulous. It is quite small and can get a bit noisy but this is carefully prepared delicious food. Highly recommended!

Our second dinner at Norabella was as great as our first. I had the Veal Milanese with asparagus risotto. The veal was very tender and the risotto was creamy and the perfect texture. The other diners in our party had Penne Bolognese, Schrod con Arrogosta and Seafood Fra Diavolo. All give 5 stars for their meals. Service was top notch, thanks to our waitress Caroline. I love the setting and ambience. It’s a very small restaurant (approximately 10 tables), so make your reservations early.

Mom and I stopped in for an early supper. We dined outside to enjoy the breeze. The chef set up a modified gazebo out of a beach sort of tent set up. A boom box was playing a local radio station, ads and all. Rather annoying but the bus girl turned it off so we could converse (we were parked next to the box). Our server was Carolina (I overheard her introduce herself to our neighbors). She was accommodating and so very pleasant. The star of the night was our tomato mozzarella salad. Mom’s chicken Norabella was less than memorable. My pour of Savignon Blanc was perfect and the wine was quite crisp and pleasant. Mom had San Pellegrino. My lasagna was a mushy mess of mostly ricotta, some mushy veggies and barely discernable mushy spinach noodles. It was blah. The bill with tip was 90+. Mom and I both agreed, our days of patronizing Norabella are over. The past has been so good but alas, no more.

Awesome food and service, adorable little place, chef owned. Make a reservation for sure and check it out!

A nice option to the regular stops on the Cape and it’s been on our list to try for some time. Given the small size, it’s a tough table so call a few days ahead.
FOOD– very fresh, lots of flavor and plenty to choose from. Nice selections and good specials options. Ranks right up there with the best in the area. Nice bread to start too!
SERVICE– not ready for prime time. Our waitress asked if we wanted drinks and one of us asked for water. she walked away and brought four waters. So much for wine for the others! She seemed in a hurry to get our order and seemed frustrated by our questions and I felt almost like we were in her way. she may be the owners friend. everyone can have an off night so maybe that’s what we saw.
In the end, we spent a little less than we spent at the Ocean House the
following night, but service quality can’t compare. I’d suggest if Norabella can match their service quality to their food quality they’d have a winner. Until then, there are too many choices to settle for average service, so I’ll be looking for positive service ratings before we return.

Great small restaurant chef owned. Food was fresh and well prepared. I wish there was a beef dish. Otherwise everything was very good.

What a cool little spot! Emphasis on little, there were about 6 tables inside. We dined in on a Tuesday and were seated right away. The waitress was the only one working front of the house, so she was quite busy but took good care of us. I ordered the seafood special and my girlfriend had the Penne Bolognese. Everything was cooked perfectly and looked like great Italian food should. My one complaint is that the white wine sauce on my seafood special was a little bland without a bite of pancetta accompanying it. We’d definitely go again!

A treasure in the Cape. Yum!
Better than Nonna’s homemade Italian. It was amazing. Highly recommended. This is a cape cod treasure that is not well known. Make sure you make reservations. The veal chop was an awesome entrée, it melts in your mouth. It is on the menu but many times they have veal chop specials you cannot go wrong. Also a must have is the ricotta gnocchi appetizer.
It is very small dining area but the service is excellent, they know the food and have excellent recommendations. It is a little expensive but well worth the investment.
Bone Appetite!

THE WAIT
We had same-​day reservations and arrived about 15 minutes early (since we didn’t know if Cape traffic would cooperate on our journey in.) The table was ready for us right on time. But the place is so small that the waiting was a bit uncomfortable, since anywhere we went we were in the way.
THE FOOD
Outstanding!!! Everything was cooked to perfection! We tried (and recommend) the fried polenta, lobster ravioli, and penne bolognese.
THE SERVICE
The first server/​hostess (co-​owner, perhaps?) that I encountered seemed frazzled and to not be having the best night. However, once we had been seated, we were well taken care of. I really enjoyed our server (the other co-​owner?) who was sincere, down-​to-​earth, knowledgeable, very capable, and pleasant.
THE AMBIANCE
It is very small so it is noisy, but quaint, the way that a little Italian village eatery might be. The outdoor dining area is also charming, except for the sounds of passing traffic (not uncommon in outdoor dining.) We chose to eat outside, the quieter dining option, where only a few tables were set up. A cheap Chinese screen, with some holes in it, kept threatening to catch wind and sail away during our meal outside. Close to the end of our meal it did, taking out the top shelf of a roll-​away service tray with it. This diminished the charm, just a touch.
OVERALL
The food is amazing, make a reservation this place is worth the visit!!!

Phenomenal. Small place (9 tables tops). Everything is home made and delicious. It is nice and quiet. The service is excellent. Fantastic place for a romantic dinner for two or maybe for two couples. I would not bring a family… Not the right kind of place for that.
MAKE A RESERVATION or you will not get a table in season

Tried this place for the first time last night and was very happy we did! We tried the Primativo wine — so yummy we had two bottles. Prices for wine were excellent! All of our food was so good from the eggplant rolatini to both the specials we tried. And don’t forget tiramisu for dessert. It is a small place so don’t go there expecting privacy at your table, but it’s very romantic and perfect for an cozy Italian dinner. Definately make reservations as they are busy. Had to wait a bit for our server, but we understood and enjoyed not being rushed. Will definately go back!

This is a follow-​up review. We recently returned to Norabella to host a birthday party for 16. Every course was perfectly and freshly prepared, and children to adults loved all of their choices. Jeff prepared a special birthday cake and not a crumb was wasted. This is truly a great place for your not-​too-​large special event.

Wow! You want to go here! We’re not an easy group to please, but the service and food was fantastic. Table of seven on a busy Saturday night. I went vegan months ago and the server offered several off-​menu items for me; brother-​in-​law is on low salt; brother on low carb. And the server and chef-​owner happily accommodated all of us. Food was best I’ve ever had in twenty years on the cape.

Going to Norabella? Be prepared for authentic, delicious and hearty Italian food at reasonable prices in a teensy space. Teensy. I mean like, 15 tables teensy. And be preapred to wait.
Is it worth it? Absolutely –especially for the bolognese, the scampi or the super-​fresh and beautiful salads. I was temped to try the raviolis, and just about everything else on the menu, too, but went with the seafood scampi which was garlicy, full of plump, fresh seafood and perfectly al dente angel hair.
The service was personable, warm and helpful as she really knew her stuff –for example, when my father went nuts for the sausage in his bolognese, she knew which local butcher shop it came from and which kind it was. Impressive.
The place is (as I mentioned) very small and a bit, shall we say, homey –cozy and familiar, I suppose. We were comfortable and the food was outrageous and I would happily return for any one of their dishes or reasonably priced and quite delicious wines.

We have a friend visiting and wanted to have a nice dinner out on Saturday. Chose Norabella based on Unilocal reviews. We were very delighted with the service and the food. Four of us had different entrées ~ Swordfish special, chicken saltimbocca, penne bolognese, and I had the schrod con arrogosta. Lovely meal.

This tiny little place has 9 tables, is very quaint, and charming. I live in San Diego, travel widely and wildly for work, and I have to say that this meal was about the best I’ve had in a long while. It certainly is one of the better meals I have had on Cape Cod in a long while. A fresh, lightly dressed Caesar salad was crisp. The homemade gnocchi we chose to share for our pasta dish was stunningly delicious. We chose the Chicken Saltimbocca special and the menu Schrod and both agreed that all was cooked perfectly. Fantastic!

Ate here last year (2009) when I believe they were fairly new.
Its a nice small restuarant, tucked away, a hidden gem… Food was excellent and they took care of us well (we were a party of 6). Wish I had the chance to come back this year