Nicolino Ristorante Italiano image

Nicolino Ristorante Italiano

Restaurant Italian restaurant

One of the Top rated Italian restaurants in Issaquah


Address

317 NW Gilman Blvd #30A, Issaquah, WA 98027

Website

www.nicolino.net

Contact

(425) 391-8077

Price rating

$$ $$

Rating on Google Maps

4.40 (341 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Thursday: 4:30 to 8:30 PM
  • Friday: 4:30 to 9:30 PM
  • Saturday: 4:30 to 9:30 PM
  • Sunday: 4:30 to 8:30 PM
  • Monday: 4:30 to 8:30 PM
  • Tuesday: 4:30 to 8:30 PM
  • Wednesday: 4:30 to 8:30 PM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: good (17) order (11) restaurant (9) busy (8) time (8) service (8) server (7) Italian (6) bread (6) ordered (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 4/5 Kirk M. 2 years ago on Google
    Our experience here was good and bad. It was extremely busy when we got there and the hostess said they had seating outside in the covered patio which was heated. So we accepted and went outside thinking we would be able to eat much quicker than waiting for a seat inside. We were unfortunately wrong, it didn’t get us served any faster. I believe they were just short staffed, but seemed to continue to forget about serving the patio. They were definitely friendly and working hard, so that’s really the reason I didn’t rate it less. The food was very good, but the Caesar salad is more traditional, meaning it was a little more fishy than I like. Though the diner entrees were excellent! If we’re in the area again and craving Italian, it would be worth another try.
    5 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Connor R. 1 year ago on Google
    I came here with my family and got their Ravioli Pesto and was so impressed. I tried what my family had gotten from their plates and their food overall is amazing. You will not be disappointed when coming here. I will definitely be coming back here again, finished my entire plate.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Sarabjot S. 1 year ago on Google
    Ordered Fettuccine Pasta The most bland pasta I've ever had. No salt let alone any flavor. Tried calling the restaurant back again, but they didn't answer. I tried it for the first time, and I'm really disappointed given how much I spent. I asked for chicken to be removed and add vegetable instead, and I still got charged extra for vegetables. The tiramisu cake is good, a bit soggy, but at least it has a taste.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Dan O. 2 years ago on Google
    Excellent quality Italian dishes with great service. Choice of dinning inside or out. We sat in the enclosed area outside. We were seated quickly. Drink order was just as quick. We order the Puttenesca and meat Bolognese and were eating before we finished the first round of drinks. We didn't finish the Puttenesca so they wrapped the to go box in plastic wrap to keep it fresh. Love this place!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Kaho C. 2 years ago on Google
    Ordered a takeout. Overall it’s a good experience. Loved the Garlic Chili Prawns! A little expensive for 6 prawns though. All our breads took the rest of the sauce. DELLA CASA is also good. Not so happy with Lobster ravioli though: the taste of lobster is covered by the ravioli itself plus the sauce doesn’t fit my taste.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Nic E. 8 months ago on Google
    The food here is awful. We got chicken parmesan and lasagne (which the server said has the same meat sauce as the pappardelle bolognese, in case anyone's wondering whether other menu items are better) and both my partner and I found it hard to eat our entrees. It tasted like the sauces came out of a can (in the Chef Boyardee way, not in the crushed canned tomatoes as a base to produce a homemade sauce way) and like the chicken base for the parmesan came from a frozen packet. The meat in the lasagne also tasted like something from a Chef Boyardee ravioli. I took home half of it and I honestly don't know if I can bring myself to eat it. It was a $29 meal. Bread service is a surprising, nice touch these days, but the bread here is clearly mass-produced store-bought white baguettes, which takes away from the appeal. The parmesan they brought out was crumbled (think Kraft shaker bottles) parmesan in an open bowl. I am not a big fan of the open bowl from a sanitary perspective, but more importantly, I expect that kind of cheese at a cheap pizza place, not at a dedicated Italian restaurant with $25+ entrees. Even Cheesecake Factory, a chain restaurant not specializing in Italian food, will come over and grate real parmesan over your pasta dish. Cheesecake Factory also manages to have better, fresher bread. I am saying this as someone who hasn't been to The Cheesecake Factory in years, because why go to a chain when there are so many great, independent, specialized restaurants around? I guess this is why. Not all independent restaurants are good. I could see into the kitchen from my seat and it looked like there might have only been a single cook back there, on a busy Saturday night, at peak dinner hours. Maybe if this place relies on frozen/canned everything, they feel 1 chef is enough, but it's clearly not. For this awful food, we waited a little over 45 mins from the time of ordering. We arrived hungry, so you'd think 45 mins of waiting would have made ANY food taste good, but no. You may be thinking 45 mins is an exaggeration, but no, we actually timed it, because we made note of the time after the server took 15 mins to take our food order after we sat down. It turns out that on a busy Saturday night, this place only seems to have scheduled a single server for the whole restaurant. The hostess (or idk maybe that was the manager or owner) was doing multiple roles, helping to run food and check on people, and the busser was also fulfilling a few roles, but come on. I've worked in food service, if you can't support the number of patrons in a place with the level of staff you have, you don't just keep seating more and more people - you leave some sections closed, so you can give th people already seated a good experience. How this place had a completely full restaurant with 1 server, 1 host, 1 busser, and 1 chef blows my mind. Nobody checked in on us or said anything to assure us during the 45 mins we waited for our food, btw. My partner and I were in between wondering whether they forgot our order and joking about walking out. Never again.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Derek B. 6 months ago on Google
    Nicolinos prepared a wonderful takeout meal for a group of 12 we were hosting. Service and food was excellent! I'm sure everyone attending will be visiting Nicolinos soon.

  • 1/5 Vanessa M. 8 months ago on Google
    The food just wasn't good at all. When I order Pollo Parmigan....chicken parm....I really expect there to be at least some breading in it. And the pasta....capallini was not good. My sisters dish the lobster and prawn ravioli was less then impressive as well. Aside from a really nice server and good ambiance it was just disappointing to have not good entrees. The bread was good. I traveled from eastern WA and paid a lot for disappointing food. Sorry for the review but just being honest.

  • 5/5 Yvonne P. 9 months ago on Google
    First food is always wonderful. Unfortunately the place can get very loud. That is why my husband doesn't care to go but he always loves the food. So I order take out. When we have sat in the restaurant never any problem with the order. The last 2 take outs, the order had been messed up. The first time, they forgot his soup. We live 15 miles away so going back was not an option. So I just called to let them know. They were very sorry and offered to send check to reimburse me. Said they didn't have to do that, so they gave me a credit for later use. About a month later we ordered take out again. I ordered my usual, Fettuccine Della Casa. Hubby ordered Chicken with Cherries (don't know real name). Used my credit. Got home and they messed up order again. He got Chicken Parmesan. He isn't a fan. Again I called, had to leave message and explained what happened. They never returned my call. We will order again but definitely will have to check oder before I leave. It isn't a cheap dinner so would like to get what we ordered. They write the name of the item on the container so easy enough to check. I didn't think I would have needed to do that the second time. Great food though.

  • 4/5 Yatri A. 10 months ago on Google
    I thought this place was nice. The overall vibe was casual and fun and the staff were very accommodating and friendly to our party of 14. The food wasn’t bad but it was very standard and honestly I was expecting a little more in flavor (quantity is really good, enough to feed two people with one dish!). The italian sodas were nice. I would recommend because the staff were super patient with our indecisive, talkative members.

  • 5/5 Lance K. 10 months ago on Google
    We always enjoy eating here, the food is delicious. Do expect slow service at times because they get very busy, but it has always been worth the wait

  • 3/5 cindy h. 1 year ago on Google
    Party of 2 wasn't too busy. We had a 2 to 3 min wait to be seated. It's a small place, it was loud. The bread service was great. We ordered the insalata passione salad, and they split it for us, but all the good stuff was on 1 plate, and the other just had lettuce. The cioppino del giorno was ok. It was under seasoned and tasted like everything had been cooked separately. It didn't have layers of flavors, just one note. The ravioli was bland, not horrible, I don't recommend, I ate 2 and that was enough. The servers were pleasant. They took my plate and wrapped everything up to go and even added bread and oil. Honestly, we couldn't wait to get out of there. It was just too loud!

  • 5/5 Brian M. 1 year ago on Google
    Delicious food. Great variety of options. Part of Gilman Village so location feels slightly small. Very attentive service but plates were taken away too soon. Who doesn't like to mop up all those delicious sauces with the last piece of bread?

  • 4/5 Nir A. 10 months ago on Google
    I found the menu a little limited. As someone who doesn't like bacon or seafood I usually have more selection in an Italian restaurant. The dishes we did get were very good, and the service was great.

  • 5/5 Sarah “SKOTA711” K. 11 months ago on Google
    Nice restaurant, They were out of calamari and lobster?? Oh well. Didn’t start off busy but super short staffed! Reid was the restaurants only server and a bus girl? She was also helping out as much as she could but Reid was the only waiter and bartender… he was so busy and hard working and was attentive and so good about making his rounds while managing 7-8 other tables! This restaurant really needs to get more staff. I hope this doesn’t happen all the time! If it wasn’t for his amazing service I would have this place 3-4 stars. Reid saved you guys. Please acknowledge him. He is a hard worker!!! Thank you Reid.

  • 5/5 Jim C. 1 year ago on Google
    Oct 2022 update Based on our last great experience, we tried them again. OMG the food is superb. The carbonara was outstanding and reasonable. Recommend reservations... they get busy after 530pm. Like Italian, recommend you try them. I'll re-edit/update and add pics.

  • 5/5 Edward Y. 1 year ago on Google
    Every hostess and server was phenomenal. So pleasant. I felt the love and dedication in the air. Thank you to everyone there. Made the food perfect even down to the salad. All are hard workers: all of them.

  • 1/5 Jesse 1 year ago on Google
    My wife and I have been going here for 15 years, but it gone downhill recently. We gave them a pass the first time, but this latest visit will be our last. I understand pandemic staffing, but there were only 6 tables of diners and we counted 4 waitresses and a host. Despite asking to order when the water came, we waited 20 more minutes before someone came (we asked twice). The food took another 40 minutes to arrIve and was very bland (same dishes we’ve ordered dozens of times).

  • 4/5 Shauna S. 1 year ago on Google
    The food was outstanding and the staff was friendly and accomodating. The desserts were fantastic. Only took off a star because they were understaffed and everything took a long time. I will happily eat there again, but will plan to go a little earlier so that dinner doesn't become such a late night with the kids. Their patio is nice and they had heat available!


Call (425) 391-8077 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Coffee
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Spirits
    • ✓️ Cocktails
    • ✓️ Comfort food
  • Popular for
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Solo dining
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible toilet
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible seating
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible car park
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible entrance
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Dessert
    • ✓️ Seating
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✗ Delivery
    • ✓️ Takeaway
    • ✓️ Kerbside pickup
    • ✓️ Outdoor seating

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