Osteria i Nonni, a review

[Brad Ballinger]

I’ve been to Osteria i Nonni a few times before, but only for antipasti. Those dishes had always impressed me, so it was time to test out the rest of the menu.

Overall, I would recommend i Nonni. They are obviously gunning to become not only a premiere restaurant for Italian cuisine, but a destination/special occasion restaurant as well – perhaps taking away from St. Paul Grill, Pazzaluna, etc. I’m not sure they’re close enough to downtown Minneapolis to threaten some of those places.

The food was on a level that will help the restaurant succeed. There may be some sticker shock when looking at the price of the entrees (most are in the upper $20s), but the portion sizes are quite large. The wine list is long and attractively priced. The ambience is very nice for what the restaurant is trying to achieve. On this visit, it was primarily the service that was a disappointment. The restaurant was very busy (be careful of what you wish for, I guess), and the staff is still trying to figure out all (and I mean all) of its timing.

I had called for 7:30 reservations and asked for a table far from the bar. Smoking is permitted in the bar, and some tables in the restaurant are close enough to the bar that coming into contact with the smoke cannot be avoided. I was promised a table in the bay window area of the dining room, very far away from the bar. We arrived five minutes early for our reservation, and were told out table would be ready in five minutes. We were then shown to a table “two tables in” from the bar. I mentioned to the hostess that when my reservation was taken, I’d be given a different table. She had obviously heard this before and was quick to reply, “We can’t guarantee certain tables, and the person who took your reservation should’ve told you that.” Well, he didn’t. “You can take this table or wait for another, but that wait might be 20 minutes.”

Had it just been my wife and I, I would’ve waited and hovered around the host stand the entire time. But we were with another couple, and we decided to be accommodating and “tough it out” at the table we were given. to the restaurant’s credit, about ten minutes later a table opened up where I had requested to be seated and we were asked if we would like to move to that one. We did. Ahhhh, much better.

On some evenings there are enough specials to warrant printing an addendum to the menu. On this night, however, there were just a few – all of which, by the way, sounding incredibly tempting. And the server was certain to mention that there were limited quantities of each, so if we wanted one we should place an order quickly. Good to know.

We looked over the menu. On previous visits, I had enjoyed the calamari fritti antipasta (incredibly tender and nowhere close to being overcooked and rubbery), the beef carpaccio, and the salumi spread. Tonight, however, we all opted to start with salads – two golden beet and watercress with creamy ricotta, a hearts of romaine, and an arugula wrapped in speck. They were all at or just under $10. They were also very fresh and very good.

But we waited to enjoy them. We had ordered a wine to go with the salad. I was surprised at how quickly the salads came out after ordering (did they need to turn over our table quickly because someone else wanted to sit in the window area?). The salads arrived before the wine. The wine didn’t come until nearly five minutes afterwards. I was about to say “forget it,” until I noticed that the bottle had already been opened and the wine glasses primed. A short aside here – there are no wine glasses on the table. The prime them by pouring in a little wine before going through the tableside wine service routine. Many restaurants are starting to do this, although I’m not sure it makes that much of a difference or impression. I’d rather they get the timing of the service down first before trying to impress me with priming the glasses. Give me a doorknob that opens the door before you worry about gold-plating it.

At least the wait staff wasn’t hovering to take away our plates and rush out the entrées. We went through the salads at a relaxing pace. Then came the entrees – rack of Icelandic lamb, a seared tuna special, bredetto (think bouillabaisse), and one opted for the tiger prawn pasta in an entrée serving. The lamb was done perfectly and very flavorful, served with roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts. The tuna was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The bredetto was aromatic and fresh. The pasta dish had some crispy pancetta added for texture, which was a nice touch, but there’s no way in hell those shrimp were tiger prawns.

Here, too, we were served the food before the wine. I found this a bit odd, because I had ordered the wine quite early and asked that it be decanted. The empty bottle was brought to our table shortly after the white wine we had with our salads was served. But the primed glasses and decanter didn’t make their appearance until 3-4 minutes after the food arrived.

We did save room for dessert. Two of us ordered the bread pudding with bananas, and one ordered a roasted pear. The fourth asked for a spoon. The bread pudding portions were monstrous, and had we known we would’ve ordered only one – which was still bigger than three of us. The other portion remained untouched and was taken home by the other couple for breakfast the following morning. The person who had the roasted pear commented that it was uninspired, and wouldn’t order it again. On the bright side, our coffee and dessert wines arrived about a minute or two BEFORE the food. Hallelujah.

The restaurant advertises a focus on cuisine from Rome and the surrounding area. The menu is divided into antipasti (including salads), primi (primarily pasta), and secondi. Of the secondi options, the current menu is meat-instensive – plenty of veal, some beef, lamb, and pork. There are two seafood options – the bredetto and a diver scallop dish. There is only one veggie option – a vegetarian lasagne. But they are supposed to be coming out with a new menu in the next couple of weeks.

The wine list is all Italian (except for some port) from all over Italy, with bottles ranging from the $20s to over $300. The prices are very reasonable. I had heard or read that the bottle prices were supposedly only $10 (or maybe 10% in some cases) higher than the sticker price in the wine shop next door. There are many great deals on the list, and Marc is usually on hand to help one navigate through the list.

The room is warm in its color and temperature. Even by the windows on a cold January night, we were comfortable. There are baseboard heaters along the floor below the windows that look tacky and out of place, but they do the job. The lighting is a warm yellow, if a little dim. To read some of the menu and wine list, we had to take turns holding the candle on the table next to what we were trying to read. The bar is dimmer, yet.

I’ve already talked about the service. And I can even forgive some lapses – if the staff will at least acknowledge them. No apology for the table mix up (but good recovery). No acknowledgement (let alone apology) for the timing of serving food and wine. No caution about the bread pudding being the size of my head. This is one of the drawbacks of living in the Twin Cities – you just don’t come across the professional wait staff that you will find in other cosmopolitan cities, and certainly in many European ones.

It is certainly worth a return trip, especially to try the new menu. Living no more than 10 minutes away is also a plus.

[zennenn]

Wow, Brad, great review. I can't wait to try this place out. Yet another excuse for me to visit Lilydale! (I love the Lilydale Nursery)

Thank you for sharing your impressions.

[col klink]

Great review Brad and thank you. I'm so relieved to hear that there's better Italian in St. Paul than Cosetta's.

[Brad Ballinger]

Better than Cossetta's? Plenty. The Buon Giorno deli has always been better IMO. But they have suffered from not having the primo location of Cossetta's. Better pizza in St. Paul (in a similar enough style to Cossetta's) can be had at Red's Savoy Inn. Better pasta at La Grolla.

[John Braise]

Great review Brad and thank you. I'm so relieved to hear that there's better Italian in St. Paul than Cosetta's.

I think you could make a strong argument that the best Italian in the Twin Cities is in St. Paul. Luci in Highland is fantastic. Right down the street is Punch, which is the standard-bearer for Neopolitan style pizza in the cities. It's on a different vertex of Pizza Greatness than Red's Savoy Inn, but great nonetheless.

I went to Osteria i Nonni maybe a month after it opened and was underwhelmed. The food wasn't bad, but it didn't seem in line with the prices they were charging. I hate paying the bill at the end of the night and thinking about the dozen other places I would have rather spent my filthy lucre. The service was completely out of sync. Anyway, it's good to hear that have turned it around - I'm rooting for them. I'm just not excited about going back.

Thanks for the review!

[Brad Ballinger]

The food wasn't bad, but it didn't seem in line with the prices they were charging.

I can see an argument being made here. But I do know the restaurant sources some pretty good ingredients. And the prices are pretty comparable with Luci IMO. I've been to that place three times, and have had to send something back every time. I'm done with the place.

[Schneier]

Thanks for the review, Brad.

We've never been. Next time you go, feel free to give us a call.

Bruce