Restaurant Navona

Fantastic. New owners have really transformed this space into a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Went on a Friday during a busy time and I could still hear my husband easily. Service was great even with the crowd. Ordered chicken meatballs, cheese puddle pizza and pizza navona– all were great! We can’t wait to try more. I have heard their soups are great as well but I did not try this time.

New favorite restaurant in Albany! Great service, long beer list, fun wood fired pizzas, handmade pastas, decadent desserts, and my ultimate favorite… the freshly made burrata cheese that is a part of one of their salad choices. Looking forward to many meals here!

We ate there this past weekend. The pizza was excellent. We had 2 pssta entrees. We will certainly return. The service was fine but needs a bit more direction from management.

It was Groundhog day, so I had lunch with a friend at a place that I remember being at before. It was Groundhog day, so I had lunch with a friend at a place that I remember being at before.
Although now, it is called Restaurant Navona. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to continue with the déjà vu.) I always liked the space when it was the Tap and Tea Room, and even before that when it was Avenue A. It’s still has a really nice atmosphere. There were only a couple other tables occupied when we arrive just after 12:30, but it seemed that business started picking up about an hour later.
I was on a mission to try the wood fired pizza since they had only recently added the wood oven. Of the three varieties offered, I opted for the Mr. Bill ($ 12) — meatballs, fennel salami, tomato, and mozzarella. As with most wood fired pizzas, the crust is on the thinner side, but it is not that cracker-​thin type. The crust edges have risen nicely, bubbled a bit, and have just enough char from the heat to add that extra flavor that one looks for in wood fired pizzas. The dough was exceptionally tasty and there was a reasonable amount of all the toppings which also tasted delicious.
My friend had the Turkey Pepperonata sandwich ($ 10). In addition to the turkey there was sweet & sour pepper relish, melted provolone, and crispy bacon served Panini style with sides of chips and house made pickle. I was lucky enough to sample a bite and we both agreed that it was a really tasty sandwich.
I was also lucky to have a conversation with the owner/​chef after our meal. A really pleasant fellow, we talked about the new pizza oven and he addressed my only concern that I would have liked the bottom of the pizza to be more crispy. He confirmed a theory that I had that the crust would be more crispy later in the day after the floor of the oven had heated up. Take note of that if you are like me and arrive closer to 5 pm like I plan to do the next time.
I don’t want to overlook the good service we had. As I considered the beer taps that I could see from our table, our server informed me that she had more taps at the bar in back and brought me a list of about 17 in total. I had a pint of the Smuttynose Durty ($ 7), a hoppy brown ale, and my friend had a small (12 oz.?) Chatham Ghent Bent ($ 7), a Belgian style abbey ale. As you might surmise from those two beers, they offer a very good selection of craft brews.
I look forward to returning.

Excellent food. Excellent service. Period. Glad to have Restaurant Navona in the neighborhood!

Meh.
To echo Daniel R. it seems like Restaurant Navrona wants to be something they are not. Not yet? Or not ever? I am hopeful.
It’s 20 degrees outside, turn the heat on.
As others have noted, the only real addition was the wood-​fired oven, so we started with the pizza. Burned bottom, barely warm top, and cold plates. Oh, and our drinks came after the pizza did.
When the delicious Butter Lettuce Salad arrived, they forgot the plates. When the busboy (whom by the end of the meal we had nicknamed Corporal Unctuous) brought them, they were warm. The salad included Gorgonzola, almond and shaved apple and was flavorful and fresh. Perfectly dressed and well-​presented.
Entrees were fine, good actually, but a bit fussy and overthought.
The place has potential. But they would most benefit from training their servers. The Century House is an excellent pedigree; they couldn’t bring one professional waiter with them?
Bring drinks first. Warm plates with pizza. Cold plates with salad, and don’t ask if I would «care for water,» just pour it. Thank you for resetting the silver between courses, it’s a sign of class, but please next time put the fork and knife on the correct sides.
One pizza, one salad, two entrees, one beer, one cocktail, and two glasses of wine for friends at the bar: there are many other places in Albany for our $ 140.
Two and a half stars. Meh.

This review is for a takeout order:
Called and ordered the cheese puddle pizza and a pasta dish. Pizza was small but perfect. Chewy and crispy perfection. The cheeses were delightful.
The pasta wasn’t what we were expecting it would be but flavor was really good and we liked it very much. Also on the smaller size.
They were very nice on the phone and at pick up. The place was pretty inside when we picked up.
We would 100% order from there before and look forward to dining in sometime.

Our experience at Navona was truly A-​OK. They did not have the wine that I ordered in stock so I went with something else and I have to say I received a pretty weak pour. I watched other glasses being poured at the bar and they, too, seemed weak so I don’t think I was simply unlucky. The stemware was dirty to boot, but it wasn’t worth asking for a new glass. We ordered the black bean & eggplant hummus to start (they had recently been out of that as well, we were told), which was different but good. It was served with soft toast points, grilled cauliflower, and olives. It was a decent deal for $ 10. We then split a pizza Navona, or your basic pie with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil. It was tasty but not substantial enough for 2 people. I recommend that you order 2 pies if you want to make a meal of them, otherwise a single pie would do as an app. Service was pretty good — no complaints there.
The drink menu is extensive, but the food menu is somewhat limited. The dishes, however, sound interesting and I will therefore likely try Navona again… time will tell!

I’ve debated the best approach in writing this review since I visited Restaurant Navona earlier this week. The main question I keep asking myself is, «How soon is too soon to write a review?» How much time should a business be afforded to go through their growing pains? Further, how will I know that a certain aspect of the business is a growing pain at all, and not an operational standard? It is with those questions in mind, that I offer this review.
Restaurant Navona must have opened to very limited press, especially with it being a mere blocks from my home. If it weren’t for the Unilocal community, I would have assumed that it remained the Midtown Tea and Taproom, a spot that I was never able to really connect with. Upon walking into Navona, it felt as though I was stepping into Midtown. Very little has changed inside. In fact, on the drink menus that we were provided, the Midtown name is still at the top. I found the décor, the layout, and just about every non-​food aspect of the restaurant to be stuffy. I’m not talking about being seated close to other diners. I’m talking about the general vibe of the operation. It felt too serious. It was very dark. The décor looked as though it was just sort of thrown together in an effort to make the place seem higher-​scale than it truly is.
On to the food, I must say that I was impressed. On this night, we ordered two pizzas. The first was, regrettably, called the Cheese Puddle. This pie came topped with generous, though not overwhelming, portions of mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, roasted garlic, and olive oil. I’m not normally too impressed by such high volumes of cheese, but this pie was super tasty. We also sampled the Baker’s Pie, which came topped with a fig and balsamic preserve, Gorgonzola cheese, arugula, and honey. Again, this was a good pie, though a bit heavy on the balsamic and fig preserve. What makes these pies real winners is the fact that they are cooked in a wood fire oven. Our pizzas had a fantastic char at the bottom, nice bubbles on the top, and a pleasant smoky flavor.
When reflecting on my experience at Navona, I must say that there were both things I liked and things I didn’t like. I feel as though this restaurant has some room to grow in the way of settling on their true identity. Is it a fine dining restaurant? It sort of feels that way because of the décor and vibe of the place. Or is it more of a Gastropub, with an eye on Mediterranean fusion? The pizzas, the small plates, and limited assortment of entrees supports that. Not like anyone is asking for my advice, but I think that toning down the «finer,» aspects of the restaurant and relaxing the operation a bit will go a long way with the New Scotland crowd.

My heart is all a flutter.
The Greater Albany Area lacks a really good Neapolitan style pizza. You know, a pizza that is about 10 inches in diameter. Dough and mozz made in house. A pizza that is cooked in a wood fired oven, where the crust puffs up, and gets blackened from the high heat. A crust that is a little crunchy and very chewy, but due to being bubbly and puffy, is still light and airy.
Restaurant Navona is not a pizzeria. But they do serve pizza. Damn good pizza. Chef/​owner Mike Niccoli is making a very good Neapolitan style pizza.
It’s not perfect. My pizza was a bit pale, I would’ve liked it to be a bit darker, and I would’ve liked a bit more char on the crust. But it’s one of the best I’ve had in the area.
I’m excited to see how the pizza changes over time. Navona has only been open for a week. I expect the pizza will only get better as Mike and his crew gain more experience. And if it does, man that’s going to be a treat for pizza lovers in Albany.

Where do i begin. .. from the minute we walked into the front door till we left. We were seated immediately — the bar is very nice, décor is tastefully done. Warm and inviting atmosphere.
There were four of us, one being a vegetarian We arrived on Saturday evening (6:00 pm). It wasn’t too busy but by the time we left — it was filling up — which was around 7:30. You felt the warmth of regulars that have been going there since it was the Mid Town Tap and Tea Room — to new people like us that will soon be regulars. We were greeted by a very friendly waitress who let us settle in and arrived to fill our water glasses and take our drink orders.
Two of our guests were drinking Nine Pin Cider and one was drinking beer. I was the designated driver.
Our waitress gave us time to view the menu and then asked if we had any questions. Of course we did and she answered all our questions. Sweet Girl. We asked our waitress for her suggestions and we decided to stick with appetizers and pizza this visit. (and of course dessert). Her recommendations were perfect!
We started with the Heather Ridge Chicken Meatballs Roasted Garlic & Eggplant «Butter» with a sauce and Pepperonata ($ 12) we ordered Fire Roasted Mixed Peppers (cooked in a wood fire pizza oven) Our waitress offered both hot peppers or italian sweet peppers or a mix. We choose a mix ($ 9) absolutely delicious. We ordered Mussels & Clams (Pomodoro or Sausage White Wine sauces) We choose the white wine sauce. both served with focaccia ($ 13). And lastly, we order the Buratta Panzanella. With a Focaccia, Prosciutto, Argula, Fig and Balsamic Gastric Salad with Toasted Pecans ($ 15). All the ingredients were fresh — you could definitely tell.
I had no problem being a vegetarian eating them. I did not have the clams/​mussels because the other three guests were enjoying them so much and it had the sausage in it. We were left with the thought. .. what would we order next time.…
We then ordered our Pizzas. We ordered the Cheese Puddle — pizza with mozzarella, Provolone, Roasted Garlic & Ricotta, olive oil and salt ($ 9), we order the Baker’s Pie — Fig & Balsamic Preserve, Gorgonzola Cheese, Arugula and Honey ($ 10), and lastly the Valentina — Pecorino Bianco, Ham & Egg and Black Pepper ($ 12). I was able to eat the first two mentioned which were absolutely delicious. The crust was amazing and were cooked to perfection. The last mentioned pizza was also superb according to the other three guests (had ham on it).
Dessert — the desserts (we ordered two to share) — were also amazing. The coconut cream pie and lemon squares.
With dinner, dessert, drinks, and tax it was $ 135. Our waitress was so attentive and friendly and knowledgeable — we gave her $ 35. Thank you!
The restaurant has a very warm and friendly atmosphere. The staff was also friendly and attentive. The wood fire oven was part of the experience. It was situated that you could walk over and watch Chef Michael cook and he was extremely friendly and open to conversation. He was able to briefly come out and speak to his guests in the restaurant as did his wife. Our waitress (Kate) was very friendly, attentive and was very knowledgable with the foods and description. You could feel the warmth from all the employees and could tell they loved what they do. Thank you Michael and Kim — see you again soon.
A New Regular

Restaurant Navona, formerly Midtown Tap & Tea Room opened for business on Thursday, owned by Chef Mike Niccoli and his wife Kim Baker who both worked at the Century House. This new restaurant serves up Italian and Mediterranean dishes with much of the dishes cooked in a wood fired oven from Italy.
The menu offerings include Neapolitan style pizzas baked in a wood fired oven from Italy, pasta dishes, small plate appetizers, salads, soups, and entrees featuring steaks, seafood, and chicken dishes. The prices here are fair, pizzas $ 9-​$ 12, most entrees $ 16-​$ 24. A full wine list and 8 beers on tap at the bar are offered here.
The atmosphere here is intimate, yet casual. The lighting is dimmed with candlelight and vase plants at each table. There is also stool seating up at the bar and a flatscreen TV. Light background music plays over the speakers.
I stopped in here for an early dinner around 4:20pm before things would get busy. I was greeted by the staff as I walked in. I could sit anywhere I wanted that was not reserved and sat at an open table next to the bar. The waitress arrived promptly to fill my glass with ice water.
For a starter, the Fire Roasted Eggplant Pizza ($ 9) was served hot, topped with eggplant, tomato jam, roasted fennel, goat cheese, house harissa over thin pizza crust which had a light and soft texture, puffed along the edges. The pizza had a spicy kick too.
For dinner, the Torttelacci ($ 18) was served in a white dish, consisting of 5 small spinach pasta pockets filled with smoked salmon in a shallot chive cream sauce. The small portion of pasta was not too rich, just right.
For dessert, the slice homemade Coconut Cream Pie ($ 8) had a sweet chilled creamy coconut custard topped with homemade whipped cream, toasted coconut flakes in a flaky crust.
Overall, the food I had was very good. The service was very attentive with the waitress checking up on me often and refilling my water glass. I will definitely have check this place out again to try out more offerings on the menu.