Grappino Di Nino

Mediocre food and a cheesy band that was so loud I couldn’t carry on a conversation with my friends. Would not come back.

I was on my way into Vincent’s when I saw Grappino Di Nino and decided to stop there instead. I wish I’d kept on going.
Atmosphere…was good. It gets 4 stars. They really have that Tuscan outdoor thing going there, and it’s nice. They had live music outside that evening, and while he sounded ok, I just wanted some peace and quiet, so I opted for indoors. Unfortunately, it ended up being «Bring Your Unruly Kid To An Adult Oriented Restaurant Rather Chuck E F*cking Cheese Night», so there wasn’t much peace and quiet to be enjoyed. But, that’s not the restaurant’s fault.
Food…it was very «meh.» I had probably the most «blah» carpaccio I have ever experienced. Waaaay overpriced and really bland. The tomatoes caprese was nothing but a few cherry tomatoes and an equal number of the little mozzarella balls like you get at Costco, and again, waaay overpriced. I had a flatbread margherita, and it wasn’t too bad. The food was nothing to write home about. Also, the wine I got was oxidized… I am sure I could have sent it back, but considering the pace of service…
Service…in a word, it stunk. It took waaay too long for someone to come to my table, almost forever to place my order, even longer to get the food, and an equally unpleasant time to get the sizeable bill. It probably seemed even longer than it was due to all the screaming brats in there.
Overall…this place isn’t up to par with its older, better run siblings next door.

If you want to try a variety of items from this company come to this location. You’ll be able to choose from a variety of small plates. These items are listed as full entrees at the location next door. The patio is nice for an evening date. They have a live band at times.

First — this is the best outdoor dining in Houston. The Vincent Mandola family’s remodeling is complete and wonderfully done. We ordered the Margherita pizza and then the chicken (who would have thought) meatballs. Everything was fabulous. Great service and although there is only live music on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays — their recorded music selection is great. This will be our «Go To» spot for outdoor dining — and you can order anything off of the Vincent’s or Nino’s full menus. Perfect.

5 star ambiance — 1 star food
They have a fun patio with live music on Fridays — makes for the perfect date spot!
Huge free parking lot which is convenient
Now for the food… our apps came out luke warm and we’re just ok. I don’t understand the craze of the rotisserie chicken meatballs. The pizza was hot .yay.but nothing special
I would come back for a bottle of wine to enjoy the music on the patio

FYI the menu on Unilocal is not current. The food is disappointing. Nice cover band and pleasant atmosphere. The chicken meatballs were dry, dry like a piece of over cooked toast. Stuffed mushrooms were ok, nothing to write home about. The bruschetta was decent and best part of the meal.

A very chill little spot on the Mandola family property located on West Dallas. A cozy bar serving up tasty grappa in a variety of flavors. They have fantastic light bites and the best part is that they allowed me to customize my own drink after it was determined they didn’t have the exact drink I was looking for.
I suggest you try the Limonsecco — 1 part limoncello and 1 part processco. thank me later!

Never again! Ruined by cigar smoke on the patio! Ugh!!! Good was good and music was great but eay too close quarters to allow cigar smoking!

Went here for the first time with the wife and friends. The parking lot is huge which is a big plus in houston. We were seated after only a couple minutes. Then we waited. And waited. Maybe 10 minutes before I had to flag the manager to get some menus/​waiter/​water/​something! They brought some waters a few minutes later and spilt one on my wife. The manager was really nice about it and offered to get us some wine. I thought it would be comp’d but I was wrong. Then we waited another 20 minutes before I had to flag someone down again to ask some questions about the menu and order. We order some meat and cheese for an appetizer and 4 pizzas.
Another 20 minutes goes by and nothing. I flag the manager again because our ‘waiter’ is no where to be seen. I ask how our appetizer is coming after 20min. He says they run about 20min ticket times. I said «for meat and cheese on a plate that you don’t even cook?» He just shrugs and says they are «slammed» and he’ll go check. 5 minutes later we have the plate. I’m starving at this point. (we arrived at 730 and now it’s 815)
A few short minutes later, the rest of the food comes out, before we had finished the appetizer. I don’t know what was going on with their ticket system.
The food was ok. I basically got a pepperoni pizza which was good. Had some fancy meats on it. The wife got the bacon and egg pizza which I thought was really good.
The entire time only 2 of us got water refills, both of which we had to ask for by calling someone over.
Here’s a thought. On a Friday night, there is no such thing as «slammed». It’s called being at capacity, and you should be able to handle it without issues.
No tip was given. The charming atmosphere could not overcome the utter FAiL in the service dept. Will not be back.

What a great find. I recommend a cheese board to start off with and Penne alla Vodka for the main course.

My review for this place is based off of a company Christmas party that my husband and I went to.
This place was okay. I was disappointed with the service. We got there earlier than the group and the smug waiter wouldn’t serve us any bread before hand. When the entire group was there and we finally got the bread, it was cold. It definitely didn’t hit the spot for me. The shrimp, however, was great. I wish I could remember the name of it. It was tossed in this butter pesto sauce that was to die for! That sauce definitely amped up the bread for me. For our entrees, my husband had the steak and I had the Mahi fish. Both were cooked a little tougher than we both expected, but still pretty decent.
This place is still worth coming back to that way I could give the service another chance to redeem themselves whenever it’s just me and my husband instead of a big group.

Tucked behind Nino’s and Vincent’s, you’ll find this more casual style restaurant that offers up a lot of the Mandola family favorites, but in smaller bite sized portions. Wine is more free flowing than the water, and the party never ends on the patio when live music is being played. Of the three neighborhood Mandola restaurants, this one is my favorite because of the tapas style plating and the live music.
Depending on the night, the parking can be hit or miss. The parking lot is enormous, but it’s that large to accommodate all three of the restaurants, making it ideal to try and find a parking space, but the reality is that you won’t always find one. The weekends are busy, so get here early or pick another night, otherwise, you’ll end up driving around for a parking space or you’ll end up parking several blocks away.
There is seating available inside, but why sit inside when you can sit outside and enjoy the music? Most of the outdoor seating is blanketed by a beautiful canopy of vines overhead, giving it an intimate and beautiful feel. Most nights will be acceptable to sit outside, but when the weather is good, be prepared to wait for a table because everyone else will want to dine here as well.
Small platings and tapas are the only food offered here, so whether you have a large appetite or not, you’ll find plenty on the menu to keep you satisfied. The staff is decent, nothing overly great or disappointing about any of them. Due to the hustle and bustle of this place, wait staff are professional, but certainly don’t go out of their way to be overly friendly and welcoming.
Overall, I really like this place for some great live music on the patio, small platings for food, and a good selection of wine. For weekend dining, I would highly recommend to go early or late, but avoid the high dining times between 6−9pm. This is a great place to bring a date or a group of friends, but they don’t take reservations as it is a first come, first serve restaurant.

I would’ve never knew this place existed if someone else hadn’t told me about it or took me here. I’ve always walked by the restaurant in front but never knew there were two more restaurants tucked away in this beautiful corner!
The weather has been pretty amazing this year so I’ve been frequenting restaurants with decent patio areas. Nino’s has a great patio area with a live band in the evening, even during week nights.
Mixed Cheese plate
Spicy Italian Wings
Truffled Mac & Cheese (must try)
Carne Pizza
These four plates were enough to fill up two hungry people! A couple glasses of wine each, we were very happy people.
The service wasn’t great bc I think the waiter was new but even that didn’t ruin my experience!

This review is a little past due. About a month ago, I dropped in for some small plates prior to picking up a friend at the airport. I have no complaints about the serving sizes here as I understand the «tapas» concept. However, I was very disappointed in the quality of the food.
First off, the caprese salad. The mozzarella was too thick and there wasn’t enough basil. Maybe I’m spoiled because I usually eat bufala caprese salads but even then I’ve had much better fresh mozzarella. It was fresh but the quality was poor.
I though the mezzaluna was dry and lackluster. I’ve had this dish many times at Nino’s next door and this was not comparable at all. It was very disappointing.
The service was also spotty. Our waiter disappeared and we had difficulty tracking anyone down to get the bill — definitely not cool when you’re trying to get to the airport! I was so unhappy with the food that I couldn’t even enjoy my red wine. When I can’t enjoy my Friday red wine… I know there’s something wrong. That something wrong was Grappino Di Nino.

The cutest Italian wine bar! I have yet to try the food, but the drinks and customer service were both great. From the hostess to the bartender to other staff passing by, everyone is warm and friendly, and they seem genuinely happy to have your business. That goes a long way.
It’s no secret that I love martinis, so Martini Madness on Wednesdays was perfect for me. They offer blueberry, watermelon, cucumber, pomengranate, and jalapeño-​flavored martinis for $ 7 (normally priced $ 9.75), and they are pretty decent. Add the live music on the patio and you have the perfect way to unwind after work.

Food was bland and we were overcharged and the manager offered no assistance whatsoever. I will not return.

Grappino group catering needs a lot of work. If you have a large party, I would not recommend coming here. Despite letting them know about an adjustment to our reservation two weeks in advance, they still charged us for the original reservation. No resolutions were offered onsite even though they clearly knew our group had been downsized. A picture speaks a million words. More to come folks!

What a rip! Flew in to hang with friends and decided to have some tasty Italian food. How can you go wrong with tomatoes and mozzarella at an Italian place? They did. Yikes!
My friend had spaghetti that I’m about sure it was Ragu. Over priced, under delivered.
Even service was meh. Want Italian in Houston, skip this place. Too many good places to choose from.

My friend recently choose this little wine bar for Happy Hour on a Wednesday per the Unilocal reviews and she definitely did a good job with her research!
First off, half price bottles on Wednesdays, score! The patio is beautiful, you would hardly know that you’re in the middle of Houston (except for the 110% humidity, that still lingers even with the fans). They have an awesome little tapas menu, we tried a pizza and a zucchini dish, both were delicious and very light tasting, perfect compliments to our wine.
The service was wonderful, we were constantly checked up on even as the crowd grew as the night went out. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I will definitely be back to try more of the food and wine!

THREE AND A HALF
Business lunch meeting — a nice restaurant choice made by a local colleague: very Italian /​Tuscan feel to the courtyard and the interior, lovely ambience, efficient pleasant service. The menu is a cornucopia of Italian offerings for antipasti, zuppe e insalate and pizza; followed by an abundant selection of pasta, meat and fish dishes, and green vegetables.
We started off with fried calamari, coupled with the basket of amazing fresh bread variety [this could be a meal in itself] followed by a classic Caesar salad with extra anchovies for me, and a «caccio & peppe» pasta dish for my companion. Calamari was excellent — crispy but not chewy, hot and tasty. Caesar was nicely dressed, not dry not soaking, and extra anchovies game me the kick I needed. My colleagues enjoyed his pasta dish — the plate was clean!
My gripe was the price of wine by the glass: $ 12 each (!) way too high, based on price points for the menu items — if these are the patio bar prices applied to lunch guests, bad strategy! A chef would not charge a dinner entrée price for a lunch offering; the bar should honor the same approach.