Nero D’ Avola

Food was delicious. Candlelight was nice, but made the menu hard to read. The calamari appetizer was too big for three. Its the size of an entrée and priced as such. Each dish was around twenty.

THIS PLACE IS CLOSED.
TRUST ME I TRIED THE FRONT DOOR
I gave it 1 star because I had to, plus because the door was decent.

Wow. I really like this place. Brunch here is an experience that will carry though in your memory for the rest of the month. I’ve been to many unlimited Champagne, Mimosa, Bellini, Bloody Mary & Screwdriver weekend brunch places but out of all of them, Nero stands head and shoulders above the rest. I’ll list each aspect according to what struck me the most dramatically:
1) Service — This is the same exact style of organized, yet laid back, yet efficient, yet disorganized, yet professional, cordial, formal, yet informal service I’ve experienced in Italy. Nothing AT ALL (!) like the hipster, frantic, disorganized slackassedness I’ve experienced at other celebrated NYC brunch venues. At any & every moment I was never lacking for any of my desires and the service staff, from the host to the bartender to the waiters to the bus boys were all very pleasant and extremely accommodating to my party of five. They were never far away and did their jobs superbly and admirably.
2) Food — Nero’s food is REALLY good! I had the carbonara and that is a dish that I severely judge every Italian restaurant by. Aside from being made with rigatoni (WTF?) rather than spaghetti (I’m sure they would have substituted for me but I didn’t want to be a pill — that’s just the way they make it). Save for the rigatoni, this was a very classic carbonara: pasta, egg yolks, pancetta and cheese. Also, the eggs in my friend’s Benedict were executed freshly and perfectly rather than the overcooked little golf balls you’ll receive from most places on the weekends. Bravo, Nero! The rest of my party’s food was incredible too (just look at the food porn I posted). From bread to dessert — outstanding!
3) Bar — As far as brunch drinks go, well, here is where I was the slightest bit conflicted. I was going to start with bloodies and then switch to Champagne due to the quality (or lack thereof) of most NYC brunch restaurants’ bloodies, except on this particular day they had no Champagne! That meant no Bellinis or mimosas either. HOWEVER — their bloodies were so damned great I wouldn’t have switched anyway! These bloodies were excellent (and strong! [see pic]) so I was quite happy. The bartender was cool and kept the drinks coming at a brisk pace too, even when the place became mobbed at around 2:30.
OK, I could go on and on about how much fun I had here and how much I enjoyed myself, but we’re limited to space in these reviews. All I can tell you is if you like a great space with terrific friendly service that dishes out wonderful food, I’d highly recommend Nero.
P. S. — For weekend brunch, make your res for 1 – 1:30 to avoid the late afternoon onslaught.

Nero D’Avola is a great restaurant to go out for dinner before the long night out in the meatpacking district.
Their atomosphere is dimly lit with some candles to up the mood. Food prices range from $ 20 – 30 and their pastas are made nicely al dente, but something in the flavoring is lacking for their classic spaghetti.

Nero D’ Avola is an Italian restaurant in the Meatpacking District.
On some nights it’s an enjoyable romantic restaurant. But if you go for brunch it’s a wild party. For $ 30 something you get a food item and two hours of unlimited drinks! Their breakfast drinks are actual high octane drinks unlike some of the less good unlimited alcohol brunch places.
You can order a traditional brunch item or choose from a couple regular dishes such as pasta with a selection of wild mushrooms that were quite good.
I don’t like rap music but any place that has a half dozen females dancing on the bar at 2pm on a Sunday makes up for it. It’s definitely a fun place.

My girlfriends and I went for a night out and had an amazing time here! First off, some of my friends got a bottle of chardonnay which i ended up having some anyway, which was delish.
I ordered a Mojito, i almost fell to the FLOOR that’s how good it was! Strong and massive, how i like it ;)
We got the eggplant appetizer and a ceasar salad to split, it was savory and so good
Dinner: i ordered a chicken dish with sundried tomato and some other kinds of veggies, it was unreal! I wanted more when i finshed
Dessert: BANANA TIRAMISU!!! need I say more
I recommend this place to everyone, the waiter was easy on the eyes also hahaha, but in all seriousness, the ambiance was great and the food was exquisite. Expensive, so definitely plan on spending around 70 per person, but for a good night out with great food, its totally worth the money!

Consistent with the other reviews service was sub par. The pumpkin and spinach salad was delicious, what a great blend of flavors! Eggplant pasta, duck and cod were good enough, leaving the table satisfied… But I would not call it a spectacular meal. This spot is surprisingly easy to get into for the area… Maybe I can attribute that to being Christmas?
FYI: The meat and cheese plate can feed 3, don’t listen to the waiter who says it is strictly for one!

This place has a romantic atmosphere; dimly lit, open space, candles… the rest.
The beamed ceiling remind me of a personal Colorado ski chalet except with noise, food and strangers.
The food is pretty good, nothing that I can say blew my palate away but definitely good and tasty.

Sadly, my friend’s recommendation to dine here wasn’t as described. Dining at Nero with friends on a Sunday night was a disappointment. When asked to changed tables for more room in a more than half empty restaurant, I knew already that they weren’t very accommodating. The very dim tealight candles at our table was insufficient light to even read the menu nor figure out what is on your plate.
Dishes ordered included among our party of four included the octopus salad special of the day as an appetizer, Orechiette, Pasta al Forno al Ragu and the Mezze Maniche alla Bolognese and the salmon special. The octopus was tender and the fingerling marinated potatoes complemented the dish. The Orechitte was good and last three dishes didn’t impress.
Normally, I would rate Nero D’Avola higher for the food, but must say service ruined the whole experience. Our waiter didn’t bother checking in on our dishes, offer another glass of wine nor dessert after our meal. We had to flag him down several times as we had missing place settings after we got our food. Even, the water boy was more attentive than our waiter. It took forever to ask for our check and when I asked the waiter on my way back from the restroom he said rudely that he was already asked for it.
Lastly, avoid the female restroom there is an indescribable stench in it!

It had been a few months, and in a neighborhood like Meatpacking it would be fair to question whether a place like Nero was now just another washed up ex-​hot spot in Meatpacking. Thankfully, Nero is still doing its thing and serving up a great AYCD brunch.
The menu is the same: standard brunch fare including french toast, an omelette, a veggie frittata (still my choice), steak & eggs, a burger, etc. Pretty typical stuff. And the AYCD is quite typical as well: your choice of entrée + bellini, champagne, mimosa, or bloody mary for $ 25.
So what gives – I mean, why this place in the sea of AYCD brunches all over Manhattan?
What makes Nero great is not so much the food, which is average (and honestly, I would stay away from the steak and eggs; that piece o meat really didn’t look too hot). And its not the atmosphere, which is fun but altogether a little touristy for my taste (I mean, it’s Meatpacking after all). And its not even the service itself, as I had to ask three times for salt/​pepper and ketchup for my eggs. I guess its just the whole vibe of the place, where everyone is smiling and happy, the music makes your forget that tomorrow is a workday, and the bartender is more than happy to refill your glass… and refill… and refill until your heart’s content. If you are looking for a wet brunch where you can stretch your dollar for maximum booze, look no farther. Nero’s $ 25 deal for an entire afternoon of food and drinks is one of the best around. Guaranteed to make you tipsy.

Strange layout this… as the upstairs seems to be a steakhouse, and the downstairs seems to be italian.
I stopped in here after visiting the lovely Standard Hotel rooftop for the first time. When you have friends in from out of town, you might even dine in trendy meat packing district.
Ok, it’s not *THAT* bad, but still a lot of gilded lillies… anyway we walked up to this place, and the menu looked good. Although I have to say seeing the sliced cow map in the window is enough to strike fear in the hear of any vegetarian.
That said as it turns out upstairs does seem to be Macelleria, and downstairs Nero, which was fine as the pasta entres were certainly more to my liking.
The food… ah yes the food. I ordered the spinach ravioli. The pasta they used I actually think was homemade. It was quite good. Very fresh, though the portions were rather small.
One thing I can say is they do give you very good service. If you’re in the mood for that, sometimes it weighs heavier than the taste of the food. I dunno though, I still miss my East Village, Supper and Max. The food is richer, the service quicker and somehow more friendly or down home. Hipper anyway.
Not as pricey as I expected or would have thought, but fine. Ah yes, my secret suspicion of the MP district coming through…

Let’s start out with the good…
A lovely setting with candlelight flickering on rustic wooden tables, soft music and black and white movies playing on the red brick wall
The bad… we were only two people and they added an 18% service charge automatically to our bill. Given the fact that it took absolutely AGES for the server to bring us the bill (we had to ask twice) we were almost inclined to ask for it to be removed, but that would have wasted more time.
The uninteresting… my tortelli zucca… just wrong… all wrong. The pasta was ok, but the whole dish was too sweet, too much butter, too dessert-​like for an entrée. It needed something… not being a chef, I’m not sure what that something was… but it was needed.
All in all, with madatory 18% tip, it came to $ 105 and I’m not sure that I got my money’s worth for my part.

Went to the place based on a recommendation on my dining companion. To say the least it was a great recommendation.
We went late on a Sunday night and the restaurant was mostly empty due to being late on a Sunday night. We were greeted by a friendly hostess and quickly seated. Then we were quickly greeted by a friendly and efficient server.
My only gripe about this place is the lighting in our area. It is so dark that I had to pick up the candle on the table to read the menu. Thankfully there was candles on the table or I would have never been able to see the menu. HAHA Everyone in our party had the same complaint and was the only complaint about this place. The lighting is very poor but I can understand it is part of the excellent ambiance of the restaurant.
We started out the lentil soup. It was delicious. It tasted it was just picked out of a garden. The flavors were well balanced and it had a fresh herbal essence to it.
I had the arugola salad. Again, this was delicious. Very fresh and crisp arugula accompanied, marinated artichokes, 2 outstanding fresh mozzarella balls and a high grade slice of prosciutto. It had a fresh tasting vinaigrette dressing as well. A perfect salad.
For entrees, I had the risotto seafood that was on a daily special menu. It was a well-​prepared rich tasting risotto. The seafood was decent to very good. It was all fresh tasting with plenty of rich flavor. The risotto was the star of the dish; though the seafood was good; it did not stand out as well as the risotto.
Also, had the Mezze Maniche Al Ragu. It was rigatoni with a meat sauce. Pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. There was an abundance of rich fresh tasting meat sauce. This was a very tasty dish.
Another dining companion had Pasta Al Forno Al Ragu It was very flavorful and consisted of high quality cheese, meat sauce, and an outstanding tomato sauce.
We all split an apple puff pastry tart with french vanilla ice cream for dessert. This was a very good version of this dessert.
Overall, the portions were generous and the prices are a good value for the quality and portion of food you receive. Service was friendly, efficient and unobtrusive.
Highly recommended if you in meatpacking district and feel like having Italian food without the often high prices in this area.

The only thing that saves Nero from getting a 1 star is that I went with a great group and we turned it into the start of a crazy fun Sunday (hard not to with all you can drink mimosas and bellinis).
The problem I have with Nero is that it tries to hard to be hip. I’ve only been there once, but when I went, the music was blaring and wasn’t very good. Also I don’t know about you, but I go to an Italian place on Sunday morning to cure a hangover with massive portions of food. They were anything but that, in fact pretty small. Another reason this isn’t a very favorable review might not be the fault of Nero. We sat next to a couple arguing over who knows what, but since the tables are so damn close we heard everything they said. Was comical at first then just scary.
If you do go, make sure to get the all you can drink deal. Makes the food taste a little bit better.

Meh. The location and atmosphere are nice (ok, maybe not the clubby music), but nothing wowed me so I probably won’t be going back.
I ordered the Salmon Benedict, and it was edible, but not pleasantly edible. The smoked salmon was too fishy (perhaps old, or had been sitting out?), and the hollandaise sauce had too much lemon juice. The side of rosemary potatoes was probably the best part.
Luckily, the experience was coupled with good company.

When a restaurant tries to ride the all-​you-​can-​drink brunch wave, it is immediately putting its service to the test. In the case of Nero, it’s mostly a failure.
The food itself is about a three stars. Decent, wouldn’t kick it out of bed, but I also wouldn’t seek it out. The portions are on the smaller side, items were properly cooked, but nothing that wowed me. And of course, it’s overpriced, but a lot of the cost of your meal goes to help pay the rent. Such is often the case when you’re located in the West Village/​Meat Packing.
The service, on the other hand was sub-​par. Using pitchers to dispense booze was a good start, but the frequency of the waiter bringing it out was pretty poor.
With great power comes great responsibility.

We came in on a slow weeknight and the service was excellent. The waiters know the menu well and refill your water at the perfect times. They also have delicious complimentary bread; we got two slices of bread with bruschetta as well, but I don’t know if they were feeling extra nice that night or what. The ambiance of this place is really great for an intimate dinner. The place is dimly lit and there is a black and white movie projected against a brick wall.
Instead of ordering the traditional entrees, we opted for 3 seafood appetizers: polipo (octopus), cozze & fagioli (mussels), and the frittura (calamari). We were worried that it wouldn’t be filling enough for a dinner, but the portions were just right.
Our favorite was definitely the mussels with white beans and sausage. It was just the right amount of flavor, not too bland nor salty. We couldn’t stop dipping the bread in the broth! The polipo was the perfect complement to the mussels in terms of texture, taste, and substance. The octopus was grilled just right, the onions and capers were not overpowering, and the small potato chunks were nicely filling.
However, the fried calamari really lacked the specialty the other dishes provided. There was nothing particularly wrong with it; it was just so… plain. The marinara sauce was too watery and had absolutely no taste. I would rather use ketchup as a dipping sauce. I did like how they added some artichoke hearts to the mix though.
I’m definitely coming back to this place. And I wouldn’t hesitate to order the mussels or octopus a second time — even if that means not being able to try their pastas and entrees.

So, I finally made it up to the city to hang out with a friend over brunch. We were initially going to PooPoo Padou (or something like that, I’ll get it right if we ever go) but she didn’t make reservations this day (which I take the blame for because I overslept the day before when she had made reservations and I had to cancel on her) and they were booked solid before even opening. So we went around the corner to Nero D’Avola, which had just opened and was empty and available.
I thought the place was cool; the front of the place very open = lots of fresh air + exposed brick, hardwood, and just the right amount of sun coming in, and decent music playing low. The waitress seemed cool, at first. We both got our drink on with the $ 25 prixe fix grand prix or whatever… her with her champagne (pinky extended,) me with a bloody mary and screwdrivers. Here’s where a star gets lost — the waitress wasn’t all that attentive, after much waiting my friend had to ask for a refill on her way to the rest room. When the waitress came over to fill her glass, I joked, «she will be SO happy to see that when she gets back,» in an attempt at a hint to keep ‘em coming. It did help, so I guess I’ll give half a star back.
Looking at the menu there didn’t seem to be much of a selection (minus another half a star,) and for me it easily boiled down to french toast or the fritatta… I got the french toast, she the fritatta. Both were bangin’, espesh’ the fritatta. Mad tasty, very flavorful.
As we were eating the music seemed to change into a more techno-​disco-​am-​I suddenly-​in-​a-​gay-​bar-​on-​Saturday-​night feel. And got louder. And louDER. And LOUDER. Wtf, Nero? Am I at the club at freakin’ noon over here??? They actually had a half-​ass DJ up in a booth doing this via laptop… really??? Yo, minus two points… I said, «MINUS TWO STARS…» I could barely talk to my friend, not to mention couldn’t wait to get the ffff out of dodge… if it weren’t for my good company it would have really ruined the entire experience. I definitely will not go back.
Oh, and then my friend unintentionally dissed me and all of New Jersey by saying (as *I* am paying the check,) «You know you can’t tip like you do in New Jersey, right…» Okay, you barely get a pass for that since you’ve never been out with me before there you, but I tip well no matter where I’m at… and back up off of New Jersey, you don’t want shht to get ugly up in here… oh yeah, and don’t forget, you used to live in Jersey too… =)

I was tasked yesterday with coming up with a lunch location within walking distance of our Chelsea Market-​based office for approximately 20 people.
After bemoaning the lack of restaurants who could handle this request, and searching Unilocal for far longer than I probably should have, I decided on Nero because it was a short walk, not too terribly expensive and had a good menu of assorted foods that would appeal to a wide range of people.
Plus, all y’all said it was good and if there are that many people who thought it was good, it couldn’t be that bad, right?
It wasn’t that bad, honestly, but the service was terrible. It’s not that anyone was mean, or rude, or completely ignoring us. It was just one of those lunches that lasted an hour longer than it should have (two hours total) for a group that ordered entirely off the Prix Fixe menu. And we only ordered off that menu because we were told we couldn’t order off the regular lunch menu (really?). The portions weren’t huge, but it was lunch so I can over look that.
But the food didn’t make it to us until over an hour after we sat down (I think I ate close to a whole loaf of bread waiting) and it wasn’t anything to write home about once it got there.
The ambiance is nice, and the setting is pretty. It just wasn’t worth sitting there for two hours waiting on.

The food here was absolutely fabulous! I had the Tagliata, a sirloin steak, which was really good. The meat was cooked to perfection with its juiciness and smokey taste. For appetizers, we had this eggplant dish and fried seafood and vegetables.
This place would have received 5 stars had they had better waiters. We waited a long time between our entrees and desserts. How long could it take to scoop some gelatos and place a serving of Tiramisu in a cup? And once we put in our credit card payment, the waiter took forever because he was talking to customers instead of quickly processing our payment first. What’s more, the waiter had an attitude when we showed we were pissed over how long he took to process our payment.
Waiters need a little work but I would definitely go back for the food.