Nick’s Pizza & Italian Restaurant

By far my favorite Italian restaurant in all of San Jose. Truly authentic and delicious cuisine and the owners are the sweetest couple you’ll ever meet. Wonderful service and consistently quality food. I highly recommend the Linguine Puttanesca and the Calamari as they’re both flavorful and filling. DO NOT LET THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS FOOL YOU! You will not regret checking this place out.

I was really looking forward to eating here, But this ended up being the worst pizza I’ve ever eaten. The pizza had no flavor. The sauce was bland. There were only 3 tiny pepperonis per slice. There was so little cheese that I could see the crust through the cheese.
As sad as it is to say, the best part of this pizza was the thin crust. This was very disappointing for a pizza place I always wanted to visit. Don’t go here unless you want pizza with NO flavor, very little cheese and that’s way too expensive for such a sorry example of pizza.
What’s really amazing is that some people give this place a half decent review. Maybe, if you are a regular or people they like, you get a better pizza here?

This is one of my favorite places in San Jose. It smells like an Italian home the second you walk in the door. The food is fantastic. The service can be a little slow… but that is due the freshly homemade food. It is soooo yummy.

First of all, I would have never walked into that restaurant just by the looks of it. It’s very old looking, but not in a charming well maintained way. But what convinced me was all the 5 star ratings I saw on Unilocal.
Anyways, I ordered the lentil soup, which was actually very good. Then I had the seafood linguini. I found the pasta not salted properly (not enough) and was slightly overcooked. Then the seafood was disappointing. They used frozen shrimp (just never quite the same) and tiny mussels (no shell, probably out of a can).
And lastly, some radio station was being piped through ceiling speakers and the radio signal kept cutting out. Just annoying.
But the service was very good, if not a bit disconcerting to see a waiter wear jean shorts in January.
I really wanted to be pleasantly surprised, but unfortunately wasn’t.

I always enjoy the food here, but what makes the place special is the incredible service. The owner clearly loves his customers. He always has a smile on his face and is so determined to make sure everyone has a good experience.
Another unique thing is the atmosphere. This place has been here for a long time, and it has that family restaurant feel that you usually don’t get in California.
As for the food, I usually get one of the pasta dishes, but my kids and neighbors all think the pizza is the standout item.

Don’t ignore this little Italian restaurant! I noticed it one day while walking to Walgreens and decided to eat there with some friends later on. The owner was so kind and was so attentive to our party. We got a large pizza to share. The pizza was great – you can tell it is a family recipe, or at least that every pizza is carefully made with fresh ingredients. After I get around to other places in Downtown I plan to be a regular at this place :)

Excellent Italian restaurant, run by an incredibly nice couple that has been doing business in downtown San Jose since the last millennium. Freshly made pastas, delicious sauces, and prompt service. You are missing out if you haven’t yet been to Nick’s.
The décor is great too! Incredible wooden bar with intricate carvings, awesome 50s-​60s-​era dinette-​style tables with marbleized tops, and super old-​school corduroy seats.
The restaurant is very comfortable (maybe 12 tables in the main dining area), and the owners are extremely friendly. Meals are served with a good-​sized portion of garlic bread, and the value-​to-​price ratio of the place is very good.
Our party spent just around $ 40 for a large artichoke salad (with delicious anchovies), a plate of the cheese ravioli, a plate of the gnocchi, and a beer. The meal was delicious, fresh, and filling.

Cozy, inviting atmosphere with delicious garlic bread. My wife and I both had spaghetti and it was wonderful. Very nice salad to start the meal off as well. It is not big inside but there were a lot of take-​out orders while we were sitting there. It definitely has a throwback appeal to it and reminds me of an east coast style pizzeria/​Italian place. Almost like a traditional trattoria. I can’t wait to come back and try the other menu items, especially the pizza. The place was clean inside too. Clean, friendly, and good food. What more could you ask for?

My wife recommended Nick’s after hearing several people rave about it at her Rotary meeting. We went with another couple for a Saturday night dinner and had the entire restaurant to ourselves, probably due to the Sharks game going on.
It has a warm and friendly atmosphere and we received personal attention and table service from the owner. We were served garlic bread (delicious!) and antipasto before our plates of pasta, meatballs, sausage and Chicken Picatta. The final bill was reasonable including a modest corkage fee for the bottle of wine we brought.
I’ll definitely be back, next time to bring home a pizza. And I look forward to someday trying a canoli!

I’m here because I have to tell everyone the amazing cappuccino I got the night my class ate at this location, and I don’t even like cappuccinos. I was blown away by the warm, strong, mildly sweet, creamy confection of a beverage, worth every penny. Perfect after a heavy meal.
Not to mention the amazingly attentive service. A real neighborhood hang out! It’s worth stopping by just to support a local business. The atmosphere is truly cozy, and the owner treats you like family. Can’t say much about the pizza, but ask the owner about his décor and you’ll get a great story.

I can’t believe I forgot to review this place.
Went here for lunch to meet up with a class that I was taking last semester. The professor absolutely loves this pizza.
It was really good. Really good artisan pizza and a homey atmosphere. It’s kind of funny because it really does look like you’re in someone’s house. It’s just a neighborhood hangout and pretty well worn in so don’t expect a lot of «pizzazz».
Good food though and good company. Parking’s a pain, but it’s close to SJSU so that’s pretty obvious.

A hidden gem. I have been eating here regularly for over 4 years. My husband has been coming here since elementary school. From the outside, it does look closed, you have to be in thr knpw, I guess.
Service is fabulous. The owner Robert is the son of the original owner and is the friendliest guy on the planet. His wife (who is from italy) does the cooking. Our food is always ready quickly, usually really good, and we always need to-​go containers because the portions are huge. My favorite is the veal parmagiana.
I was surprised to read about folks seeing roaches. I know the place looks run down (many of my favorite eateries have that hole in the wall look), but it has always been clean when I have gone. And we usually pop into the kitchen on our way out to complement the chef, and it has always been clean.

The place doesn’t look like much, but it’s EXCELLENT Italian food; quite possibly one of San Jose’s best kept secrets.
The owner is very courteous. The cooking is fresh and actually very close to authentic Italian style. The chicken and veal dishes were very well done; was not dried or overcooked. The pizza is thin-​crust; definitely not Chicago style.
Definitely worth a try!

Nice little restaurant on the corner. I’ve been here twice but have only tried the pizza thus far. The pizza is pretty good, although the last time I was here the crust was a bit dry. Nevertheless, it is fairly priced for a non-​chain pizza, and still quite tasty. Service is great, just gotta go back and try more of the menu.
Notes: Friendly service and adequate parking

I sometimes come here when I’m near SJSU or downtown. The atmosphere and ambience of this place is always really friendly and warm. The owner and the people who work here always treat me well and take good care of us when we eat here. You can always find some professors or students here talking about school stuff and lingering at the tables after dinner, which is nice.
The last time I was here, I had the gnocchi, which were very pillowy and soft (not at all rubbery, which is a risk with gnocchi), and my husband had the pizza. He liked the sauce to dough ratio, and the toppings were very good as well. My gnocchi could have used a bit more seasoning, but overall the food was very good.
We love Italian food, and this place gives off more of a casual Italian food feel. It is perfect for a quick delicious dinner, but not the most romantic for a date. Then again, a date is as romantic as you make it.

Ok, I’ll review this place again when I get to try the Pizza.
So far, we decided to have pasta, a mushroom appetizer, 1 beer each and an espresso coffee. So, the pasta was nothing extraordinary, it lacked flavor. We had 1 Beck’s beer each (Which was like $ 8 for a 12 fl ounce bottle) and the espresso coffee was like another $ 6 each. Plus, the salad wasn’t included with the pasta, so, the total was $ 68!
Make sure to ask your food cockroach-​free, because they’re all over the place here. I understand the infestation can be caused by some other tenant, but please, work on that issue! It is very annoying to eat while having those pesky little critters in your table. The décor is vey simple and I like it dark like that. Very nice owner. I just want to order the pizza next time and give it a try.

Didn’t even get the chance to order or eat from here — a horrible customer service experience on the phone. Here’s how it went:
Me: Hi, I noticed your menu isn’t available online and I’m curious to hear if you have any specialty pizzas.
Nick: Nope — just regular pizzas.
Me: Okay, well, what toppings do you have?
Nick: Whatever you want to put on it.
Me: Okay, then I’d like a cheese pizza with meatballs
Nick: We don’t have that.
Me: Okay, well then could you tell me what you do have as toppings?
Nick: I don’t have time for that. (Click, hang-​up).
Well, now I have no desire to order your pizza, ever.

When I walked up to the door I thought it might be closed because it was so dark inside. When we walked in we were greeted by a nice, Italian man with a warm smile. It smelled a little musty inside, but it was okay. The place was decorated in a very authentic Italian style. My mom was with us and being Italian, she knew it was authentic. It was pretty cold inside and I had to wear a jacket.
The food was really good. My son had pepperoni pizza and it was really, really good. My mom had some kind of chicken and pasta dish but I’m not sure what it was called. She liked it a lot. My daughter was being adventurous and tried something she had never had before: gnocchi. She didn’t care for it, but it was just a shot in the dark. I had clams in pasta with white sauce. It was good and was a lot of food.
I would go back again.

Nick’s had been on my «want to try» list for quite some time. I’ve considered going in during the hockey season, but their 6 PM opening time put me off since I like to show up at the Tank when the doors open usually at 6:15 PM. I found myself in the area on business recently, and I was finally able to drop in to Nick’s.
The big restaurant was empty at the time. It was around 7 PM on a Saturday night too. I peered into the large dining room because the lights were off and found the owner and another employee inside just chatting. The owner was very nice. He walked over and greeted me. He showed me the menu which was adhered to the wall and he waited patiently behind the bar as I considered what to order.
I decided to go with pasta instead of pizza since I wasn’t staying at home and had no means to reheat any leftovers. I ordered the half spaghetti and half ravioli with the meat sauce, and asked for two meatballs to be added on. The owner told me the meatballs were very filling, and he suggested I order just one, and if I wanted the second one later he could serve me then since these were cooking with the sauce. I ordered a soft drink to go with my food. The owner asked me to take a seat anywhere then after I was seated he flipped on the lights.
The bar area is pretty run down with unmatching stools and some rickety looking tables and chairs. There is a real old fashioned cash register behind the bar and the place is decorated with photos of Mafia-​like figures on the wall (
). Utensils and a soda were brought over to me. The owner said that the food would take a bit longer to cook, but I’d get it soon. The soda (
) tasted really weird. I think the ice cubes had sat in the freezer too long and suffered from freezer burn. I asked for a glass of water instead with no ice.
The food didn’t take very long at all. It was a massive plate of food too (
), and it was accompanied by a huge basket of garlic toast (
). The meat sauce is very good with big chunks of tomato and big chunks of seasoned ground meat. The owner was right about the meatball which was very dense and actually felt like cutting into a rubber ball. The spaghetti half was excellent with the pasta cooked just right.
I ran into problems on the ravioli half however, and I’m certain I would never order the ravioli again because of it. First the ravioli was cooked unevenly with some squares just right and others still hard. Second, at least two squares I bit into had a funky, rancid taste in the filling so bad that I immediately spit it back out. The garlic toast was good. It was more buttery than garlicky though and the portion was much more than I could handle.
The owner was quite apologetic of the bad ravioli. Because of the excellent service and the honesty of the owner I’ll give them three stars.

Thanks for the suggestion, fellow Unilocalers!!!
as mentioned before, we were a little afraid that Nick’s was closed down for the evening because it wasn’t properly lit. but the service was superb and the food was awesome! between the three of us, we downed a large combination pizza and house salad. i’ve eaten bar pizza with these two before and they both complain afterwards of the food «sitting like a rock» in the stomach. with Nick’s pizza, the ingredients were quality and the taste fantastic. no after-​meal discomforts!
i would like to thank Nick Junior specifically for being our server, chef and cashier and delivering 150% quality on all levels.