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Sneak Peek: Nonna Dora’s
Nonna Dora’s, the homemade pasta restaurant helmed by Addolorata Marzovilla, aka Nonna Dora, is open and is taking reservations. Thanks to A. for the heads up.
I popped in last night just to check it out — will go to eat soon and hopefully meet Dora — and met a lot of staff members, all lovely (and photogenic, you might note). They are open seven nights a week starting now; they will add lunch in mid-October.
I forgot how spacious it is in there. They have seats downstairs for 88, plus the mezzanine for private parties: up to 40 with its own bar and bathroom. Plus there are good spots where a crowd might not be in the way — I am thinking a table for 10 in the window just at the top of the stairs, facing the sommelier’s station. There’s also the long bar at the street level.
A special feature: a pasta lab for Dora, who will be in there most days doing what she does. George Hock, the GM, estimated that she and her team make 150 pounds of pasta a day for the two restaurants.
They have expanded the menu for Tribeca: turns out the family is from Puglia, where they serve their fish raw. For this restaurant they are importing flash-frozen fish for the “pescheria,” including oysters, Japanese yellowtail, rainbow trout, red shrimp crudo with crispy heads, and more. The yellowtail is $20; the cavatelli with broccoli rabe and toasted almonds is $32.
There’s still three pages of pasta, however.
More TK.
Nonna Dora’s
200 Church at Duane
212-389-6022
Monday to Thursday, starting at 5 with last seating at 9:30p
Friday & Saturday, starting at 5, last seating at 10p
Sunday, starting at 3, last seating at 9p
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suggest offering pasta making classes! would be great for kids birthdays and definitely drive traffic. good luck!
Been twice already this week, fantastic.
Hubby and I went two nights ago! It’s FANTASTIC! Nicola, the owner, formerly ran I Trulli! Nonna Dora was there also with “her girls” making fresh pasta. It will fill a real hole in the neighborhood that has been here since Roc left. Excellent food with excellent Italian hospitality.
We booked two more dinners all ready.
In what world are these prices reasonable? $32 for cavatelli with no protein?!?! I don’t care how good the pasta is, a pasta only dish is not worth more than $15. For that price you could make a few days worth of the same thing and if you are a good cook, it will be way better. When will the sheeple wake up and stop supporting this absurdity.
I’m not sure it’s sheepliness. If the cost just doesn’t matter to you, there’s little lovelier, if you enjoy food, than to be served truly excellent pasta, cooked by a professional.
So the answer to your question, “In what world…” is: a world wherein many have found they can make a good living by targeting only people for whom cost is not an issue. NYC, right now, is that world. Pretty simple, abundant evidence.
While the prices are high for pasta, overhead (rent) in Tribeca is extremely high so it is natural that those costs are passed along to the consumer. I am really looking forward to trying this restaurant.
Michael, we have many empty retail storefronts in the neighborhood, right?
It makes me wince when folks complain about new businesses —whether it’s the “we don’t need” this type of business or “these prices are crazy.”
What did you think you would accomplish by disparaging this new restaurant (that you obviously do not intend to patronize)? Would you prefer that the space remain empty?
Regarding price points, it’s incredibly hard to turn a profit at a NYC restaurant. Have you ever looked at a restaurant’s expense budget? Like any retail business, a restaurant sets its prices at a level that is projected to cover its operating costs and make a reasonable profit, and then makes a judgment as to whether those prices will fly. It’s incredibly risky!
Lastly, this place sounds very special! I think you are being presumptuous when you say you could cook the same food at home for a fraction of the price. Do you make your own pasta from scratch? Bravo if you do. Do you make your own sauces from scratch or open a jar? Whatever, if this sort of authentic Italian cooking doesn’t appeal to you, DON’T EAT THERE! But please resist poisoning the neighborhood’s reception of a new business! Let’s welcome them and hope they thrive!
Went on Saturday night and loved it!
I would like to add another review. The menu is innovative; the food and service were really great. Wonderful addition to the neighborhood!
In what world? Tribeca Manhattan NYC. If you do not like it buy spaghetti o’s and eat at home.