Nook

Nook is the place to go when you’re craving comfort. The casual Italian served at Nook is above par! I can’t resist the Margarita pizza and my partner insists on ordering the gnocchi and mini meatballs every time. They have a Negroni cocktail on tap and it’s a finely crafted cocktail! The service is always professional and friendly. Various serving staff always check in to see if you need something. Something I appreciate when my wine glass in empty.
No reservations accepted but you can score a table between 4:30 — 5:30 quite easily. Good tunes played, no muzak here!

My boyfriend and I love this place. When we lived in Kits we spent many enjoyable afternoons here. They have excellent music: a personal playlist that’s an eclectic blend of 70s and 80s songs. Service is great, the staff will actually have a conversation with you like you are a human being. Food is fantastic — gourmet, and reflected in the price. Small rotating craft beer selection, but always something worth trying.

Nook in Kits is a current favourite of mine. The «greens» salad is a great starter to split no matter the time of year. The spaghetti puttanesca is my favourite pasta on the menu. It’s just so perfectly savoury and unctuous.
Bottles of wine start in the mid-​high $ 30’s and are definitely a better deal than the glasses by themselves.
If you arrive before 5:50 on a weekday, you’ll have no trouble getting a table but anytime after that and you’re in for a wait. They don’t take reservations. The table right around the door inevitably get drafty and loud as the crowds start to line up inside the door. Ask to be seated as far away from the door as possible

The atmosphere is great with a group of friends, a bit loud for a date unless you go early. Very small space, especially if you’re sitting at the table by the entrance as there is no where to wait so people start crowding and standing around those tables. The wait times can get to over an hour and they don’t take reservations or phone numbers incase you wanted to grab a drink at the local to kill the hour long wait.
Finally, the food!
The burrata and prosciutto was a great appetizer, but pricey at $ 18. The burrata could have used more salt.
The pizza there was nothing to rave about. I tried the Italian sausage and the prosciutto pizza. Thin crust but not quite crisp enough to hold any of the toppings as you tried to pick it up. It seemed to be lacking flavour and depth.
Their pastas were much more impressive. The gnocchi was cooked perfectly. The puttanesca was also delicious. A perfect balance of the salt/​tangy flavour from the olives and capers that wasn’t overpowering that you could taste the olive oil, tomatoes and the spaghetti.
Overall a great place.

Very good place to go for a dinner and drink. In group or couple!

Nook was great — our dining experience was simple and uncomplicated, and the food was great. Our server had so much personality and definitely added some pizazz to the evening. Despite the restaurant being packed to the brim, I didn’t feel rushed and was still able to enjoy my night.
Will go back.

An unpleasant experience despite good food.
After much hype we went to nook as a group of 6 on Thursday night. The food was tasty (Anchovy pasta was excellent — and I’m not a huge anchovy fan) although portions are not overly generous. 5 rotating beers on tap meant we had a nice drink to start before moving to their reds.
The most disappointing part of the experience was the hoard of other customers waiting for a seat. In the style of Vij’s, Nook allow waiting customers to have a drink inside until a table is available, however this means people are packed in all around existing diners. I would absolutely not go to Nook again, unless I could be guaranteed a seat in the half of the restaurant away from the door. With people standing on 3 sides of our table I felt like I was at a packed cheap pub not a nice restaurant.
Disappointing experience overall.

Wonderful service, great suggestions from the staff. The rigatoni was amazing!!! Of course I love lots of things in my pasta. The arugula salad and the heirloom tomatoes OMG! The White rabbit beer was good.

–Waited for a table while others who showed up later got in first.
–Very Noisy couldn’t hear others at my table
–Over priced $ 18 for a small bowl of pasta that was just cheese and noodles
–Asked to add meat to our pasta cause we wanted substance and he brought cold prosciutto and said he could not bring it cooked and didn’t seem to care that we were not happy with the dish.
Won’t be going back!

I recently moved into kits and I love pasta. I ate here a few times and it was ok. Nothing special. The gnocchi is good. I give them that… But now there is an alternative just 1 block up from them. Basil pasta bar. And the prices are half and they have bigger portions…
Nook lost me as a hungry client… At $ 16 per pasta. I don’t find a reason to stick with this place. Maybe if I want pizza I’ll come by. Because they are the only pizza place in the 4 – 5 blocks radios.

Wonderful pizza. Wonderful pasta. Check it out you won’t be dissapointed.
Showed up during a busy time but they sat me and my companion immediately. They serve Strangefellows craft beer so we’re off to a good start.
Wine recommendations are spot on. Food is definitely above average. I want to try other selections. Gonna have to make it another day.

Clean and comfortable dining room, excellent service and affordable prices. I was excited before even trying the food.
I was not let down after the Ricotta Pizza, Gnocchi, Rigatoni Boscaiola and Casarecce. Perfect marriage of flavours and textures. Chris, our host was the epitome of friendliness, knowledge and personality. He was open and inviting and a pleasure to chat with.
I look forward to dining in the next time I’m craving great Italian food.

What a nice place the home made pasta is really good, the starter pkate too share with burrata is soo nice and fresh made and chances everyday depence what fesh produkt they get, i had also such a great nice italien wine. If you look for good homemade food you definitly at the right place, i will come back.
yumyumyum

Nook was sold big to me… While I wanted to enjoy myself there, I really didn’t — both times we went.
Let me first say that the front of house was terse and made some strange, cutting remarks. Perhaps that is their personality, but it’s not doing the restaurant any favours.
The second visit to the restaurant was subject to a, shall we say. bad start. My party of 5 waited for almost an hour as a party of 2, 6, and 3 that arrived after us were ushered to their tables. At first we thought they had reservations (Nook doesn’t take resos), but then realized we were being «saved» for a table that fits 4 at appeared to be getting ready to leave and then didn’t right away. When we said we would rather we were sat at a table that would fit us, we were treated as if we were being requesting to be put on a pedestal. Not very nice.
The lighting is unpleasant and the noise-​level seems to be generally high here. It’s high-​energy. I think I prefer Italian meals to be a little less trendy and a little more classy.
The pastas I tried, both times, has a bit of an off flavour to the sauce and the pasta was a little more chewy at the centre than al dente should be. Their Buratta with Prosciutto and Greens salad are pretty good but not enough for me to brave the din and the uncomfortable atmosphere. Sorry, Nook.

Loved Nook’s new location.
My friend and I biked to Nook on a nice Sunday morning in Feb. The place was pretty busy but there was no wait.
The brunch menu is very exciting. They have really good starters. I could have only ordered starters but wanted to try their main dishes as well. The two of us shared one starter and two main dishes which was more than enough. We were happy with our food, service and coffee. We would definitely go back with more friends next time as the place is perfect for a big group.

Nook has a great location right by Kits beach. Therefore, Nook is busy. Nook is buzzing with artsy middle aged folk, and young adults dressed up for dates or birthdays. Nook does not take reservations. Fortunately, Nook turns tables quite fast.
The interior is stunning. Even the bar seats, which I was seated at, are nice. I got a cool view of the pizza pies being flipped and tossed into the oven. I ordered the pizza special to share, which was $ 20 and filled the both of us up quite contently. The pie was thin, and the flavours were rich without being sickly greasy. There was a good variation of toppings on the pizza special; I can recall that there was kale, shiitake mushrooms, an egg, and meat.
After the meal, it took a while to get the server’s attention to receive the bill. I know, it may be hard to justify paying more for a small-​to-​medium sized pizza, but the quality of the pizza beckons me to return to Nook.

For overall ambience, friendly service and value, and being in Kits, this is definitely worth a repeat and/​or date material. In the summer, this place is packing.
Ordered the muffalata sandwich, which for $ 10, much better than similar cost in DT that are pre-​made in the morning but I digress, is yummy: prosciutto, salami, provolone cheese with arugula.
But the real winner is their appetizer of 4 gigantic meat balls: moist, every bite flavourful, especially in dipping their in-​house tomato sauce. This took awhile to make, as being cooked on a skillet really gives it that warmth, so not a dish if you’re in a rush.
Coming here for lunch, quite a bit already but since reading Gretchen’s useful review, pasta will be my next choice.
On the right, is their casual lounge. Bar seating actually on the left, with cool red bar chairs.
Friendly service.

Great food. Great pricing. Great service more like a 4.5 put you can’t choose that.

Really enjoyed my meal here! Ordered the spaghetti puttanesca, ricotta pizza, meatball gnocchi, blt spaghetti special.
My pizza was on the oily side but it still tasted good. Meatball gnocchi and puttanesca were both great and would definitely order again.
Service was great and friendly staff. Really happy to have this restaurant in kits.

As I walk by this restaurant every week, I could not help but notice their open seating plan. Large windows that open to reveal the whole beautiful room. Last week, I finally got a chance to try Nook out and my experience was great.
Arriving around 9pm on a Friday night, I was sure that there was going to be a long wait for the 3 of us. Instead, we were greeted promptly and were seated at the communal table area within 10 minutes. Water was served right away, and our drink orders were also taken. Efficient. They have local beers on tap, as well as a good selection of wines.
I could not help but to keep admiring the space. It’s really nothing fancy, but the clean styling of this room is what made me feel the most comfortable on this Friday night.
Their menu has the basic antipasto, crostini, pastas and pizzas. We started off with the chicken liver crostini. I could have another plate of these to myself. The capers were a nice balance to the flavours, and I love anything liver.
We decided to share 2 pastas– the Cacio e pepe and the Casarecce. The cacio e pepe was delicious. Such a simple dish of cheese and black peppers, the freshness of the homemade pasta really shone through. The casarecce was also good, they definitely didn’t skimp on the ingredients.
As well, we had the pizza with ricotta, baby spinach, olives and roast garlic. The pizza was just ok, and I would have preferred more roast garlic on top.
Despite the room being filled up, we still got good and friendly service. It’s a good thing that I don’t live in the neighbourhood, or else I would come everyday for their cacio e pepe!
²¹⁄₁₀₀; The Unilocal 100 Challenge