Nino’s Cucina Italiana

Great meal and service. We had the Eggplant and the Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken. Highly recommend this spot. We’ll be back!

Had a party of 9 last nite. No reservations. Seated promptly! All appetizers were excellent. Most of the party had Italian & said it was off the chain! (Slang for excellent! Lol). I had 2 meatballs side dish which was great. I then had NY Strip cooked medium & delivered hot & medium.
At the conclusion of our meal the owner/​manager, Mr Brian Jacobs (Hometown Rob. Co) came over, introduced himself & exchanged pleasantries & even offered dessert on the house!
A Definite MUST if your ever at ECU/​Greenville.

I went to Nino’s on a Saturday night with six other people and the service, food and experience was impeccable! I got to the Rigatoni Nino which was AMAZING. The owner came out to grate Parmesan cheese for us and we even got free desserts for my birthday. Our waitress, Stephanie, was AWESOME and all the wines/​drinks were delicious. I will definitely be returning!!!

I waited to place a review unroll I had been back at least 3 times. And all I will say is order with confidence. I haven’t had this solid an experience in a long time. And wine selection is amazing. You will not eat at any other self proclaimed Italian restaurant in town again after you eat here!!!

Pear & Cheese sacchetti was amazing! Great service and atmosphere. Would definitely come back again!

Salads and wine were great. Lasagna was really unique and just awesome, a must try! Chicken parmesan was great. All of their red sauces are excellent (I haven’t tried the white sauces yet, but will soon. Service was good and the chef even came out.

Excellent authentic tasting Italian food. It is a great improvement over Finelli’s that used to occupy that space. I’ve had the spaghetti with homemade meatballs and the chicken piccata and they were both excellent.

I’ll give Nino’s three stars because it was a nice atmosphere (despite the cheesy Sinatra music I can’t get out of my head). The manager was friendly. The menu was interesting — I did not expect to see cacio e pepe on a menu in these here parts, and the cocktail list and wine list had some nice surprises as well.
The food, though, did not meet my expectations. Linguine alla pescatore had waaay to much sauce to pasta ratio, and the sauce tasted kind of like they just opened a can of tomatoes, barely cooked them, and tossed them and the juices from the can with some shell fish and a very little bit of pasta. A good sauce needs some more cooking, maybe more ingredients and a good long time on the stove to develop some flavors? I came away thinking that someone in the kitchen would benefit from opening a cookbook or two. My dinner companion’s veal marsala had clumpy cream sauce on it. And anyone who has ever cooked a nice marsala sauce knows that the creaminess should come from cooking the marsala down and adding butter — NOT from actual cream. It was heavy and lacked any true marsala flavor.
I wouldn’t say I would never go back to Nino’s. Maybe you just have to find the one or two dishes the kitchen staff know how to make. For example, they once had a sea bass special that was fantastic — I wish that was on the permanent menu! But for the most part, I think I’d rather cook Italian at home.

I went to Nino’s soon after it opened. I’d say overall the food was very good. It’s been a few weeks since I went, so I will try to recount what I had. For starters, we shared a bruschetta dish which was delicious, with a mix of eggplant, cheese and other toppings. The topics were delicious though slightly too cold as if right out of fridge. Then I had a ravioli dish in a veal broth. This dish was also excellent, though a bit small in portion size (and I am not usually one to complain about this). The other dishes that might wife and friend had were pasta carbonara, and I think chicken piccata (or something like that). Those portions were much more generous, and both were tasty. I’ll note that my wife had a glass of wine that she thought was off, and the server was extremely responsive and brought her a different glass immediately and with no fuss. So overall… the food was great, and its a great addition to Greenville! I’d say the cost is slightly high for what you get (its on par in terms of cost with the most upscale restaurants in town), But what you get at Nino’s is good, and much needed around here! If I had one minor suggestion it would be that the lights are a bit too bright for what could be nice, romantic restaurant. Dim the lights and definitely pitch the TVs! Keep it classy Greenville :)
update: I went back to Nino’s last night and it was awesome. It was busy, and the servers seemed a bit stretched. But basically you can ignore anything negative above, except for the slightly too bright lighting :) Food was great!

1. I am Italian my grandmother flys in from Italy to cook for us so I am spoiled when it comes to perfect Italian food and it is HARD to impress me with restaurant Italian food. 2. I never leave Unilocal reviews unless something is mind blowing and amazing.
We dined at Nino’s tonight and it was one of the best Italian meals! Alfredo noodles were so fresh I could taste the ingredients and it was better than my Nonna’s and she lives IN ITALY.
In greenville 10 out of 10 breakdown for comparison :
Nino’s 9.99 but I am sure it will be a 10, I need to try the marsala and dessert before I say 10.
Corleones 6 not worth it.
Cpw 7.5 variety
Basil’s 5.5
Atavola 7
Olive garden 1 horrible not real Italian avoid!!!
Famigila new on fire tower not impressed with soft opening, sauce was salty no flavor not enough basil or garlic 6 of 10.
Food
Lasagna was amazing 10 out of 10
Meatballs 9.5 out of 10. Mine was a tad too salty but was still best in Greenville.
Chicken parmigiano 10 out of 10 best I have had in NC!
Alfredo was beyond 10. Better than my Nonna’s she kill me if she knew I said this.
Bread was fabulous.
Service :
Manager, owner, all came to table to speak and they were so nice. Waiter was good very friendly. We were well taken care of. Environment is beautiful and clean.
I truly feel this place is the best in nc and lol none of these other places can touch this. Just give it a try and I bet you will love it.
They own Marabella and it is good, this place is definitely a step up and worth a try.
real fresh authentic ricotta that most places do not get right.
Overall, 10 out of 10 could not have been better.

Today was our first time going to Ninos. It was awesome! The bread was hot and fresh with dipping oil. The mixed drinks were great, the waitress was quick and pleasant. The food was served quickly and hot. Italian sausage rigatoni was very good. We had a wonderful date night and were going to get dessert to celebrate my birthday but were very full from the meal. We definite will be back.

My husband and I have been to Nino’s 3 times since they opened and all of our experiences have far-​exceeded our expectations. I’m not sure about some of the negative reviews and what happened with them, but it sounds like they ate somewhere completely different than we did. Nino’s is a complete Italian family experience. The aroma as you enter the front doors is as has been described in other reviews, but that’s where ANY similarities in our experiences end. The atmosphere is warm and classy and invites you to sit and, if you like, stay a while. We have been treated like family by staff members and the chefs/​owners and have enjoyed chatting with Rich, the front of the house manager, on every visit. We’ve been served in an extremely timely manner every time and had very personable, friendly and attentive wait staff who even remember us on subsequent visits. The bread, made fresh by Nino himself, was DELICIOUS. It is crispy and light on the outside with a lovely garlic butter aroma and flavor and light and fluffy on the inside. The best bread I’ve had at a restaurant and very obviously not FROZEN. The wine was recommended to us, table side, by the Italian wine rep himself and was EXQUISITE! On our visits we have had the Caccio e Pepe (a heavenly creamy pasta swirled in a huge wheel of Parmesan) which is prepared and served table side. We have enjoyed the Riggatoni Nino (fresh pasts tubes with savory red sauce and the best Italian sausage we’ve had). We took our parents on one of our visits and they had the Seafood Canneloni and the Spaghetti and meatballs, both were delectable. My mother-​in-​law was nearly brought to tears when she tasted the red sauce, as it reminded her of her mother’s sauce. My mother-​in-​law is Italian so she KNOWS great Italian food! It was quite an emotional experience for her. We have had the antipasto platter 2 times and the creamy tomato soup as well. All were FRESH and delicious with a gorgeous presentation. Desserts we’ve had were cheesecake and homemade chocolate cannoli which my mother-​in-​law described as the best she ever had. I’m so surprised to read the bad reviews here but have to wonder if their palates are so used to «American Italian» food that they don’t appreciate the real thing when they taste it. You will find my family and I there every Friday night enjoying everything about this fabulous and much-​needed addition to the culinary line-​up in Greenville, as it is our new FAVORITE PLACE! The ONLY suggestion I would like to make is to PLEASE OPEN FOR LUNCH SOON!!!

First I love Marabella and was very excited to try Ninos. I was very disappointed. Being a new restaurant I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt but Service was terrible. From the drinks to the food everything took to long. We waited over an hour before all was said and done and finally got our food to go. The manager was extremely rude from the get go not caring about our complaints. Finally the chef came out but the damage was done. When I finally ate, The Alfredo was bland to say the least. I am all for local and support local restaurants but unfortunately I will not be going back.

I’ve been here twice since they have opened. Both times my wife and we’re not disappointed. My wife had spaghetti and meatballs. It was off the hook. I was so glad there was to much too be had there at the restraunt it was just as delicious the next day. We had the same waitress each evening. She was very kind and knowledgeable of all the foods. The management was working the floor making sure every thing was going well. There is room for some improvement but with their dedication to their fare and clientele in sure they will succeed beyond most places that have occupied this property.

The food is excellent! The wine list is also amazing! I want this restaurant to stay and be successful… the only way this can happen is if the staff and management know their menu! I’ve eaten at Nino’s twice now. The food was incredible, but I had zero guidance. The service staff knew absolutely nothing about the menu items. even the manager couldn’t answer simple questions about the food. They had not had the chance to try any of it? How are you going to sell something when you don’t know anything about it? The wine list is great, and has a lot of my favorites… but the staff isn’t even required to learn the names of the wine. They just memorize the bottles by number? It was all very odd to me. I was in the restaurant business for a very long time, and was part of a couple openings. We were always required to know at least something about every menu item BEFORE the restaurant opened. I feel that these servers were set up for failure and sent up the creek without a paddle. It’s not their fault. This restaurant has the potential to be awesome! The food is already on point, and the restaurant is beautiful. The staff just needs to be better educated on the product.

I’ve eaten at Marabellas for years and always loved it so I went to Ninos to try it out.
We had just a simple pasta with red sauce. It was amazing. So fresh and so many flavors!
The atmosphere is fantastic. Great colors and feel. Plus, they had tvs behind the bar so I could catch my game.
I’ll definitely be back.

Very disappointed. When you walk in the restaurant, a wonderful garlic smell overtakes your senses. But almost the whole meal was disappointing. We asked for bread on 4 different requests to both our waitress and the young man who served our food. Finally at the end of the meal the waitress brought out a basket and said ’”you requested more bread? «When I told her we had never been served any bread since we sat down, she laughed and said «oops.» I agree with other review, bread tasted frozen and not fresh. It has no flavor despite having a few sprinkles of cheese on top. We expected warm garlic bread infused with a buttery garlic taste. It was bland. They did not serve any herbed olive oil which would have at least given it some flavor. They claim it is fresh, it may be, but it is very bland and flavorless.
The waitress was extremely inexperienced and did not know the menu at all. She did not offer any specials. I don’t know if they didn’t have any to offer or if she just didn’t know them. Burrata mozzarella is listed as an appetizer. No other description on the menu. When I asked if it came as a salad or was served with anything, she did not know. I explained that I have had burrata as a caprese salad before and asked if it was served with tomatoes. She said it just came on a plate by itself. When it was served, it was on a bed of greens with small heirloom cherry tomatoes. This was the best part of meal.
She was not attentive at all and disappeared for long periods of time between bringing us menus and taking our order and ordering and serving our food. On more than one occasion, we had to ask someone to get her. She seemed to dote on a table with football players from ECU and ignored her other customers. I guarantee my tip would have been far better than a few college kids.
When I ordered the veal chop, she didn’t ask how I wanted it cooked. I then told her I wanted it medium rare, she made an awful face and walked away. When our meal came quite a bit later, the veal was between medium and medium well. I felt as if she disagreed with my request and either didn’t tell the chef, or just decided herself this was not the proper way to cook it. Either way, it was well overcooked and given her reaction to my request for medium rare, she was not going to allow it. I never got a steak knife, which was needed to cut this $ 30 overcooked piece of meat. Halfway through my meal, the owner (or manager — he never introduced himself) saw me struggling and asked if I wanted a steak knife. It was quite some time before our waitress ever came back to the table but she continued to linger at the table with the football players.
We were never asked if we wanted coffee or dessert. When we asked for check, we had been there over 2 hours.
They have only been open a little over two weeks, so it is hard to believe the first few 5 star reviews that make it sound like the restaurant has been open forever and if you go back more than once you are family. They are very disorganized, seem to have new, very inexperienced wait staff and they don’t know the menu. I suspect the first reviews are not legit or were planted by staff, as is often the case on Unilocal.
It smells good when you walk in, but the food really disappoints, as others have pointed out. It is not cheap, so I would wait a few months before trying this place to see if they can improve on service, wait staff, and cooking meals as ordered. Greenville needs a high end Italian restaurant, but Nino’s misses the mark and does not fit the bill.
For my money, I would drive to little Washington for far better food and excellent service at Marabella’s. Supposedly the same owners but worlds apart on quality and service. Don’t waste your money at Nino’s. Not likely to give this place a second chance. And if they continue like this, they won’t get people back a second time.

Nino’s food is absolutely delicious. I have never eaten anything here that wasn’t amazing. The owners are from Italy and the food is authentic Italian cuisine. They are also the owners of Marabella Old World pizza. They make you feel like you’re apart of the family when you visit. If you’re in the area, you must stop here! I promise you that you won’t be disappointed.