Welcome to Nick & G’s
Nick & G’s Dining Room (Photos courtesy of Nick & G’s)
Rancho Santa Fe’s Newest
Dining Experience
By Mindy Flanary and Joyell Nevins
The latest place to see and be seen in Rancho Santa Fe is Nick & G’s at 6106 Paseo Delicias. Sample from the Mediterranean and Italian influenced menu or have a cocktail at the upscale bar.
Nick & G’s welcomes families and is proud to be part of the Rancho Santa Fe lifestyle. Owner Sandra DiCicco named the restaurant after her own family; paying homage to her children Nicolas and Gianina. General Manager Tim Snyder stressed the importance of community feedback to help steer the menu. The restaurant also actively participates in community events such as Taste of Rancho Santa Fe and Paws 4 a Cause.
You can choose from several different seating options. Enjoy the breeze on the large outdoor patio, take in the decedent décor in the dining room, sit in a high-back booth by the bar, or grab a cushy spot by the fireplace in the back courtyard. And if you are on a date night, we suggest the blue booth tucked in the corner in the dining room.
Over in the bar area, many of the hipster bar staff have been “imported” from North Park. The beer and wine menu offers a reasonable amount of choices. Joyell forwent the mediocre Pinot Grigio for the crisp and refreshing Primaterra Prosecco. Also, we thought it noteworthy that their cocktail menu included four whiskey flights to choose from.
You can start your meal with seafood options like calamari gremolata or chilled jumbo shrimp. The bruschetta features tomatoes from Nick & G’s sister restaurant’s garden in Bandy Canyon. Our favorite was the crispy parmesan brussel sprouts with marcona almonds. The balsamic molasses really balanced out the flavors.
The house wedge salad was a hit with Joyell. The BBQ honey bacon added a delicious crunch and the house bleu ranch dressing set off the salad nicely. The main menu includes both pasta and land and sea dishes. While the grilled New York strip didn’t excite our taste buds, the roasted chicken with the apricot thyme sauce was moist and burst with flavor.
The menu also has several options for flatbreads, including Italian sausage and caprese. However, the shrimp scampi flatbread didn’t live up to its name. It was definitely shrimp on bread, but where was the scampi?
There was a wide variety of vegetables and sides including broccolini, asparagus, and basil-whipped potatoes. Mindy especially liked the juicy sauteed rappini (also known as broccoli rabe), as it was cooked well without going limp.
And don’t forget dessert! The butterscotch bread pudding was out of this world and tasted like French toast. Other choices included the caramel carrot cake and chocolate cake with raspberry coulis.
Nick & G’s is a pleasant night out and a beautiful place to enjoy food and conversation. It is
not, however, a place to eat and run. Be prepared to wait between courses.
If you time it right, live music can provide an entertaining backdrop. We appreciated that we could hear the singer, but the volume wasn’t so loud that it drowned out our conversation.
Nick & G’s also offers a small banquet room with its own entrance for private events. The night we were there, the room still held TV and video game consoles brought in for a children’s event.
The restaurant is open for lunch Wednesday-Saturday, dinner Monday-Sunday, and a brunch on Sunday with mimosa and Bloody Mary specials.
Visit their website at http://www.nickandgs.com/. You can also follow them on social media through Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Special thanks to Allie Talavera for her company and contribution — and much respect to her GoT repartee.
