Nonna

Nonna (which is Italian for grandmother) is a casual-dining Italian-food restaurant located in the trendy Hipódromo neighborhood just a couple of blocks from Parque México.

There’s no stereotypical Italian décor. No Italian flags or hokey checkered tablecloths like they have at many Italian restaurants.

The entire ground floor dining area and bar is open. It’s a sleek and minimalist décor but lots of wood accents to keep it feeling warm and comfortable.

The waiters are all dressed in black slacks, shirts and aprons. Service was spot-on.

The menu is in Italian with dishes described in Spanish. That shows class not to butcher the names of these classic Italian dishes by attempting to rename them in Spanish. Kudos to Nonna for not making that error.

Authentic Italian ingredients and dishes.

As an appetizer I ordered the small Margarita pizza. It was slightly undercooked as you can see in the image slider. That crust should have been slightly charred and blistering. But the ingredients, including the basil, were fresh and flavorful.

Up next was the Spaghetti alla Puttanesca. The pasta was served “al dente”. The sauce was delicious and the perfect consistency. The pasta had been properly drained so as not to water-down that delicious Pomodoro sauce. The high-quality ingredients, including lots of green and black olives and slivers of sun-dried tomatoes were delicious. One minor faux pas. The menu stated the dish included artichokes. There were no artichokes in the dish I was served. Minor omission, but if they were out of the ingredient, the waiter should have informed me of that fact.

The first two rounds were good enough to warrant trying a dessert. I opted to try the Italian classic, the Tiramisu. This version was a hit. I’ve had versions of this dessert where the lady fingers are drenched in coffee, rendering the coffee flavor a bit over powering. I’ve also had versions that went overboard on the mascarpone filling or a bit heavy on dusting the dessert with bitter cocoa powder. I’ve even been served two of these that were frozen and not completely thawed when served. Oooof!

This dessert had a pleasing balance of every ingredient. It was a classic layered Tiramisu topped with bits of fresh fruit, a light dusting of cocoa powder and bits of semi-sweet chocolate. The crowning touch was a semi-sweet chocolate tuile.

On a second visit I tried the Risotto alla Milanese con Gamberetti e Asparaggi. This is a classic Italian saffron-flavored rice dish with the addition of shrimp and asparagus. Again. Another horrible failure on executing a risotto. It totally amazes me how 95% of Latin American chefs can’t seem to make a risotto. This one wasn’t quite the catastrophe that the dish I’d had a few nights earlier at Bonita was, but it was only marginally better. Still horribly off-course. Bad rice. Gummy, thick texture. The flavors were good but the rice itself was a huge miss. Bottom line is you’d best stick with the pasta and pizza (but if they serve the pizza undercooked, send it back for blast of heat).

I note that on my second visit, the service was slightly less efficient as well.

Nonna has a slightly better than pleasant ambiance. Better than average service and execution of Italian classics provided you avoid the risotto. Nonna does Italian about as good as any Italian restaurant in the city. The menu is a bit pricey but not so much that most residents in the area or tourists would blink an eye.

Nonna is a good choice for classic Italian pasta dishes. Avoid the risottos. And for a pizza, we recommend nearby Café Toscano. There’s one just a couple of blocks away but the ambiance is much more pleasant at the Café Toscano on Aguacalientes (about ten blocks away). For a bit of variety in the Italian-food genre, we also like nearby Roberta.