Cafe Nuovo

The peanut butter cake was dense and delicious!!\r more

The marbled rib eye was tasty and tender.\r more

I had the seared tuna entree with coconut infused jasmine rice....YUM!!!\r more

The food from the appetizers to dessert were outstanding!!\r more

Great cafe place I love to come here with my best friend and get a coffee! Great service all the time.\r more

The location of this restaurant is beautiful they have a great view and the food is just tasty! \r more

Love the setting of the restaurant it is great I receive a warm greeting and very friendly service. The staff is wonderful and was the lobster I ate! It was very fund and the desert was great. I would recommend any one here. more

My wife and I had booked a reservation on the Saturday night of a Waterfire, which may have been our first mistake. We entered the jam packed restaurant to find the wait staff and managers running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. It took nearly 10 minutes just to grab someone's attention to let them know that we had a reservation. And then I was greeted with a snippy, ""Can you just give me a minute, we are kind of busy here"". I understand that Waterfire is a busy night. But this wasn't the first Waterfire ever in Providence, so the fact that the staff felt so overwhelmed and under prepared was mind boggling. After 10 more minutes and seeing people that entered after us being seated, we were finally seated at our table. My wife had made the reservations requesting a table outside, so she was upset that we were seated in the rather noisy dining hall. Her words, ""I feel like I'm in a cafeteria"". She proceeded to get up from the table and go talk to one of the managers about getting a table outside. The manager stated that it wasn't possible, and my wife told her that we were probably going to end up leaving then. To which she cheerfully replied ""Okay, bye"". By that point, we were so annoyed and upset with the rudeness of the wait staff, that we decided to leave. So I am unable to give a review of the food. But if it is anything like the customer service, I'd imagine it was piss poor as well. more

Aug 28, 2010\r My wife and I experienced waterfire for the first time last night. We read the reviews for Cafe Nuovo made a reservation. Disappointing, maybe our experience at Ruth Cris,Capitol Grille, Camilles had our hopes, expectations too high. Food was Ok(far from the quality of the above mentioned), except for the swiss chard came with the lamb. (couldnt eat it)\r The sevice was poor at best, our waiter (Carlos) had little too no experience in serving food or wine. we had a bottle of wine (Silver Oak 04 ) he spilled several ounces on the table before decanting. He did offer an apology for his error, ok mistakes happen, it was only the beginning of a bad service. He poored the wine only once after that, because you could see he had no experience at wine service, another waiter came to his rescue, the rest of the evening I did my own wine service for my wife and I. After our dinner was served he never visited our table for a check of our needs. I asked him as he was passing by if he had a moment, be right there, never happened. Dinner was over I mentioned my swiss chard, again he offered an apology(hes good at that)asked if we wanted coffee/dessert, my wife reponded she would like a desert menu and tea, I asked for coffee with cream, he brought the coffee with milk not cream, again apology was offered. I left a very small tip for a meal and wine cost of $281.00. I spoke with a manager about our experience on the way out, apology was offered, they are good at that as I mentioned. IMO, any of the above eating establishments I mentioned are worth considering, Cafe Nuovo nope never again. \r more

The first time I went to Cafe Nuovo it was great. The second time was on a Waterfire night and it was awful. We made a reservation to sit outside a month in advance. We got to the restaraunt and had to wait 20 minutes to be seated. Our waitress was unfriendly and probably overworked. Our salads were great and came out fast. The main course took over an hour to come after the salads. The chicken oscar was not great. The chicken was dry and the cut of meat was disappointing. It was thin fillets - not what you would expect for $25. The dish supposedly came with lump crab meat but they hardly gave any crab. The potatoes were really good. My husband's veal was also overcooked but his risotto was good. The chocolate lava cake was $9 and we assumed it would be big enough to split. However it was very small and disappointing - I've had better at cheaper restaraunts. They also added $17 to our bill for drinks we never ordered, but they did take that off. I think this restaraunt booked too many tables for Waterfire and they couldn't handle it. I wouldn't be so upset if this restaraunt wasn't so expensive. I expected more from them considering our first experience with them was so good. The staff pretty much ignored the problems of the night. Pros: Location. Cons: They overbook Saturday nights. more

Would have had a better experience if we had gone on a night that wasn't waterfire. The food and service were ok, not what you would expect for such an expensive restaraunt. Pros: None. Cons: Don't go on a Waterfire Night more

Went on a Friday night last year and everything was great. The staff was friendly and excellent. The meals were fabulous. Pros: Good location and food. more

I made a reservation at Nuovo three weeks before my graduation for a nice dinner on the river with my family on the night before Commencement. I made an outdoor reservation, because I expected it to be so nice and the location is good (right next to the river), though they warned me that if it rained they couldn't honor it. The night came and it was 70 degrees out and clear skies, so I figured it was no problem. Wrong! When I got there, a man whose body language said he didn't care told me they told me they weren't seating outside because it was too cold. It was 70 degrees! And they didn't call me to warn me (I had given them my number), either. Overall, they were very rude about it, even laughing at me as I left with my parents and brother.\r \r I won't even try to eat at Cafe Nuovo again. There are so many good restaurants in the area -- we went to Napa Valley Grille at the mall, and the food was delicious and the service was excellent. more

this is the best value in providence. excellent food, clean, great service, great presentation. the portions are very adequate. always consistent. for a simple reason.. dimitri , the owner, is there all the time and makes sure everything is right for everyone. more

I had initially heard of Cafe Nuovo because of the desserts. Later, I would hear other things. After finally going a few times, pretty much everything I heard was confirmed. Nuovo is a notorious haunt for Waterfire-zombies and businessmen getting blasted. While I didn't witness any zombies on my trips, the business crowd was in full force. Unfortunately for Nuovo, the drunken business crowd causes a lot of noise during peak hours that undoubtedly annoy other patrons. It certainly annoyed me. The restaurant's ambiance is very nice. I loved the high-backed chairs. The lighting is romantic. And tables are perfectly dressed. It had a casual trendiness that wasn't overpowering, just... chic. Service is beyond fast. Wait staff is a well-oiled machine with few hiccups. The wine list is very good, but expensive for no reason. Some barely adequate vintages carried insane prices. The menu is good. I liked the play of certain styles and ingredients, but the success of that play is spotty. Some Asian-influenced dishes, such as the Szechuan Surf & Turf, are so heavy on the salt as to nearly overpower the dish. Prices are odd. The adequate crab cake costs an eye-popping $13, but the filet is a very reasonable $31. Food presentation is glorious from beginning to end, though. Everything was beautiful. Still, for me, it all led up the desserts. Stunning presentation and inventiveness give you art when you expected creme brulee. And at $9 each, an absolute bargain. Believe me, go for the Baked Alaska. My cappuccino was the largest I've ever gotten and pretty good. Sugar comes in the form of a jar of flavored rock candy. And that's a good analogy for all of Nuovo. Food that takes a back seat to style. Not too much of a back seat, but noticeable. Even the desserts, presented wonderfully, are all rather basic in inception. Nuovo makes an attempt, but Al Forno still has the best desserts in town. Nuovo succeeds, surely, but more as an exercise in style over substance. Pros: Desserts, presentation is wonderful, service is fast, fast, fast. Cons: Style over substance permeates the menu. Wine list over-priced. more

This place is amazing. My husband and I went to Providence for a romantic evening away and Cafe Nuovo made it an amazing experience. The food was indescribable. The only word that comes to my mind is AMAZING!! Our waiter was so kind and curtious. We had the escargote for an appetizer. It was our first time trying it ever, and what an experience it was. They cooked them in a butter, garlic,parmesan sauce. It was so good we were dipping our bread in the leftover sauce. I had the lamb and my husband had the lobster ravioli. They were both to die for. My lamb came with portabello and goat cheese mashed potatoes that were like nothing I had ever tasted before. The lobster ravioli was so big and full of lobster. I highly recomend the bananas napoleon for dessert....YUMMY!! All in all, the prices were very resonible for the high class cuisine you experience. I wish I could go everynight!! Believe me, you won't be dissapointed when you go. Pros: Ambience, cuisine choices, view more

This is the 1st time we went to Cafe Nuovo. Went on a Saturday night for 6:30 pm. It is right near the Amtrak train station acroos from Capital Grille. Plenty of parking outside with valet. There was no one there at 6:05 pm. We sat at the bar and had a drink. Very attentive bar staff. At 6:30 pm when we went to be seated, it was really starting to fill up. By 7 pm the place was packed with people at the door waiting to get a table.\r \r The bar is very small (about 10 chairs), so get there early if you want to sit or even stand in the bar area.\r \r The atmosphere is subdued lighting with some areas off the main floor that are romantic. Has great views of the city from most areas within the restaurant.\r \r The menu is vast & diverse to say the least! It has something to please everyone. The Mushoo duck appetizer was excellent. It had 2 large wraps. The main meals, we had NY strip and the risotto with sea scallops, were both excellent! The NY strip was very thick and large. Did not expect such a large cut of beef. The desserts are truly works of art. We hated to eat them, but our dining guests on the side (who had just arrived to start their meal) said they would eat them for us! The meal for 2 with appetizers, cocktails, main meals and desserts was $175. Some may think that's sorta' high, but from the packed crowd eating and drinking nobody seem to mind.\r \r Oh yeah, Rodney Harrison from the NE Patriots was sitting at the bar!\r \r We will definitely go again! Pros: Parking, Menu diversity, Romantic, Can handle business dinners Cons: Small bar (waiting area), need reservations, a little pricey more

The food here is so good. The atmophere is romantic...a great date spot. Outside seating in the summer is perfect. Service is friendly and attentive. more

My husband and I try to make it over for dinner at Nuovo once a week. We absolutely LOVE this restaurant. So much so, that my husband proposed marriage one lovely Friday evening. The ambiance is so romantic, sometimes the bar area gets a little loud. Friday nights are great, Saturday nights are very busy and it's hard to get a table. Make a reservation. The food and desserts are out of this world! more