Finally went to Nada tonite, with my girls. I've wanted to try it out for a while now, but it just never seemed to happen. James poo-poo'd it from the start, simply because of how it looked and the "type" of people who frequent the patio area. The design of the restaurant is chic and trendy, but to me, that's not what matters. As long as the food and service are great, I don't care who's at the table next to me. So let's get to it... We didn’t have a reservation because of a little mishap with the date. (That’s all I’ll say because we gave Theresa enough crap about it.) You don’t have to have a reservation, but on Fridays and Saturdays, it is definitely advised. We got there around 7:40 pm and they told us it would be about an hour wait—we were seated right around 8:30. The nite was perfect—upper 60’s, light breeze—and we got to sit on the patio. The table settings and décor are simple and tasteful, and I love that they left (or added) some trees when they constructed the area.
Our waiter was Mike, and he was great. We started w/ chips and salsa- both of which are made fresh, on site- and they were delish. We each ordered a cocktail. I had heard wonderful things about the blood orange margarita, so I decided to give it a whirl. Theresa got one as well, Becki tried the strawberry and Denyia sampled the pomegranate. While all 3 were tasty, we agreed that the blood orange was by far the best. I like that they use agave nectar rather than sweet and sour, to balance out the citrusy tang of the blood orange. For the main course, 3 of us had tacos. Each order comes with 3 tacos, and it’s more than enough. I had the crispy pork belly and it was awesome. If you’ve never had pork belly before, do try it. It’s like a boneless pork rib, with a strip of tender meat on one side and fat back on the other. Each taco had one big slice of perfectly fried pork belly atop pickled veggies & fresh guacamole. The meat was cooked so well, the fat simply melted in my mouth. This taco is normally served on flour tortillas, but the waiter recommended corn tortillas, and they made it wonderful. Theresa had the Mahi Mahi taco, which was yummy as well. The mahi mahi was fried in a light batter and topped w/ fresh guacamole & pico de gallo. Theresa and I swapped one taco each, and I loved the mahi mahi just as much as the crispy pork belly—fantastic. Becki had the carnitas tacos and loved them, as well. Denyia decided to go outside the box and ordered from the large plates menu. The Yucatan chicken, with allspice rub, was incredibly moist and juicy, and perfectly seasoned.
We decided to give dessert a go—though we were all thoroughly stuffed by that point. The waiter described each dessert and we decided on the French toast, tres leches and flourless chocolate cake—to go. The tres leches was served with two thin slices of cream-soaked cake, as well as strawberry & caramel sauces and Madison’s strawberry gelato. It was yummy, though maybe a bit too rich. We were all a little underwhelmed by the chocolate cake, and I am not sure if that is by design, or simply how they packaged it to-go. The sauces for the tres leches were packaged in individual containers, but the chocolate cake was shoved into a pint cup, with the ice cream on top. By the time we got home, it had melted into one mound of goo. Of the three desserts, the French toast was definitely the winner. The maple syrup and cream sauce combine for a crème brulee-like taste, while the added bananas give it a bananas Foster feel and caramelized almonds topped it off.
So in summation, if you are looking for someplace new and fresh to try in downtown Cincinnati, give Nada a nod. Don’t be intimidated by the trendy feel or the “beautiful people” sipping cocktails on the patio. (Believe me, it’s way more laid back than Bartini’s, across the street, what with its red carpets and velvet ropes. Pssshh!) We had a great time—and the food and service were both awesome… and that’s all that matters.
