Only opened for dinner. This is fine Italian (training from Italy, the world, NY, Chicago, and now Springfield, Mo is his home) dining on one side and a more casual bar that serves their entire menu on another. The service is generally impeccable with Nicola always visiting your table-side at some point of the night. It is very clear that the majority of the customers are regulars. Things to Note: 1) Homemade pastas 2) Very sizable entrees to share 3) Lots of good table bread options 4) Spectacular wine list 5) Cannolis!! 6) Private dining options for birthdays, corporate events, etc. available Favorite: 1) Pasta Gilardi (homemade Ricotta noodles with a spicy sausage/mushroom sauce) 2) Duck! Nicola is a place worthy of a special occasion or a comfortable Thursday Night out dinner. read more

Always delicious, fabulous service and great ambiance. This is a perfect venue for dinner with a group of friends, family celebration or dinner for two. Can't go wrong at Nicolas! read more

Arrived at 9:48 kitchen closed Yelp hours say open until 11 wasted our time driving there!

This place is a very nice environment, staff was helpful in helping me decide what I wanted to eat. I would say, it was one of the BEST dining experiences that I have had in Springfield, EVER! Thank you to our waitress, Lindsay, she was literally the best! Oh and they have imported Italian beer and a wine selection for Update: this is still the best place in Springfield. If you have the extra money to spend. Go here. This experience is so personalized. You never felt like you were home til a chat with Nicola at your table. read more

Food was ok. Waitress was great. Coke was flat. I ordered the duck and had a long piece of hair wrapped around one of the legs. I sent it back and requested to have it removed from my ticket read more

I keep hoping it improves... I remember the good old days when Nicola's was downtown. And you felt like you were having dinner at your noni's house. The food was authentic, (think homemade pasta), service impeccable and atmosphere reflected the food experience. I've only eaten at Nicola's a couple of times in the last few years. Twice in the last year. Went back this week and now I remember why it's been so long. The food is just meh Once again I left disappointed tonight. While the service and atmosphere are fine, the food is just ok. Ordered a Caesar salad. Swimming in dressing. Some freshly shaved Parmesan or a Parmesan crisp would have been a nice touch. Ordered veal piccata. Again, SWIMMING IN sauce... this time a lemon piccata sauce. Lemon didn't taste fresh. Breading was mushy and Angel Hair was over cooked. It tasted like it had been sitting under warming lights for a couple hours and everything just got soggy and mushy. Owner stopped by the table when we were first seated and welcomed us. That was a nice touch. I think the best Italian in Springfield is probably Avanzare or Piccolo in Nixa. read more

Being Italian/Scilian and recently moving to Springfield, Mo. Every restaurant in Springfield should be ashamed to call itself an Authentic Italian Resturante'! Nicola's is no different. The Service is amazing, the ambiance is very appealing. Especially for a date night. I definately recommend reservations, especially weekends. Now. As far as the food goes. It's average at best and $$$. read more

We visited Nicolas recently for a birthday dinner. They really outdid themselves with service. Very nice. Our party had Veal Parmigiana, Mushroom Raviolo, Pasta with vodka sauce, Tortellini, and Chicken Parmesan. All of the food was delicious. I will say ALL of the pasta sauces were on the salty side. The pastas were all handmade, delicious, and the sauces were good, but too salty. I do t say this lightly since one of the party who ordered the Mushroom Raviolo is a salt hound. It was too salty for her. Cut back on the salt a little, and this would have been a 5 star review. Go to Nicolas, and buoy your dinner. If you are salt sensitive you might tell them to lighten the daily a little on your order. read more

We love the fresh pasta at Nicola's!! Great wine selection! Great service and the owners. Nicola and Monica, are wonderful people !! You will be happy you stopped in for dinner read more

Had the best meal ever. Our service was amazing (Eric) was our server and probably had the best service we had in Springfield. The quality of food was stellar. LOVED THE GLUTEN FREE OPTIONS. The best thing about this selection of food is its Italian and its real Italian choices. Not every dish is pasta, I had the Pork loin-the meat pulled from the bone, if you can appreciate well cooked best prepared food this is the place. Wine selection amazing. Menu versatile and fulfilling, well priced with whole food. REAL ITALIAN STYLE COOKING. Full bar, and rich food selections make this an place to enjoy the whole evening not some place to eat and leave, we had an amazing experience and cannot wait to go back. Full review to come later but I would say this is the best place in the SGF! read more

Nicola's Ristorante - Italian Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

This is a great place for an intimate or nicer sit-down Italian meal. Expect to pay at least $30/person, but the food quality is totally worth it. The portions are great too. I ordered the Nicola Pasta which is a tomato sauce and sausage pasta. Very creamy. Very delicious. To start I had their salad of the day which was a spicy Italian salad. And last but certainly not least was their chocolate cannoli. Amazing! I did not try any wine but they also have a very nice wine selection. Everything from a $8 glass to $650 bottles of wine. They have sections for small and large groups. I definitely expect to come back here in the future. read more

See all

This is the second time I've eaten at Nicola's, though my husband remembers them "way back when". This is a lovely and romantic place to go with your sweeti, a great place to take family members, or treat a friend. Their dishes are remarkably affordable, given the upscale ambiance. The best part? They have many gluten-free options! (Thank you, Nicola's!) We really enjoyed the wedge salad, one of our favorites where ever we go. We also shared the chicken curry, which was wonderful, as well. I had to pass on the bread, so I can't speak on that topic, except that they bring it to the table before the meal. Service was FAST - that was the other thing I noticed. Our server was super nice, and made sure we were well taken care of . As we left, we took a peak into the bar and the patio. Both looked like fun places to be - great ambiance, again. Bar was more of an "upscale" feel, while the patio was more casual. Something for everyone! I would definitely suggest eating at Nicola's. read more

Nicola's Ristorante - Non-gluten wedge salad to start... - Italian Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

My wife and I took an evening out at this restaurant and aside from the emptiness of the dining room we were seated by a door with a draft. The food took a decent amount of time to come out of the kitchen but, the salads were odd that balsamic was added to a caesar...BALSAMIC IN A CAESAR SALAD! When the entrees were brought out we were astonished at the presentation of a seafood pasta that had shrimp with tails still on! How or why would I as a customer want to yank tails off of a marinara covered shrimp!? On to the calamari which was quite literally chewing a piece of rubber. God forbid some old person with weak dentures chokes on one. Finally the scallops, which were bland and tasteless and overall crap. This was all on my wife's plate alone mind you. Now the duck that I had ordered. I was excited for a moist succulent piece of poultry, what I got a dried overly cooked piece of what I could swear was chicken but none the less a dried piece of meat on a bone. By the end after pointing out these things to the waiter who agreed at our reaction and even said that complaints have been consistent about the food. After only the salads, crusty bread and 2 glasses of wine and refusing to pay for those entrees I still spent 34 dollars. Worst restuarant experience ever! 0 stars if possible. read more

One of my favorite restaurants. Great happy hour also. The food is always spectacular. Try it, you will love it!

Great ambiance, courteous staff and very nice. Feels like an awesome family dinner place yet professional appearance for formal events. GQ read more

Nicola's is the kind of place you want to go to celebrate a fancy occasion. This place has a very nice ambience, great setting making it perfect for a birthday or date night or even a business meeting. While the food itself is pricey, the ambience and the quantity justify it. I had the penne in vodka cream sauce and it was very creamy, smooth and tasty. I could also eat it for two whole meals and have some leftover. The bread and spread they get for the table tastes very fresh and nice! My friends got the salmon and the basil chicken and theirs came in big amounts too. The portobello for appetizers is very well done and is the right combination of crispy and soft. The quantity of the appetizer is just right. The house salad has a great dressing. I'd definitely go back just to try desserts since we were so full when we ate there and couldn't try any! read more

See all

Food was average to below average- way overpriced for what it is. Service was just okay. I got the vodka rigatoni and it was average. I would not go back. read more

A phenomenal atmosphere, food, and service. Had a wonderful time on a date with great wine and conversation. Highly recommend.

Our dinner tonight was amazing and our waitress kicked ass! We sat outside on the patio in tue perfect weather. My wife ordered the snails appetizer. It was super tasty. Love snails. It tasted great with the bread they serve. Next up was the salad course. We both had the jazzed up Caesar salad with blue cheese, tomato and bacon added. Finished mine. For the entree I ordered the seafood pasta. It had large shrimp, scallops, calamari and plenty of muscles. My wife ordered the sea bass dish served with a saffron cream sauce, basmati rice and mixed vegetables. We are going back for sure. read more

See all

Limited menu but great food , wine and atmosphere, upscale though and expensive so I think we'll save this place just for special occasions

Chicken Kiev amazing and The risotto when they have it Great wine selection love this place one of my favorites you can't go wrong

I have three words for this monument to Italian dining, and together they should form all the persuasion you need to patronize this little slice of heaven. Are you ready? Here they are: Veal. Ravioli. Pizza. Now, if you're saying to yourself, "Oh no they didn't," let me take a moment to correct you. Yes, they did. And it is every bit as wonderful and decadent as its title suggests. It's so good, that even if everything else on the menu were utter garbage, I would still give this restaurant a five star review on the strength of this single menu offering. Fortunately, I don't have to do that, because there are plenty of other options which are equally tasty, and they are served by one of the funnest wait staffs in the land of 417. Put simply, there's a reason why Nicola's boasts a five star AVERAGE here on Yelp, and you need to experience it for yourself ASAP. read more

Yummy stuff for sure! We had a group of seven 4 adults and 3 kids. Kids had pizza and it was very good. Adults had their bruschetta that was very good and fresh. My husband had their tomato soup which was rich and creamy. I had their wedge salad which was very good and their chicken parm because the waitress recommended it...don't typically get this dish but it was good. Friends got pasta Nicola and cheese tortellini...all very good. We brought plenty of leftovers home. The restaurant is lovely...very nice ambience. Their outdoor patio is very nice too. Overall highly recommend great food and service. read more

Poor service and over priced food. Spend 12 minutes waiting for my sever. The food was bland and not authentic.

If you are undersided about what would your taste buds want well look no further. Lame Shank with garlic potatoes and a bottle of Silver Beach Sauvignon Blanc or a glass if don't your missing the second most wonderful thing in your life. read more

My wife and I have been to all the Italian restaurants in Springfield. This one is the absolute best!

An amazing dinner. Yelped an Italian restaurant on our way to Dallas from Illinois and hit the jackpot. Everything from the service to the home-made pasta were delicious. We started with the meatball and polenta appetizer YUM!!!. Then the Italian wedding soup which was the best we have ever had. My husband had the pork shank which was fall off the bone tender and very flavorful. I had the veal marsala and will be craving it until our return trip. Then the butter cake was the perfect dessert to end this fabulous meal. The owner was great. Came by twice to check on our experience and even had a nice conversation with him on our way out. This by far us a destination restaurant that you will go out of your way to stop at!! read more

The more we go to this place, the more we love it. We generally set in the bar area to eat. The food is fantastic. What impresses me most is the service. After watching him grow this business over the last 15 years, he is one restauranteur that gets it. Charges a fair price for the meal, then provides the best service in town. His motto to his employees is the customer is always right, if you don't think so, ask me. read more

Nicola's Ristorante - His motto on each server's station. - Italian Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

You never really expect to find such a classy place when you pull up to a strip mall, but just wait till you step in to Nicola's. When you first walk in, you will see a glass enclosure displaying a nice variety of bottled wines. To the left is the bar/lounge area which has a few flat screen televisions. To the right is the dinning area, which has a very classy feel to it. We have been a couple of times now, and the food is fantastic. My wife always gets the veal and mushroom ravioli. It has some truffle oil in the sauce, and taste like beef stroganoff on steroids. It's not on the menu here (it's a special we once had at Gilardi's), but they will tell you that they can make anything you want. One of my favorite side dishes is angel hair pasta with their garlic cream sauce. Absolutely fantastic! The service has always been top notch. Even on our last visit, our server was in training, but he clearly had a handle on what he was doing. read more

Came with another couple for a nice upscale dinner and got exactly that. A couple of bottles of wine, fresh breads, fine food, and good conversation. The place is elegant and lit in a way that sets the mood. Great for a special night out for sure. I had the seafood pasta and enjoyed it greatly. It was loaded with plenty of seafood and the pasta was cooked perfect. The sauces brought the whole dish together in a symphony of flavor. The lady really enjoyed her dish as well. When it comes to spending an upscale evening, eating, drinking, and enjoying some great conversation you will be hard pressed to find a better place. read more

Called not too long ago to ask a couple questions. The man who answered was very rude and seemed like he didn't want to answer anything for me. He said "you're just going to have to call back later. " and then hung up. Definitely won't be going here! Just tells you what the servers will be like in person! read more

Absolutely amazing! I highly recommend the duck, it is wonderful. I have eaten here more times than I can count, and I have yet to be disappointed. The atmosphere is also wonderful, dark and romantic, perfect for a date. read more

Nicola's Ristorante - Pork Shank paired with a 2009 Tuscan red blend - Italian Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

This is my go to place when traveling to Springfield. Outstanding food and the staff is excellent. Always a good time and well worth your consideration! read more

When I proposed to my wife 11 years ago, it was Gilardi's that I took her to afterwards to celebrate. Since then, Nicola has started up a new place and whenever we are in town, we always make a point to stop in and eat. I have met Nicola a handful of times and even remember tossing a football around with him at the old place after dinner service once. He is warm and inviting and truly cares about his guests. Warm fuzzies and reminiscing aside, Nicola's is probably the nicest restaurant in town. The food is incredible and we have yet to have a dish that we didn't absolutely love. The Chicken Curry is our current favorite, but you can't go wrong with the Penne al Vodka either. And you are missing out if you don't try the spicy italian salad. The service and decor lives up to the food in terms of quality and you really can't go wrong if you are looking for a place to impress a date. Top notch place that i cannot recommend enough. We drive almost 200 miles from St. Louis to come and eat here. Worth every mile. read more

Nice romantic atmosphere. Good food. Try the lamb rack. But a bit over seasoned and slow service.

Food was good especially the lobster cakes, but the service was terrible. We had to ask the waiter twice to bring bread to the table. Ok forever to get the food. After he cleaned the table off, it took him 30 minutes to get the check and the to go containers. I won't be going back. read more

Love this place great food, great service and fantastic atmosphere! Can't say enough about this place! Everything I have ever eaten has been delicious and Nicola himself is always there making sure that his guests are happy. read more

Nicola's Ristorante - Italian Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Love Nicola's! I love many dishes from here but keep going back to the penne ala vodka and the caesar salad. The pizza is also wonderful. You really can't go wrong here. The salmon is great and has a wonderful mustard sauce (love it) and the chicken curry is great too! The steak is fabulous as well. Like I said ... you can't go wrong. read more

I have been to this restaurant multiple times, they have amazing food, service, atmosphere. If you have not been there you life is missing something you just don't know it yet. read more

I was impressed. Great food, intimate setting, well stocked bar.. and really awesome people working there. I'd say one of my top restaurants in Springfield. I'm a very happy and satisfied customer :) read more