First of all, it is necessary to make a distinction between Nico's Pizzeria and Nico's Rooftop…read moreTavern. They both share the same address and phone number, and possibly the same kitchen. But one is head and shoulders above the other... literally!
And that would be the Tavern because it is on the floor above the Pizzeria, and of course, the Rooftop is still one more level up. If you're looking for pizza slices or maybe a pizza to-go, the pizzeria on the ground floor is your place. If you want a full bar, a menu including a variety of pub foods, table service, and maybe a DJ spinning sounds, head on up the narrow staircase to the 2nd floor. The open sky can be found above a dozen tables still one further level up on the roof of the building.
Our party of five was happy to score one of those dozen tables on the roof. Not just because it was a beautiful warm evening, but because the music in the tavern below was so loud that we would not have been able to carry on a conversation.
Our group was here to sample a planned menu that has carried us from tavern to tavern throughout the Capital Region for over two years - wings, mozzarella sticks with Melba sauce, pizza, and wash it all down with good beer. And that was where we met our first hurdle.
Beer is not sold by the pitcher at Nico's. Our server asked if we were going have a bucket. Apparently, that was a special that evening. We inquired what was available on draft and as our server went through the underwhelming list of fifteen, we decided upon pints of Ithaca Flower Power IPA, primarily because it was the only craft beer on draft.
Our first order of wings were ordered with a hot sauce and tasted very good. They were still hot when served, the chicken on the flats was juicy, but a bit dry on the drumsticks. The hot sauce was not too hot, the only significant problem was that two of the ten wings were missing.
The mozzarella sticks were pretty basic. We've had both better and worse. The Melba sauce was decent, it had a nice flavor and a good viscosity.
For our first pizza we got what we call our "Steve N." It is a New York style red sauce with mozzarella, ham, bacon, and jalapeños. It should be noted that their "small" 6 slice pizza is not that small if you are eating other things. The crust at the edge of the pizza is very thick. It has a good flavor and requires a fair amount of chewing. Overall, the toppings were adequate but did not extend more than halfway from the center of the pie toward the edges. It was otherwise an enjoyable pizza.
While we were enjoying the "Steve N", we ordered another round of Flower Power, more wings with hot sauce and extra crispy, and one of their Sicilian Style pizzas. At this point we also informed our server that we had been shorted two wings in the first order.
In order to maximize our opportunity to sample more pizza toppings, we asked that half the Sicilian have sausage, onions, and peppers, and the other half be their chicken parmigiana topping. It took quite a long time for this order to be received. Both the wings and the pizza must have sat for awhile before coming to our table because both were only warm.
The Sicilian is a huge square pizza cut into 12 slices. The end crusts are even thicker than what we had on the New York style - especially the corner slices. I did not find the chicken parm to be very tasty. Too much cheese and not enough chicken. The mozzarella didn't taste like or have a consistency like I was expecting. It was almost creamy in texture. The sausage was nothing special, and the onions and peppers were likely added raw after the pizza was removed from the oven.
Our server was pleasant and accommodating to our special requests. The unique draw of Nico's may be either the open sky rooftop dining, or the Mug Club that they describe on their web page. Some of the appetizer items are huge portions for a mere $6. Our group will continue onward.