On the Market.

My husband, Adam, has always claimed to hate Italian food. The truth though, is that he actually likes Italian. It’s just that most Italian isn’t authentic, and he loathes bad Italian food. Nico’s Ristorante é Cafe, however, isn’t your average restaurant and is likely to change your view of Italian if you’re not normally a fan. In our opinion, they serve the best, authentic Italian food in Roanoke. Located at 125 Campbell Ave., Nico’s offers not only fantastic food, but a friendly staff and excellent service. And, even better, the food is so good, my husband actually wants to go back!

Friday night we ate at Nico’s on a whim. Adam ordered the Rigatoni Tre Nocce Con Basilico - a dish with a pesto like sauce of toasted pine nuts, almonds, and pistachios with cherry tomatoes, basil, and parmigiano cheese tossed with rigatoni. Not only was Adam impressed by the quality and taste of the food, but also by the creativity of flavors in the dish. I ordered the Gamberi Rapini which contained jumbo shrimp, broccoli rabe, gaeta olives, sun dried tomatoes and lemon zest with a white wine and garlic sauce served with fettucine. The food and the experience was just wonderful. So if you’ve never been to Nico’s, be sure to squeeze in a visit.

Reservations at Nico’s are recommended as the restaurant fills up quickly - just another representation of how good the food really is. You can call (540) 342 - 4444 to save yourself a table. Closed Sunday and Monday, Nico’s is open for lunch from 11:30am to 2:30pm Tuesday through Saturday. Tuesday through Thursday dinner is served from 5pm to 10pm, and on Friday and Saturday from 5pm to 11pm.

Also, on Wednesdays you can enjoy a little entertainment with your meal. Acoustic bands play from 7pm to 10pm every Wednesday. May 23rd you can enjoy Lenny Marcus (jazz piano, flute and vocals), and May 30th brings Mike Mitchell (roaming violinist, vocalist, guitarist.)