Exceptional food service and ambiance! Juan, our server was funny knowledgeable and super fab at his craft! We love Juan and we will be back for a visit next time we’re in town!! Dave and Laura Kelly and Allan Menezes
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ray Gonzales State Farm Agent
Nella Kitchen offers world-class service and incredibly delicious food. We drove over an hour to get there, but we’d happily return again and again.
If you’re a bread lover, prepare to be amazed by their French baguette with salted Bordier butter. It’s absolutely delicious and pairs perfectly with Nonna Nella Meatballs.
The star of the show is their Pinsa! They’re perfectly crunchy and incredibly flavorful. We devoured their Black Truffle Pinsa, but I could have easily ordered the Pinsa and been very satisfied. It makes for an amazing appetizer for 2-4 people.
Other pinsas on the menu include Margherita, Bianca, Caponata, Guanciale & Squash, Carciofi, and Sausage & Rapini.
For dessert, highly recommend their profiteroles! They’re a very light and delicious cream puff with Chantilly and dark chocolate.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Profiteroles
katie concetta
So incredibly let down by Nella. We booked a 7:00 pm reservation for four well in advance, arrived on time (a little early), and weren’t seated until 7:48 pm. The hostess was kind, but there was little acknowledgment or apology for seating us nearly 50 minutes late.
What really ruined the night: we noted a birthday in the reservation and I discreetly confirmed with two hosts that if we ordered dessert, it would come with a candle. They said yes and even confirmed they saw the birthday note. We weren’t planning on dessert, but ordered one specifically for that moment—only for it to arrive without a candle.
When I asked what happened, there was no real apology, no attempt to fix it, and the dessert wasn’t comped. Instead, our server came over and said (in a curt tone), “Oh, was there a birthday I didn’t know about?”—as if it was on us.
It’s not about a candle. It’s about hospitality and accountability. The food was mediocre for the price, the service felt apathetic, and the whole place is totally overhyped. We will NEVER return.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Susan
Exquisite dining experience in Los Olivos. The sister restaurant to our other favorite sy kitchen in Santa Ynez and Nella did not disappoint. Appetizers and burrata salad - delicious and always love the pinsas
Chris
The food, excellent. The service left us scratching our heads and wondering what we paid for. $388 for lunch for 3 people. One salad came to the table and then we waited another 30 minutes for 2 entrees to arrive. One person ONLY ordered a salad and that never arrived and we asked 2 separate servers to check on this while the 2 meat entrees got cold while waiting for the 3rd person to be served. This is unfortunate when you're paying so much for good food. And again, the food was all very good. We ordered a lovely bottle of wine but after the first pour no one ever came back to pour and that had to be requested as well. You can do better Nella.
Lisa
Fantastic dinner with Juan as the waiter extraordinaire! The Burrata with Kale, artichokes and duck and sorbet were all 5 stars. What a fun happening place!
Betty
The ambiance of the place was warm and inviting. Service was impeccable. The wait staff were friendly and attentive. Food was pricey but delicious. I liked everything I ordered but my favorite by far was the palm hearts salad, which is surprising since I'm usually not one to waste stomach space on a salad. This salad is not to be skipped! One thing to keep in mind is that it does get very loud in the restaurant. However, I am definitely planning on going back.
Corey
Absolutely delicious dinner! Order the artichokes starter (currently a special) and pinsas!
Adolfo
Food was great specially our filete mignon and the Bianca Pinsa, great red wine, Stephanie our waitress was amazing since the moment we arrived, 100% recommend this place.
Burnovski
Nella Kitchen & Bar- Service, an establishment that is way over-priced. Though the menu is varied, but fails in the taste category. The fish was stale with no finesse and the meat was overdone with an over-sweet-tasting gravy. All in all- an expensive disappointment!!! Advise to look into other options - though they are limited in Los Olivos.
The customer service was top notch, the food and drinks were delicious. The butter with the bread was insane, the bite sized artichoke was phenomenal, the Negroni was delicious and the Parmesan cheese was fantastic as well. It was an awesome anniversary dinner.
Joshua Catron
My wife and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch here before spending the afternoon wine tasting in town. The atmosphere, food, and service were all excellent. Definitely try one of their pinsas!
The only minor downside was being charged $8 for a bottle of still water due to a miscommunication with the busser who initially greeted us after being seated, (he was difficult to understand). We would have been perfectly happy with tap water. Overall, a great experience and a place we’d happily return to.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Tommy
Overall, the food and drinks were excellent and the vibe was perfect for a dinner date. The service could’ve been better, however. We waited 15min or so past our reservation time and on multiple occasions were waiting for our server to check in and bring wine. - Green mile mocktail 5/5 (very refreshing!) - House old fashioned 5/5 - Romini lettuce salad 4/5 - Tagliatelle bolognese 5/5 (must have!) - Grilled pork chop 5/5 (must have!)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
frii MC
“Simply sublime”, We were fortunate to be served by Forrest, who made our visit unforgettable. We appreciated every suggestion, I loved my Italian beer, and we absolutely loved the truffle pizza. We consider Nella's the best place we ate in Los Olivos during our entire vacation. Thank you for everything!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yara Vargas
Took my family wine tasting and found this place for lunch. I strongly recommend it. I love the environment. Great staff great food. I will definitely definitely come back again.
Exceptional food service and ambiance! Juan, our server was funny knowledgeable and super fab at his craft! We love Juan and we will be back for a visit next time we’re in town!! Dave and Laura Kelly and Allan Menezes
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nella Kitchen offers world-class service and incredibly delicious food. We drove over an hour to get there, but we’d happily return again and again.
If you’re a bread lover, prepare to be amazed by their French baguette with salted Bordier butter. It’s absolutely delicious and pairs perfectly with Nonna Nella Meatballs.
The star of the show is their Pinsa! They’re perfectly crunchy and incredibly flavorful. We devoured their Black Truffle Pinsa, but I could have easily ordered the Pinsa and been very satisfied. It makes for an amazing appetizer for 2-4 people.
Other pinsas on the menu include Margherita, Bianca, Caponata, Guanciale & Squash, Carciofi, and Sausage & Rapini.
For dessert, highly recommend their profiteroles! They’re a very light and delicious cream puff with Chantilly and dark chocolate.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Profiteroles
So incredibly let down by Nella. We booked a 7:00 pm reservation for four well in advance, arrived on time (a little early), and weren’t seated until 7:48 pm. The hostess was kind, but there was little acknowledgment or apology for seating us nearly 50 minutes late.
What really ruined the night: we noted a birthday in the reservation and I discreetly confirmed with two hosts that if we ordered dessert, it would come with a candle. They said yes and even confirmed they saw the birthday note. We weren’t planning on dessert, but ordered one specifically for that moment—only for it to arrive without a candle.
When I asked what happened, there was no real apology, no attempt to fix it, and the dessert wasn’t comped. Instead, our server came over and said (in a curt tone), “Oh, was there a birthday I didn’t know about?”—as if it was on us.
It’s not about a candle. It’s about hospitality and accountability. The food was mediocre for the price, the service felt apathetic, and the whole place is totally overhyped. We will NEVER return.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Exquisite dining experience in Los Olivos. The sister restaurant to our other favorite sy kitchen in Santa Ynez and Nella did not disappoint. Appetizers and burrata salad - delicious and always love the pinsas
The food, excellent. The service left us scratching our heads and wondering what we paid for. $388 for lunch for 3 people. One salad came to the table and then we waited another 30 minutes for 2 entrees to arrive. One person ONLY ordered a salad and that never arrived and we asked 2 separate servers to check on this while the 2 meat entrees got cold while waiting for the 3rd person to be served. This is unfortunate when you're paying so much for good food. And again, the food was all very good. We ordered a lovely bottle of wine but after the first pour no one ever came back to pour and that had to be requested as well. You can do better Nella.
Fantastic dinner with Juan as the waiter extraordinaire! The Burrata with Kale, artichokes and duck and sorbet were all 5 stars. What a fun happening place!
The ambiance of the place was warm and inviting. Service was impeccable. The wait staff were friendly and attentive. Food was pricey but delicious. I liked everything I ordered but my favorite by far was the palm hearts salad, which is surprising since I'm usually not one to waste stomach space on a salad. This salad is not to be skipped! One thing to keep in mind is that it does get very loud in the restaurant. However, I am definitely planning on going back.
Absolutely delicious dinner! Order the artichokes starter (currently a special) and pinsas!
Food was great specially our filete mignon and the Bianca Pinsa, great red wine, Stephanie our waitress was amazing since the moment we arrived, 100% recommend this place.
Nella Kitchen & Bar- Service, an establishment that is way over-priced.
Though the menu is varied, but fails in the taste category. The fish was stale with no finesse and the meat was overdone with an over-sweet-tasting gravy.
All in all- an expensive disappointment!!!
Advise to look into other options - though they are limited in Los Olivos.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
The customer service was top notch, the food and drinks were delicious. The butter with the bread was insane, the bite sized artichoke was phenomenal, the Negroni was delicious and the Parmesan cheese was fantastic as well. It was an awesome anniversary dinner.
My wife and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch here before spending the afternoon wine tasting in town. The atmosphere, food, and service were all excellent. Definitely try one of their pinsas!
The only minor downside was being charged $8 for a bottle of still water due to a miscommunication with the busser who initially greeted us after being seated, (he was difficult to understand). We would have been perfectly happy with tap water. Overall, a great experience and a place we’d happily return to.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Overall, the food and drinks were excellent and the vibe was perfect for a dinner date. The service could’ve been better, however. We waited 15min or so past our reservation time and on multiple occasions were waiting for our server to check in and bring wine.
- Green mile mocktail 5/5 (very refreshing!)
- House old fashioned 5/5
- Romini lettuce salad 4/5
- Tagliatelle bolognese 5/5 (must have!)
- Grilled pork chop 5/5 (must have!)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
“Simply sublime”, We were fortunate to be served by Forrest, who made our visit unforgettable. We appreciated every suggestion, I loved my Italian beer, and we absolutely loved the truffle pizza. We consider Nella's the best place we ate in Los Olivos during our entire vacation. Thank you for everything!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Took my family wine tasting and found this place for lunch. I strongly recommend it. I love the environment. Great staff great food. I will definitely definitely come back again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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