Em B.
Yelp
looking for a new italian restaurant in worcester, decided to try nuovo based on reviews; not the best choice. first, we arrived at 6 for our reservations, we were pleasantly greeted by the hostesses & seated by the window on a rainy day. kelvin was our server, and he was friendly & accommodating.
we started with cocktails, including the nuovo fling and the perfect manhattan, which were both very weak and unsatisfying. nuovo fling was at least sweet, but definitely avoid cocktails here if you rarely have them, and like to enjoy them when you do. the wine list was also weak, and i ordered the pinot grigio which was extremely sweet, and my date ordered the illuminati, where his family is from, and he was not impressed.
for our appetizer, we ordered the bruschetta based on kelvin's recommendation and it was the best part of our meal. not the best we've tried, but the best plate of our evening. it could have included two more small bread slices to go with the large portion of tomatoes, although it did taste great. no bread service offered.
for our meals, i was happy to see nuovo scallops on their specials menu, and my date ordered chicken parm. i was able to replace the sun-dried tomato risotto with ortega rice, which i think went great with the scallops, however, the dish did not taste like a special. i didn't love how they were prepared, although not bad, could have had a nice crisp searing. they served a large portion of rice with the six reasonably sized scallops, but i felt it was overcompensating.
the specials came with a house salad, priced at $5 on the menu, and i asked for a caesar salad instead, listed at $6 on the menu, which i assumed would be a $1 up charge since it came with the house salad. kelvin did offer the house salad with caesar dressing and said there would be an up charge, but i assumed the up charge would be $1. we were charged $6. they assembled the caesar with dressing on top, so i had to mix it myself, and felt the pieces could have been cut smaller, but i am happy they didn't overload it with croutons. if a dish comes with a $5 salad, and you want a different one listed at $6, i think the up charge should have been $1, and it was misleading for an "ok" salad.
i tried the chicken parm, and we both felt the sauce was entirely too sweet, penne was slightly overcooked, chicken was just okay, and fresh parmesan was not available. while they have a nice selection of desserts, based on our meal we decided to pass.
cocktails 2.6/10
wine list 2/10
bruschetta 7/10
caesar salad: 4.5/10
scallops 4.5/10
chicken parm 5.6/10
the service at nuovo is great & prompt, but the food & wine list could use some work. we assumed this would be good based on reviews, and it being across from one eleven chop house, but sadly will not likely return. if you are a foodie, don't be surprised.
ambiance: 3/5
food: 2.7/5
drinks: 2.3/5
service: 4.2/5
nuovo: 3/5