Novo
“The restaurant has decent gluten free and vegeterian options.”
“BYOB makes Novo even better because you can bring your favorite wines, and have an amazing fine dining experience at the same time.”
“Food was great, we had the colorado lamb chops, grilled octopus, flat bread and tahini parfait.”
Novo
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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We were there for restaurant week and were impressed by the quality of the food. We sampled all three entrees that were offered and all were delicious and beautifully presented… but be warned ….. if you are really hungry, do not order the salmon option because it was laughably tiny. The date creme brulee was to die for, however, also very small… hopefully, portions are more substantial on the regular menu…. although after having read the other reviews, it appears that portion size is the common complaint.
I would give the food 5 stars but the service really brought down our whole dining experience. Our waiter was not attentive or engaging and he appeared to always be in a hurry and made us feel rushed. What really took the cake was when he walked away mid-way as we ordered our coffees. There were four of us, two ordered coffee, and before the other two could speak, he walked off. We tried to call him back but he did not hear us.
Oh, and I don't know if they normally do not serve bread, but we did not get any.
It was a first visit for all of us and we thought that restaurant week would be a great way to try the restaurant and while the food was exceptional, the service certainly is not enticing us to go back.
Had much higher expectations that failed a bit short.
When I first heard about Novo opening up in Ridgewood, I was really excited. An executive chef who used to work at a michelin star rated Gordon Ramsay restaurant… the food has to be superb right?
I came here over the weekend since I saw a last minute reservation available online. I'm not entirely sure how many tables the restaurant releases to OpenTable, because I had a reservation for 6:15pm, when the next available was 9:00pm, and the restaurant was empty when I arrived and no where near half full when I left around 7:30pm. The decor in the restaurant is modern and classy. The staff is very friendly and attentive. There were a few mix ups by the staff, but it's understandable since they are in their soft opening.
Now for the food. For starters, we ordered the Mezza trio of hummus, tzatziki, and some carrot mix. It was fresh and light. Although they could have given some more pita bread on the plate. For entrees, I ordered the homemade seafood couscous. Honestly, I only ordered this dish because I have never eaten homemade couscous. I found the couscous itself to by lighter and fluffier than normal, which I liked. The dish was very oily and salty. I probably left more than 1/2 of my couscous untouched because it was drowned in oil. My friends ordered the seared scottish salmon and Duck Bisteeya. They both thought their dishes were very salty and nothing inspiring. We all agreed for what they charge here, we expected much better.
So for a group of 3, with a shared appetizer and three entrees, our bill came close to $150 after tax and tip. At the moment, I would say this is not a MUST try place, because you could do better for what you're paying. I will probably give it some time before I come back here again.
This is a beautiful restaurant, but I'm my
sold. A friend and I had lunch there today and we're both still feeling uneasy from it. As mentioned in previous comments the eggplant chips are a must, we ordered the cigars (spring rolls) as well which were great too!
But then came our entrees…. I ordered the Brussel sprout salad and topped it with salmon which I requested be medium well. The salad came out, looked delicious and then the salmon came on a side plate. The salmon was 3, 1/2 inch by 2 inch pieces, never have I seen salmon served this way. It was way too raw for my liking nor could I even cut it. I asked for a new piece cooked more done being that I was getting uneasy about it being so raw (personal problem).
The salad was basically swimming in dressing at the bottom of the bowl, as was my friends hummus that had so much extra liquid in it, it was barely spreadable.
On top of the below average food the service was crappy, there were at most 4 tables in there and no server to be found to request more water.
I think Novo is one of the best restaurants in Ridgewood. I ate here for lunch on a Saturday and loved everything from the ambience, service, to the food. The interior has a calm, serene feel with blue and cream walls and rustic wooden tables. We were seated right away upon arriving but I've heard the dinner wait is pretty long on the weekends. Our server, Mitchell, was one of the best waiters I've had. He was working as both the host and waiter all by himself the time we were there and handled everything with class and and a sincere smile. He was quick and attentive without being too overbearing.
We ordered cauliflower taboon as an appetizer. I highly recommend everyone to eat this if they get a chance. The cauliflower is perfectly cooked topped with a delicious tahini sauce with currants and pine nuts. We were also served a refreshing pickled vegetable dish with pepper, cauliflower, and carrots that had just the right amount of tang and crunch for free. Finally, I ordered the Mediterranean hummus bowl which contained chicken, tomatoes, and onion atop a bowl of homemade hummus, served with pita on the side. The hummus had a nuttier flavor than ones I've had before, I loved it.
Overall a very nice dining experience. Highly recommend to anyone in the area!
I've been to Novo twice now, once for lunch and once for dinner. Both times, I very much enjoyed the experience and I think it's a great addition to the Ridgewood dining scene.
My first time here, for lunch, I ordered the mushroom hummus bowl. I really enjoyed this – it was Moroccan spiced mushrooms over hummus. Really tasty and a nice option for a light lunch.
Last night, I came back with my husband for dinner. The restaurant is BYO, but you can order a bottle of wine from a nearby liquor store and have it delivered. A really nice option for a BYO to offer.
The foccacia that they served to start was amazing – warm and soft and the spice mix that it comes with is excellent. We also had the haloumi cigars as an appetizer – there are excellent, although I wish they had more haloumi flavor. But I love the cashew sauce they come with – so delicate and different.
For dinner, my husband had the lamb kebabs which were excellent – really flavorful and satisfying. I went with the Artichoke Ravioli, which were also good, but I kind of wished I had also gone with the lamb.
The service was friendly and attentive and the atmosphere is nice as well.
Mini review:
++: Inside of the pie/duck, currants, pine nuts, waitress
+ Pie crust, focaccia, sauce for cauliflower, prices, for size of duck dish
= What was served with the focaccia, size of the caulfilower dish for price, the unexplained (but good) extra vegetables
– The sauce for the duck (not needed,) no price fix menu, wine menu is bottles only
— The odd dollar difference for the cauliflower
4.6/5
One of the pricier places in Ridgewood but definitely one of the better ones.
A little note:
In order to appeal to the people who like these places, I would like there to be a price fix menu of some sort, similar to Pearl or Village Green or something similar. I mean, an appetizer and a main dish for me cost 48 dollars and I didn't order an expensive appetizer (a bunch were in the upper teens) and some of the main dishes bordered on 40 dollars. Potentially an appetizer/main or main + dessert of some choices for some price? Anyway, was here quite early (5:00 PM or so) on a Monday so there weren't many people here.
Otherwise, I would potentially add a glass/half-bottled menu. I know the wine comes from Wine Sellers but glasses or half bottles would be better (mostly comes back to the same idea above that everything adds up.) The mix of wine though is good.
Look:
In terms of the place, it's nice looking. Feels cozy, almost a mix of rustic with the
green/blue as well as well fancy with the white table cloth and related.
Service:
Man in front was nice and accommodating. The maître d' was also nice, bringing out the food and explaining what was with the bread and related. My waitress was very nice. People refilled water very frequently and checked often (almost a bit too much, almost) to see whether there was anything else she could do. I believe I heard from another table that there needed to be some change to a dish and she brought it back very quickly. In short, nice service, as good/expected from a place this nice if not more. If I was to rate the service, I'd probably give it a 4.8 or 4.9?
Food:
Complimentary: Oven (Taboon) baked Focaccia served with Za'atar (as in dried greens with spices) and olive oil.
Bread had a wonderful flavor to it. Perfectly made, a bit greasy but excellent. Salt worked as well. Nothing super special about the olive oil but the Za'atar was different and it worked quite well. I liked how it was served also. Nice large piece of bread.
Taboon Cauliflower: 12/13 dollars. It lists some places that is 13 others that it is 12, on the bill it was 13? A bit strange
Description: Farm fresh cauliflower slow roasted in the novo stone-hearth oven with currants, pine nuts and a green tahini sauce.
There were probably 11-12 cauliflower or something similar. Cauliflower had a good char and some great roast flavor. Sauce * had a sour kick to it and it was quite delicious, the focaccia worked well with it also. Pine nuts added a crunch and there was some light sweetness/sourness from the currants. Excellent.
4.5
Rating:
Duck Bisteeya: 33 dollars
Description: Sugar dusted filo pie of duck legs confit, raisins, pecans,
caramelized onions and a medley of moroccan spices.
This dish was the main reason why I came here. I have had pastilla/bastilla before and I wanted to see their delicious sounding variant.
First off, the menu oddly doesn't list that there is a sauce ** on the bottom of the place, namely the same or similar one as with the cauliflower. The sourness of it wasn't exactly needed. It cut down on a bit of the richness, but it's b(p)astilla/bisteeya so it's expected. It also made the bottom a bit soggy in certain regions.
In terms of the actual pie, it was delicious and quite filling. Duck was rich but light and the onions/pecans/spices added well to the flavor. Spices became a bit overwhelming but that is simply part of the dish. The flavors though, oh my.
In terms of the crust, not too much sugar. While it is crumbly, I would potentially add almonds or something similar to the outside. It was almost a bit boring compared to the rest of the dish.
The dish came with some roasted vegetables. Good veggies. I don't know why it did but it did. The dish oddly had 2 stars next to it. Was it then that it came with a side dish or something? They didn't mention it but it did.
I'd probably give the pie a 4.85 or 4.9 but I'll go down to a 4.7 because that sauce *** was not needed, at all (and it wasn't listed to boot.) I would order it again.
Dessert:
Didn't order, too much money
Overall average:
Average of the 2 is a 4.6, without that, well strange, sauce **** it would have been almost a 4.7 if not higher. I'll give it a 5, mostly due to that amazing duck dish but there are still a few things to be worked out, mostly that menu listing.
in case you were wondering:
Asterisks: Yes I mentioned the word sauce 4 times between 2 dishes. I didn't like it enough for it be used with the duck dish also
I really enjoyed my lunch at Novo in Ridgewood, whilst I may not have an experienced Mediterranean palate, I am slowly getting into it and think that Novo has been the best I've tried thus far.
The decor was really nice, I think it fits in very well with the elegance and look that you would expect from a classy restaurant in Ridgewood.
A friend and I started with a few dips, we chose the tahini which was excellent, as well as a red pepper one that too was very good. The pita was also delicious.
We also decided to try these fried cigars, which had some sort of cheese and spinach in them, again very delicious.
For my main I had the chicken sandwich, it tasted very fresh, everything was good, one thing I will say is that I thought it had a little too much sauce on it, but to be fair the sauce was delicious, albeit a tad messy.
The French fries were fresh cut and very delicious. We finished with homemade gelato and fruit, it was light and delicious, perfect to end with.
Overall I was really satisfied with Novo, I left stuffed to the gills. I would definitely go back and would recommend you give it a shot, it's a very nice addition to the classy list of options in Ridgewood.
Novo feels like it should be in Manhattan – it is sleek, contemporary and serves innovative food. I loved the classy vibe with patterned wallpapers and chandeliers. I went for lunch on Saturday and it was pretty empty.
The eggplant chips are crispy and perfectly complemented by the creamy tahini sauce. The Mediterranean hummus bowl was delicious – creamy, fresh hummus with the perfect hint of garlic flavor, paired with warm grilled chicken, spinach and tomatoes. I want to return to try more of the menu.