Review Nick & Nat's Uptown21 - Waterloo

Our office had a day of team building and we ended our evening with a delicious dinner at Nick & Nats. The size of the room was perfect for a private event (about 35 people). The menu selection was fantastic and included a fish, meat, and vegetarian option. The best dishes were the mushroom soup, the steak dish and the absolute most delicious London Fog Creme Brulee! The food and atmosphere was perfect and above all the service was amazing. Thank you for having us host an important night at your restaurant and making it extra special.

This is a great spot for relaxed fine dining in the region. The food is always unique and delicious, every dish very well prepared. The menu changes often so it is always good to pop back in and see what’s cooking. They also do these very cool theme nights which are posted on their website in advance; tickets are required and do sell out, so jump on it if you are interested. It’s not a massive restaurant so definitely call ahead and make a reservation anytime you plan to go. The service is nearly unparalleled. The servers staff know the food and drinks offered really well and can answer your questions. Food is always presented beautifully and in a timely manner. The price point might seem high but you are paying for the quality and it is worth every penny.

Came here for dinner on a business trip in February. We tried to show up without a reservation for Tapas Tuesday, but they were booked solid, so we returned the following day. All of the local beers and food choices my entire party had were interesting and delicious. The service was great, and the experience was a fantastic one. It was a pricey meal with the food and drinks, but worth the experience. I would have loved to have been able to check out their popular Tuesday special.

I always go on Tuesdays, when they have their fixed tapas dinner. It's all you can eat, freshly made tapas , including desserts, for $40 a person. I believe you also need to purchase a beverage with this, but they have an amazing cocktail and wine list to compliment your meal. They cater to allergies; you fill out a sheet at the beginning of the meal with any concerns, although they ask you not to include simple "dislikes" on the list. It's a fantastic night for couples or groups of friends. Just bear in mind everyone at the table must do the tapas. Reservations are highly recommended as it is a small dining room and a popular specialty night.

We've only been their for the Tapas and some brown bag lunches. They are two very different experiences. The food quality has always been very good. The decor is nothing special, just a restaurant. Service has been great and the value, specially for tapas is definitely worth it. The only issue for some with the tapas, is you don't know what you are going to get ahead of time so if you are a picky eater you may want to avoid it.

Had a gift certificate from Christmas to use at Uptown 21. We didn't make reservations but were able to sit at the bar for an amazing meal. The bartender was awesome, going over the entire menu in detail explaining the ingredients and his favourite meals. We settled for the three course meals for each of us and we ordered one of each of the first three courses. Every course was outstanding, tons of flavours, amazing presentations and ultimately fantastic taste. Our favourite dish of the night was the pork shank, we didn't use a knife to cut the meat off the bone, it just fell off into this delicious gravy. First time at this restaurant but we will certainly be back, unreal food!

As someone with a number of food restrictions, I'm always anxious about eating out. Uptown 21 goes above and beyond for people with special dietary needs to make sure they get lots of delicious options for Tapas Tuesdays. I also appreciate their commitment to supporting local farmers and using fresh ingredients. The food is delicious!

We have been coming here for years and it is consistently fantastic. If you are in the area definitely make it a priority, but the real treat is being able to go over and over. It is always something unique, interesting, and delicious. My favourite restaurant in Waterloo, or anywhere for that matter. So good I had to write a review, which I never do.

Service: friendly<br/><br/>Atmosphere: upscale local<br/><br/>Food: Status quo<br/><br/>Would return? possibly. <br/><br/>We were really looking forward to our stay at Nick and Nate's as we heard nothing but great things from friends and reviews. We walked in to find a quaint restaurant that was dimly light and nicely decorated. We were shown to a table off to the side and our drink orders were taken. After a quick look at the menu we both had our meals picked out.<br/><br/>Just before our appetizers however, we were given some fresh-baked focaccia bread with rosemary that matched nicely with the grape seed oil and vinegar dip provided. Soon after, my salad and my girlfriend's calamari came out, which for me was a great start to the meal. The salad consisted of romaine lettuce with parmesan cheese, croutons, and bacon onion compote drizzled with a light vinaigrette. The calamari was lightly fried but not crispy as the menu stated, had too much garlic, and was over salted. <br/><br/>Our mains came out and I was really excited. I had ordered the hanger steak over english style chips, and mushroom and greens puree. The puree was really good, while the chips were nothing too special. The steak on the other hand was really chewy and didn't have much taste. It was a little disappointing given the raving reviews we had been given. My girlfriend had ordered the seared whitefish over zucchini, fingerling potatoes, and garnished with spicy cured pork lonza. The fish tasted like any other fish, though a little salty, while everything else was as expected. The lonza was nice, tasting much like prosciutto.<br/><br/>For dessert we decided on the apple spice cake and chocolate pot de creme. The cake came with vanilla marshmallow fluff and brandy-based apple butter, while the chocolate came with whipped cream and black pepper meringue. Both were really good and, truth be told, I favoured the cake over the chocolate. The apple was great just on its own, not too tart, with the fluff and butter adding just a little something extra. The chocolate was nice and rich, and had a moist base of chocolate cake. <br/><br/>While the whole meal was good I found it just wasn't really worth the price paid. There are a bunch other places in K/W that are of better quality for the same price or cheaper. Now, this could have just been an off day; when their menu changes with the season I do plan on coming back and trying the place out again.

Pat and John. We dined at your restaurant tonight and were very disappointed with our dinner. Sorry, but we had heard good reviews, but the food wasn't up our expectations

Very friendly service and great meal, would highly recommend to anyone looking for an upscale experience in Waterloo.

The Bad. The Good. The Ugly.. THE BAD:<br/><br/>Granted we DID go on New Years Eve but here's the thing: every seat in the place for both sittings was pre-sold and reserved with a credit card. They knew we were coming and STILL they had nowhere near enough staff. It took 20 minutes to just place a drink order and another 15 to get it. Pretty much same with the food. All in all we spent 3 hours in the restaurant on a night where the owner had a fixed menu and knew exactly how many people were coming. <br/><br/>THE GOOD:<br/>The food was good to very good bordering on excellent. Excellent was the venison "sushi" - rare venison (which I eat regularly thanks to buddies that hunt) presented with a creamy wasabi and pickled ginger. Really, really excellent. Also excellent was their take on calamari. Prepared in a tempura-like batter it was at once crunchy and tender. Really nice take on a dish that is butchered more often than not. Really good, at least from our table of six's perspective - was the arugula beet salad and the trout served with polenta. The seafood lovers enjoyed it and ate every bite. Also really good were the desserts. A chocolate lovers wet dream "pot" of mousse, cookie, caramel and cream was relished by those that ordered it. I had a palette cleansing and very refreshing citrus custard cake and orange ice cream with the tang of a good sherbet. The good would be a description of the Julia-Child-impersonation-inducing beef bourguignon. It was rich and tasty but inconsistent. My serving had a really dried out chunk of beef surrounded by some very tender pieces but also included some underdone potatoes.<br/><br/>THE UGLY:<br/>For starters ... the restaurant itself. Spartan, uninspired decor in a narrow, loud room where you are treated to a refreshing blast of cold air every time the door opens - even seated 35-40 feet away. The hostess took our coats to a rack on wheels that was jammed at the back of a room right behind this sad table for 2 that was interrupted every time someone dropped off or picked up their coat. The tables were nothing special and the chairs were as hard as a church pew. The bathrooms were cold , cramped and while not dirty, a little grubby. <br/><br/>But the main ugly is the price to experience ratio (yes - I made that up). The cost and the overall good quality of the food were totally at odds with the pedestrian decor and almost total lack of ambiance. Let's be frank - when you drop $232.00 a couple on dinner you're looking for a little something something that's special apart from a well prepared meal.

VERY Disappointing!!. Went for Tues Tapas based on the high rating, which I now realize was due to reviews from 2010! Fine Dining? There was not a dish that I would ever actually order or want to repeat. The service was excellent and attentive - the food was a mockery. Pickled vegetables, HOT olives! (GROSS). The best thing was the salad to begin and the ice cream at the end. Some of the fine dining dishes we were seved... onion BREAD PUDDING!, lots of rye bread with cheese, 4 one inch square slices of thin beef rolled around pickled carrot, two tiny bites each of grilled pork, ditto tasteless poached trout. A large plate of POUTINE a.k.a. French Fries with sauce. (Really??) Roast rhutabaga in maple syrup, Roast beets... UGH! When we finally gave up anf asked for desserts, the first thing out was 2 chocolate chip cookies. Every dish was cold except for the hot olives. NEVER AGAIN!! Cheap awful ingredients poorly cooked. What a waste of money. One glass of Sangria, and 2 dinners $90.00 before tip.

Awful food & bad service at Uptown 21. I went to Nic & Nat's Uptown 21. The food and service were terrible when I came on Nov. 8 2012. My friend and I both ordered the lobster and shrimp and when it came out, the lobster tail had no taste and there were tons of potatoes floating in a red spicy broth. And the shrimps were not fresh. The waiter was horrific, he disappeared during our entire meal and never checked on us, we couldn't even find him. He wore glasses, dark hair and a bit weird - he started the evening by asking us . My friend is a prof at Laurier U and was shocked. I replied with a smart answer since he seemed to look down upon us.<br/><br/>When the waiter finally came around to take our plates away, I told him how bad the food was. He didn't apologize but had the nerve to say: I guess you want your bill then. No offer of a complimentary dessert or a I am sorry. I was horrified. He then proceeded to tell the or who stuck out his head from the cooking area to look at my friend and I. What horrible manners. He was too shy to come out and talk to us.<br/><br/>Don't come here. Being a Montrealer, I can tell you that this place isn't anything impressive. Because of the waiter's attitude and service, I am never setting foot in here again.

Inconsistent. There were things that I liked and there were things that I absolutely didn't enjoy and there were things that needed improvement. This spot has potential but I am not sure that I have the patience to wait.<br/>We started with the signature cocktails - I had the berry lavender martini. The presentation was color rich and fresh and that is where it ended. The martini glass was filled with huge chunks of ice which made it very difficult and unpleasant to drink. Every time I took a sip my upper lip was numbed by the ice. The drink itself was overly sweet and syrupy combined with an overbearing lavender taste. The flavour left a lot to be desired. My husband had the October Snake Bite which came out in a half pint glass and tasted more like cider than the mixture of beer, cider and whiskey that the description promised. A signature drink at almost $10 a pop, I would have expected something more.<br/>At the recommendation of our wait staff - the 'sale' of the dinner was great, I chose the prix fixe menu . She promised local ingredients and something unique as the prix fixe menu changes daily. My first course was the fish ravioli. It was a lovely pairing of flavours with the fish and brown butter sauce. I would certainly have that again. For the second course I had the beet and apple salad. This was my "needs improvement" dish. The apples overpowered the dish when the beets should have been the taste forward experience. Perhaps roasting the beets or putting a few more on the plate would have balanced the flavours and the presentation. For the last course I ordered the mushroom and pear crepes. What a collosal disappointment. The crepe itself was dry and tasteless and made me wonder if these were made ahead of time. Given that 'creperies' are now popping up in malls as a fast food item, I can't imagine that these cannot be made to order. And if it was, then it was overcooked to say the least. The chunks of pear were too large for the combination of the dish. They should have been cut smaller so that the flavour of the pear was present but not that I had to eat a mouthful of pear just to get through the dish. Overall there was little depth of flavour. <br/>I have to say that the service and atmosphere were wonderful. It was clean and the staff were professional and attentive. However,given the bland and lack lustre food, I am not sure that I will return anytime soon.

Great service an fantastic food!! Wait staff was very friendly but not overbearing. Food was super delish! Will definitely go back

One of the Best restaurants in the region. An Awesome place! Really interesting flavours, cooking that is flavourful, fresh, and creative. I wish there were more restaurants like Nick and Nat's.

Embarassing. I had heard good things about this restaurant for awhile now so I couldn't wait to check it out. I took a girl here on our 2nd date. Boy was that a mistake. Our waitress had an attitude and made me look bad with her remarks and ruined our night. Food was good, but couldn't make up for the flaws in service.

UNPROFESSIONAL BUSINESS ETIQUETTE. Let me talk about the quality of food first, I had pre fix menu (Pear and cucumber Salad, Meatballs risotto , and Apple puss pasty with goatcheese)<br/>Honestly speaking, The pairing of the desert is very very weird, its as if I mixed together sweet and salty cheese.. weird pairing.<br/>Nothing thattt great, meatball and blue cheese risotto from my opinion, do not go well together, and the risotto was slightly undercooked.<br/>NOW LET ME GET TO THE SERVICE PART:<br/>I've never encountered such a terrible experience in my life before, and i didn't expect to get treated this way, especially in Waterloo, where this is not even a big city, stress level is not as high. Food was mediocre, nothing spectacular, service was extremely slow.<br/>I don't know if it has anything to do with our age (below), the server told us to "LISTEN, YOU NEED TO RELAX", I mean who speaks to customers this way? I only asked her to split the bill for us and she said: "You should have told me earlier, this is a fine dining restaurant" I mean, I've been to 3 star michelin restaurants, and servers attitude was nowhere close to hers.<br/>Worst part is, I talked to the manager, and she sided her and said: "she's one of the best servers we've ever had, she's been working with us for a long time", didn't apologize, basically accused us of lying to her.<br/>The chef also forced us to leave the restaurant and never come back...<br/>What happened to Professional Business etiquette<br/>This article is genuine and I did not twist anything, it was my personal experience.

Terrible Service. Food was cold when serverd<br/>asked to reheat food, waitress gave attitude<br/>food was not edible, and was overpriced.

Terrible service! I went there 2 days ago and they took forever to serve the food. The waitress was terribly rude and the owner didn't show remorse after we complained to him. As if it was completely okay she did such a thing. Will definitely not go there again and I strongly suggest ppl to boycott this place until they change their attitude towards customers

Love it!. This is one of mine and my husbands favourite place's to dine. They are so orginal, and yet simple. I've never been dissapointed taste wise! I always order the Prix fxe menu, and its been exceptional! <br/><br/>One thing we don't like... they have a waiter there that is always horrible!!! I dont know if it's because we are a younger couple (25) but he treats us as if we wont tip him well (which we always do - but next time we probably wont) My husband had asked about his opinion of a pasta on the menu, and he blatenly said that it was a dish only for women and nothing specail...who says that??...(it was a cheaper dish on the menu...less money..less tip i guess??) in order to spite him, my husband ordered the dish anwyay, and quit liked it actually! It wasn't a lot of food but quite frankly when we go out to wine and dine, we hate being STUFFED anyway! <br/><br/>Nick and Nats is amazing - they just need to fire that arrogant waitor!

Because of the great reviews, we were going to try it out. We were dissapointed to learn when we arrived that they do not seat anyone after 8:30 (we arrived at 8:35). It summer, it's downtown, and the sun hasn't even gone down. Word of advice, go early and wait in line. :)

Great prix fixe menu, we get it every time! Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Great service.

Loved it! Had the prix fixe menu, vegetarian option and it was exceptional. Knowledgeable servers, great service. A very different entree for a change.

Delish. I was in town for a meeting at the university and had to dine alone. Ended up being one of the best meals I've ever had. Had the tuna dish and loved it. I'm not a big fish eater either, but this dish was out of this world. I highly recommend this restaurant and that's coming from someone who is on the road 1/3 of the time and eats our a lot!! Absolutely got to try this place!!

Tuesday all you can eat Tapas! Marvelous experience, $25 veggie, $35 meat and it just keeps on coming till you tap out. Food is terrific, tasty and fresh. Servers are friendly, helpful and always around. Atmosphere is inviting but not warm. Holds maybe 50 or 60 so it's a small restaurant. Only negative comment would a slight leg between some of the dishes being delivered. Would recommend it to anyone looking for something new in town.

Located in uptown Waterloo, near Waterloo Town Square, Nick and Nat’s features a menu that changes season-by-season to make the best use of local ingredients.  While I feel many restaurants claim to serve local fare, Nick and Nat’s actually delivers; much of their produce is seasonal and all their meat from a local butcher.  The restaurant is owned by a husband and wife team (Nick and Nat) who you probably will see working back in the kitchen. We arrived with for our reservation at 6 and found the restaurant to be mostly empty (perhaps because of the “holiday”, perhaps the time).  We were promptly seated at the front of the restaurant possibly to allow those outside to see that the restaurant was in fact open and to invite them in. On “Fancy Friday” we go all out, we each order an appetizer, entree, and allow the option for dessert.  We had previewed the menu online and Christine had already settled on ordering the foie gras appetizer (official title: foie gras torchon, duck prosciutto, crispy duck fat, smoked blueberry-maple dressing) while I had settled on the perogies (Cheese curd-potato perogies, bacon jam, fried onions, truffle-mustard crème fraiche).  While we waited we ordered a 1/2 litre of wine to accompany our dinner. We decided on the Malbec ’12, Andeluna Cellars, Mendoza, Argentina The appetizers arrived quickly and they looked delicious.  The foie gras was excellent and pretty much melted in your mouth.  It was Christine and mine’s first time having foie gras and it was akin to putting giant slabs of delicious buttery goodness on bread.  The blueberry jam and duck prociutto combined excellently and made the foie gras taste even better (Christine can be quoted saying “The duck prociutto is where it’s

This weekend, I decided to indulge a little bit and took a trip to Nick and Nats Uptown 21 with a friend. As we arrived the hostess took our coats and lead us to our table. Very soon after we were seated, our server came to welcome us, she filled our water and offered us a drink. I took a sip of my water and was pleasantly surprised by the crisp clear taste that does not normally accompany Waterloo city water. We then took a look at the menu and lo and behold they offered an a la carte menu as well as a choice to have a 3 or 4 course meal with a set price. I, of course, chose to get the 4 course meal. Each course had two options. For my first course I chose a whitefish ceviche. It was very fresh, light and the beet chips added a nice crisp texture. Overall it was a lovely dish to start with, however it was slightly too bitter. My next course was mussels in a tomato kalamata broth. The mussels were cooked perfectly, many restaurants overcook the mussels and they end up dense and chewy h

It’s hard for broke students to be cool as it is for broke parents – so it’s nice to see any semblance of hipness in the Waterloo area but for the most part the people that are dining a little finer are 45-50-somethings that have the freed up cash flow.

I have been deeply attracted to their farm-to-table philosophy, but what impressed me the most is their daily changing dinner Prix Fixe menus. Wonder how much time Nick & Nat invest daily into designing the menu! I wanted to smack myself for waiting so long to try this restaurant, and hope to be back soon for their all-you-can-eat tapas Tuesday.

My dinner at  Nick and Nat’s Uptown 21  in Waterloo was one of the culinary tourism features in my  Culinary Adventure in Waterloo Region  Destination Guide. After an action packed first day in Waterloo my sister and I arrived at the doorstep of Nick and Nat’s Uptown 21 in a black Escalade courtesy of The Waterloo Inn where we would be spending the night. A visit to Nick and Nat’s would be our third and final restaurant review of the day, the end of a tasty marathon. I originally met Nick at the Ontario Tourism Summit back in October when he spoke on a panel showcasing unique marketing opportunities in the food and beverage industry. Over the course of my three day weekend in the region I smiled each time a local farmer, restauranteur or patriotic local clapped their hands over their heads when I mentioned Nick and Nat’s Uptown 21 was on our agenda. It was very clear that the people of Waterloo were cheerleading for one of their favourites. Standing at the front of the restaurant waiti