Nicholino’s of Palm Springs

I’ve been to Nicolino’s twice. The first time I had a Calzone that was barely warm on the inside. But I was hungry. So I ate it. The second time? Unmitigated disaster! I ordered Fettuccine with Pesto. What I received was Linguine with an Italian Parsley Cream Sauce. There wasn’t a hint a basil in that sauce (former Chef. I can make pesto in my sleep). I may have had a quarter of it –at most. And I’m not exactly a petite wallflower! I came home and made Lemon/​Ginger Tea to calm my upset stomach. The next day, the rest of it went down the garbage disposal. The reason it received 2 stars is because they have good service. It definitely wasn’t for the food.

They seated a couple inside the restaurant with a Dog!!! O.M.G. Not on the patio inside and it was not a seeing eye dog, or a service dog… The beer was hot!!! The lettuce was old in the dinner salad. Cathedral City Nicollino’s is not much better!!!

Live a mile away. The food here is good and very reasonable. Always walk away happy. Can’t wait to go back.

First time in Palm Springs. Was craving Italian food! We decided to try Nicolino’s restaurant. It was without a doubt a fantastic experience. From the minute you walk in, you feel the family owned feeling of the restaurant. The food was amazing !
We had the Bruschetta, then we had the Chicken Parm and the Seafood Cioppno. It was just so good. They had a great duet play music in the front so we moved to the front to have our desert. The staff was great and just made us feel at home. I truly recommend this restaurant.

Been coming here for years, but must say this will probably be our last time here… Service was so, so, food was not good at all… Definitely NOT the kind of food or service we were accustomed to in having dinner at this restaurant… The staff has completely changed, and certainly not for the better… Oh, in visiting the rest room, when I turned on the light, 4 – 6 roaches scattered along the floor and walls… Yuck!!!
Sorry, we used to love this place, but not so much anymore…

I came based on people’s reviews — very disappointed food not Italian at all — customer service very poor — I’m getting what I’m paying for food prices are cheap therefore low quality food — not very impressed.

Growing up in the valley I remembered the deli style atmosphere on arenas, walking in there today was disappointing from the goods I remembered as a kid! it was stuffy, hot and my eight year old said it stunk lol.
I ordered a french dip horrible aujus poor flavored meat my non picky doggs even snubbed it, also got a turkey salami sammy came with pasta salad too oily poor food.
Soo sad to see the place I knew end up like this.

Horrible experience. Would have preferred Dominos to this place as far as pizza goes. Soggy pizza is a terrible thing to be a victim to.
After backpacking through Mt. San Jacinto we NEEDED pizza. It was all we kept thinking about. Ordered delivery to our hotel – The Palm Springs Hotel. Wait time was decent but the quality was terrible once it arrived.
First of all, their website is painfully outdated or incorrect. Saw the Caprese Caesar Salad which was described as basic Caprese with red onions on a bed of romaine. Not even close to what we received. Mangled romaine, poor quality, with chopped red onions, a few chunks of provolone NOT buffalo mozzarella, chopped tomatoes, and balsamic already on the salad. Worst «salad» I’ve ever had.
We also ordered chicken fingers which were obviously frozen but they weren’t bad.
Finally the thing we were waiting for. We ordered the Long Island pizza. The crust was disgusting. Undercooked and totally soggy by the time we got it. No flavor either. The toppings were okay but the cheese tasted like it was poor quality. So disappointed.
Being from out of town our only option was to check Unilocal and read the menu from the site. It’s from 2010. Thanks for the updated menu, guys.

Walking in on a hot day, immediately noticed the lack of air conditioning. Server/​hostess not the friendliest.
Lunch special was ½ pasta and meatballs. Meatballs tasted like the frozen ones we buy at the grocery store. (Unforgivable to warrant a return visit). I tried the penne diavalo sauce but was too runny.
Best part of meal was the Spumoni and Cappuccino Ice Cream which they get from somewhere else. I think Lulu’s has the same ice cream supplier.
Oh well. Cross this place off …

Have not been here in a couple of months, but happy to see and taste the sandwiches are still great. Called in an take out of 10 sandwiches for our friends out at a lounge. Everything was great and especially the Pastrami Italiano.

My oh my! Delicious!!! So, so good! Their cheese bread is mouth watering!!! Not the best place for dessert, but dinner will have you so satisfied there won’t be room for anything else!

WARNING!!! Careful with take-​off or delivery at this place!!! I hope you like everything on the menu because EXTREMELY good chance they will mess up your order and give you whatever they want leaving you at home and hungry with nothing to do but accept their error and eat it. You call to let them know they messed up and they don’t bother to offer to reimburse you for THEIR mistake, not my kind of place. Bread was burnt, felt like I was eating a giant cruton. The food that they did provide correctly was good, but not sure if it’s worth the risk seeing as they have NEVER gotten the order 100% right.
Time to clean things up Nicolino’s, your reputation is at stake!

Food is good and bread is delicious. The staff usually are very friendly. I love being served by Diane, she is so sweet and hospitable.
Great local italian joint in Palm Springs.

I was rooting for this place but they failed.
Food not good.

Typical Valley «Italian» fare. Trader Joes’s has frozen Italian entrees that are better. Ate at the Date Palm, Cat City place. Great service and the summer menu is a true bargain. Just keep in mind its generic Italian. For 10 bucks how bad can a 3 course meal be?
Beats Martha’s Kitchen. :)

This is the quick Italian fix I go to for decent Italian in palm springs. However, they have a Nicolino’s on Date Palm in cathedral city and THAT IS TRULY AN AMAZING ITALIAN EATING EXPERIENCE.
I choose Luigine and white clams at both nicolino’s. The one here on El Cielo was very new England clam soup over some pasta.
The Luigine and white clams at the Nicolinos on Date palm road, was done as if a lil Italian man was in the kitchen and made the dish so delicately and perfectly. It was executed very light, smooth, with the exact touch of garlic, herbs and no lemon.
There was no thick creamy experience that was at this location. I will say they do have decent food, it just doesn’t hold a candle to the better Nicolino’s that is 15 – 20 minutes down the road.
If you are a local, go to Cat city.
If you are hungry and want decent Italian, go here, its not bad & it deserves 4 stars.

Was there last night with four other friends, the service was good and each and everyone one of us loved our food. The Pesto Pasta was absolutely delicious and I was told the baked Alfredo Pasta was just as good. The portions are good size and seemed to be very fresh.
My only complaint would be is that restaurant could really use some updating.

Second time here, giving it another chance, but the same experience. Had the grilled chicken special with Sundried tomatoes rosemary on top of pasta. Didn’t taste fresh, sauce was too much and oily. Mexican music blasting from the kitchen instead of Italian music in the dining hall. Restaurant had few people for a Friday night, I support local restaurants but it’s lacking in the Italian ambiance. Décor is outdated, maybe restaurant impossible could help this place out.

My grandparents took my mom and I here for something new last Saturday. This was my grandparents 2^nd time and our first time. We all ordered something different: baked chicken alfredo, spaghetti with sausage and meatballs, ravioli with meatballs and some type of chicken pasta with a light sauce. The food was delicious until all four of us got food poisoning! We didn’t share our meals and that really has me worried. Please, if you like for your food to not come back out of your mouth or your behind, DO NOT EAT HERE!

Nicolino’s Italian Kitchen is a throw back: it is an old school, red and white checked table cloth type Italian restaurant that has seen its day.
Located in a strip center on El Cielo, Nicolino’s Italian Kitchen is quite unimpressive from the outside. On the inside, it’s not much better. Dark lighting, tables with glass tops, and vinyl covered booths dominate the dreary interior.
While reasonably priced, the food at Nicolino’s Italian Kitchen is uninspired: the kitchen turns out tired renditions of old classics as if on auto-​pilot. A highlight in a rather dismal meal was the complimentary garlic bread: tasty and good, but unfortunately not a predictor of the quality of rest of the food.
While fresh and crisp, the house salad comprised solely of mixed greens was b-​o-​r-​i-​n-​g. Lightly breaded and topped with marinara and mozzarella, the veal parmigiana ($ 15.95) was a somewhat tasteless affair served with traditional or whole wheat pasta. Shrimp and scallops ($ 16.95) were drowned in a zesty diavola sauce to the point of being soupy and served atop over-​cooked pasta. Not good.
Wine aficionados beware: the wine «list» had only a few selections by type – Chianti, Cabernet, Merlot, etc. – you are neither informed of the producer, nor the vintage year. The Chianti we selected was terrible: oxidized and served too warm.
A miss on décor, food, and wine. Not a good night for dining. All in all, Nicolino’s Italian Kitchen serves up unremarkable food in an unremarkable location.