Stuff Yourself With Italy at La Nonna

If you’re looking for a slightly nicer Italian restaurant, but not so nice you’ll get stabbed with a fork for using the wrong one, go to La Nonna.  Their classic Italian dishes are the cheesiest, freshest and most tomato-ey you could hope to stuff your face with. Even a simple dish like homemade gnocci with buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes or grilled vegetables makes you pause to reflect in its amazingness before you inhale it like it’s almost midnight the day before an operation.

Though, what really sets La Nonna apart is their specials. They change nightly, ranging from heart shaped red pepper ravioli to squid ink pasta with seafood to shrimp in blueberry sauce. At first, I didn’t trust the shrimp, but my bf insisted they were just too weird not to try. The little crustaceans came butterflied and resting on a puddle of dark blue sauce, and my doubts were gone in a single bite. Our waitress told us that her husband, the chef, had a dream about the dish. Gathering from the other specials I’ve had there, he must have the most delicious subconscious ever. The spinach and ricotta gnocci in a butter sage sauce was like nothing I’d ever tasted before, and I mean that in the most positive way.

La Nonna is so cozy and intimate that you don’t even notice people at the to go pizza slice counter in the middle of the restaurant. But it’s not so fancy that they have a wine pairing menu. In fact, it’s BYOB, so if you want to pair your pumpkin ravioli with crushed almond cookies with a forty of OE, no one will stop you. Your waitress will smile and bring you an extra glass for your malt liquor, then give you a basket of fresh baked foccia and bread, and read you the specials with a heavy Brooklyn accent.

La Nonna
237 Bedford Ave
Between N 3rd and N 4th [Williamsburg, Brooklyn]