Nanas
Phone: (919) 251-8213
No edible tour of Tuscaloosa-Lakewood and Rockwood would be complete without a stop at the iconic Nanas. Long a favorite of the who’s-who of Durham, Nanas recently found new life after chef and restaurateur Matt Kelly (Mateo Tapas, Mother & Son’s, Vin Rouge) reopened the restaurant. It doesn’t get more Durham than dinner and a drink at Nanas.
Cuisines
- American
- Restaurants
Hours
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Wednesday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Thursday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Friday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Saturday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
Tuesday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Wednesday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Thursday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Friday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Saturday: 5:00 – 10:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
Map
Google Rating
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Best way to describe Nana’s is fancy retirement home food. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good food. However, the flavors are very one-dimensional and lack creativity. Additionally, we had a reservation for 8:30PM and were seated at 9:08PM.
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Had a great time celebrating Valentine’s Day a little early on the 13th here. The only reason it doesn’t get a full 5 starts is due to the very beginning of our experience here. We had a reservation for 7:30 and got in around 7:40 and were advised the table was still not ready. With it being VDay weekend we completely understood but after being told we could sit at the bar to wait and us checking the bar and seeing 0 spots available we asked if there was another place to wait and were advised to just stand wherever felt comfortable. Another host came by and offered those exact same words. In the end we waited out by the exit (really cold) because there was no place to stand and we didn’t have any comfort there since it was our first time here. Would recommend hosts find different verbiage or an actual location where people can wait. Nonetheless eventually we were sat and had a great time. It was a prix fixe menu and it definitely did not disappoint! We started off with the scallops, crab & lobster bisque, and added the tuna crudo to start. I’ll say the only complaint on food was everything felt too salty. I personally love salt but even I thought it was a bit much. For entrees we both got the short rib crusted filet that came with broccoli and mash and honestly these made up for anything wrong throughout the whole night. The filet was out of this world. To finish off, we got the carrot cake sundae and chocolate cake and the carrot cake sundae was 100/10, it’s on their everyday menu and is worth a trip to durham on its own. Overall a good experience that I’m sure would’ve been great on a less busy night. Worth a visit for sure 9/10
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My husband and I came with our baby for a dinner out—our first time dining out together since having him—so I was genuinely excited to try Nana’s and hate leaving a negative review.
The restaurant was nearly empty on a weekday evening, yet we waited about 15 minutes before anyone offered us water. One of the waiters later kindly offered us a complimentary drink, which I appreciated.
As for the food, it was okay overall. The appetizers were the highlight of the meal, but unfortunately the entrées were underwhelming and did not meet our expectations.
What truly overshadowed the evening, however, was finding a roach crawling on our booth and on the curtain directly behind our table. At one point it even flew from the curtain and was within arms reach from me. A staff member came over and appeared to try to remove it, but it ran away and remained near our table. It wasn’t until I jumped up with my baby and made it clear I was uncomfortable that we were moved to another table.
By that point, I had completely lost my appetite. We were nearing the end of our meal and honestly ready to leave. After being moved, we ordered dessert to go. I ordered a crème brûlée, which we paid for, and the restaurant also included a tiramisu that we had not ordered. While I appreciate the gesture, after seeing a roach crawling within inches of where we were eating, dessert was the last thing on my mind.
I understand that pest issues can happen anywhere, but for a restaurant that presents itself as an upscale dining experience, I expected the situation to be handled more proactively and with greater urgency. What disappointed me most wasn’t simply seeing the roach—it was how casually the situation seemed to be handled.
I truly wanted to love this restaurant but unfortunately I did not. -
I started with the scallop appetizer. The bur Blanc sauce was very nice with the Call Recorder. Large scallop was breaded in a Panko type batter and cut in half very thinly. It was interesting. I wouldn’t go for the batter. I think it would’ve tasted better without. Then I had the porcini Podell with the bone marrow. The first bite was amazing. Very salty umami, but then it became overwhelming. it was just way too salty to even finish. The flavor. Would’ve been awesome for a sort of prefix meal where you only had a couple bites because the bites were amazing in the beginning, but then you just could not finish it. It was too much and for my main course I had the striped bass. The skin was nice and crispy the citrus butter sauce that it was in was very nice and went well with the fish. The tiny spinach side was very nice as well, though. I also couldn’t finish that one either. I got the nonalcoholic blueberry drink, which was really nice and the tiramisu for dessert. my waiter was extremely attentive and would wait at the back of the dining room and watch to gauge if I was done with a meal and checked in frequently to make sure I had what I needed. The manager came by once to ask how my meal was as well.
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We came with high hopes, but this was one of the worst dining experiences we have experienced.
We initially wanted to order just appetizers to start and then order mains later. The server told us that we need to order everything at once (main and apps), so she would wait until we decide on the mains.
After we decide on all the dishes to order, we ask the waitress if she thinks that the amount we ordered was enough for the three of us. She proceeds to tell us yes, but then says if we want more later, we can order more later after. This put a bad taste in my mouth — how come we can order more after if we wanted to but could not order just appetizers to start, and then order more after if we wanted to?
Dishes and reviews:
Tuna Carpaccio ($21)
- This dish was drowning in oil
- The tuna was not fresh, as it had a fishy taste (not in a good way).
Twice Baked Grits Souffle, Maitake Mushrooms, Foie Gras, Parmigiano Fonduta ($21)
- Souffle was burnt on the top
- Overall quite salty
- We could barely taste the foie gras, and the waitress informed us it was not even a chunk of foie gras, but rather a foie gras puree. The foie gras did not belong in the dish, and only added to the price.
Scallops Milanese, Bay Scallop Beurre Fondue, Capers, Parsley, Meyer Lemon ($24)
- We ordered this dish, but the waitress never brought it out to us. We had to call the restaurant after to get a refund.
Risotto, NC Shrimp, Parmigiana, She-Crab Sherry Beurre ($25)
- The risotto tasted like macaroni and cheese, and no parmigiana flavor was there.
- The shrimp flavor did not come through, and was overpowered by the risotto
- When I asked the waitress about the she-crab, she said there isn’t actually any crab in the dish, only crab butter. There was no crab flavor in this dish. The she-crab sherry beurre, if it was in there, was overpowered by whatever cheese sauce was used to make the risotto
Crispy Niman Ranch Lamb Shoulder, Sweet Onion Lamb Pancetta, Lyon Farm’s Creamed Spinach, Mushroom Raviolo ($44)
- Mushroom raviolo very disappointing. The pasta was overcooked, and the mushroom filling had no flavor at all.
- Did not find the sweet onion lamb pancetta in the dish.
- Sauce was too sweet and overpowered all the other flavors.
- Lamb shoulder was not crispy as the menu had claimed
- Very salty.
Wood Grilled Whole Fish (snapper), Lancing Kale, Sunchokes, Sunflower Pistou, Vin Jaune Sauce ($56)
- This was the most disappointing dish of the entire dinner.
- The waitress told us that the fish would be deboned, yet all three of us were picking out bones while we were eating
- The fish incredibly small and had little flavor on its own.
- There was a side of kale and sunchoke, but when I asked three waiters at the table what the sunchokes were, none of them knew.
- The vin jaune sauce tasted like spoiled butter was emulsified into it.
- There was no sunflower pistou.
- The kale had little flavor, and felt almost like an afterthought.
Bread
- This service was not only unusual, but also not up to par. The bread was not warm, and was served in very small portions. We each got one small slice, and when we finished, we had to wait a substantial amount of time before either a waitress asked if we wanted more bread, or we had to ask to get more bread. Another reviewer had a similar experience and mentioned this in their review as well — if a restaurant is on the Michelin guide and paints itself as a high-end restaurant, customers should not feel like they need to beg for bread. No Michelin starred restaurant I have been to has ever had a bread service like what I experienced at Nana’s, and not in a good way.
- The bread itself was good, but we have had way better.
This restaurant needs a lot of improvements before it's worthy of being on the Michelin Guide. Dishes were not balanced, missing components, had unnecessary components that only increased the price of the dish rather than the flavor, and were inconsistent in quality. Service was not up to the standards expected of a high-end restaurant on the Michelin guide.
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