Nick and Nat’s Uptown 21

I’ve been here twice and both times been kind of disappointed. The atmosphere is your typical fine dining experience with the service being pretty standard as well. However, the food was a big miss for me both times. The first time I was here, I remember the food just being overly salty, which as one could imagine interfered with the flavors and taste of the dish (entrée). The other time I was here, everyone in my party just didn’t like the food for one reason or another. This level of food quality isn’t really expected at this price, and we basically decided not to come here again.

Service: friendly
Atmosphere: upscale local
Food: Status quo
Would return? Yes.
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.
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.
Our mains came out and I was really excited. I had ordered the hanger steak over english style chips, and mushroom and greens purée. The purée 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.
For dessert we decided on the apple spice cake and chocolate pot de crème. 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.
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.

Disappointing for the price. The quality was good but not great. The taste was poor. I had pumpkin croquettes which were too salty, a tomato soup that was boring, and the whitefish that was over-​cooked and with poor accompaniments (although the deep fried capers were a treat). Service was decent, but the explanation of the difference between the prix fixe and á la carte was not sufficient for me and I ended up paying more than expected. I will not return.

It’s Friday, what did you eat for lunch?
If it wasn’t a brown bag lunch, you’ve missed out, friend! Today was a fried chicken sandwich, which never fails to deliver deliciousness wrapped in a perfect bun! Seriously though, this is the best fried chicken in KW hands down. I cannot sing its praises enough!
Also, tapas. If you’ve had them, you know what I mean. If you haven’t had them, what are you waiting for!!! Get some friends, pick a tuesday, prepared to be stuffed beyond your wildest dreams with the tastiest food of all time.

Decided to give this place another try last night after a couple of years, based on a few co-​workers’ recommendations. It was 7pm on Saturday night and there were only 5 occupied tables, but we still liked the atmosphere. Our entrees were delicious (I had the warm roasted beets and my husband had the calamari) and we each had some great drinks, but neither of us enjoyed the main (we both had the seafood saffron risotto, and he was 3.5÷5 on it but I could take it or leave it). For dessert, we had the flourless chocolate cake, which was okay-​to-​good but not great. Glad we gave it another shot but don’t think we’ll be coming back.

The food here is amazing :) The menu has a great selection of fancy items and everything is delicious. The worst part of the experience is closing between what to try on the menu! hahaha.
All of their appetizers are delicious, I especially recommend the calamari and fois gras. I got the $ 50 steak when I went. The steak was really good, but the sides it came with were mediocre (fries, veggies, etc.). The desserts are also all really good! (i.e. crème brûlée, maple pie, and chocolate jar cake)
The only thing is that parts of the restaurant is poorly renovated, which takes away from the ambiance. Like the bathrooms are not nice at all, but it does have hand towels instead of paper towels.

Local ingredients, changing menu, great service, interesting and tasty food
Probably one of the better upscale dining experiences I’ve had in Waterloo. While most restaurants seem to mimic what they’ve seen done else where, or be a high end steakhouse or pub serving decent/​well cooked meat with a side of fries Nick and Nat’s brings an ever changing menu of fun and interesting dishes.
The menu can be a bit overwhelming because they also have a prix fixe option that let’s you order most of the food from the three sections for a set price. I think this is a great idea as it let’s you save a little money. This is good because a meal here isn’t going to be cheap, but it’s perfect for a special occasion or a very important date or client. I would recommend doing the price fix menu because it will ensure that you leave full and satisfied.
To start we had the warm pastrami and the buffalo fried cauliflower. The warm pastrami was really good and tender, I’d order it again. The cauliflower wasn’t exactly what I expected, I thought it was going to be battered and deep fried. I did like that it was lighter though than I expected. It was cauliflower and cheese sauce with taste elements of a chicken wing dish (blue cheese, hot sauce). Loved the pickled crudite to brighten up the dish and cut through the fat of the cheese sauce. The blue cheese was subtle. I love blue cheese though and wouldn’t have minded more of a smack in the face of blue cheese.
Next we had the apple celeriac salad, and the tuna crudo. The crème freche dressing on the salad looked like a creamy dressing but it was actually fairly light in texture and taste. It was subtle and let the flavours of the salad sing itself like the candied pecans as it wasn’t drenched in an over powering dressing. The most unique bite of the entire meal was the smoked pickled grape. It looked like an olive, but man did it pack a lot of flavour and have a lot of depth. It was really important to get each bite with a bit of tuna, pancetta and grape. I expected the tuna to be chopped up into smaller pieces, but the pieces were more sashimi sized.
Lastly we both had the smoked sweet potato ravioli. This was a killer dish. Lots of flavours and depth. Mushrooms were beautifully sauteed and were elevated since they were just button mushrooms. My guess is they were cooked in wine. The pumpkin seeds was a nice textural element. The crème freche brought the acid. The sweet potato and maple syrup brought the sweet. Some pepper for some heat. Some smokiness. Overall a great dish.
When a restaurant serves me something new and exciting that I’ve never had before like that smoked pickled grape I get excited. Couple that with all the dishes being good and solid, up to excellent it was a great meal. Also appreciated the service and the complimentary crème brûlée for my birthday. Thank you

I came here because of the great reviews. It’s a cute place for a cozy and romantic dinner date. The lady that had served us was very sweet and we had excellent service. However, that was the only thing that had really stood out to me.
The food isn’t bad if you are a foodie and enjoy dishing out cash for quality. I enjoyed the experience, however, I wouldn’t go again. It was definitely too expensive for the types of dishes they were serving as well as serving size. My boyfriend and I left the restaurant with the same thoughts of: «Too expensive, and still hungry».
However, our server was really sweet. Sometimes higher-​end restaurants can be intimidating when you’re students, but our server was very accommodating and consistently asked us how we were.

Incredible food in a nice atmosphere. Attentive and knowledgeable service. Have never been disappointed by the delicious food. First time having foie gras was here (foie gras bites) and I was blown away. Always able to find many things on the menu that you will surely want to eat. Highly recommend this place to anyone in KW looking for an amazing meal.

My wife and I ate her on Saturday and in a work, brilliant. We have passed this place for years, never venturing in, but we finally dropped by Saturday. Why did we wait so long? We had the Prix Fixe and were blown away with bacon wrapped peaches and a smoked trout cake appetizers. For the mains, we had the lamb shoulder and chevre chicken and dessert was donuts and crème brûlée. To complement we had Beau’s beer (bargain price). Each course was a complement to the previous and were absolutely delicious. In particular, the polenta was delicious and I find that this is a side that can go drastically wrong and has in may places we have dined.
Great night, we’ll be back.

Pricey and somewhat slow service, though the amazing meals are worth a stop. We first tried to get in on the dmfamous tapas Tuesday, but were not able to without a reservation. We returned the following night for the normal menu. The boar patee was very good, especially with the incredible sourdough bread. The mussels were also good, though somewhat small individually and the fries they came with were more of a standout. The local craft beer they feature was also very good and had some excellent varieties. The cottage pie was also excellent and I loved the free bowl of bacon they offer on the side, it went very well with the heavy pie. The mini donuts were also excellent and I loved the ice cream. The prices were on the high side for the area though it is a very upscale locale. Also, service was pretty slow with sizeable waits for the drinks, appetizers, and main courses.

I went for their all you can eat tapas. The main courses were quiet delicious, but it was the dessert that really impressed me. Tiramisu and the chocolate were both really good. The restaurant also had a really nice atmosphere and a rather convenient location.

3.5 stars
Good but nothing special. In Waterloo for a day. Went because of all the positive reviews.
Shrimp terrine starter was nice. Served with pickled cucumbers mushrooms rye bread toasts and mustard seed.
Duck breast from the prix fixe menu was excellent. Well prepared cooked perfectly and served with broccoli and refried wild rice. French Onion Soup poor at best. Crème Brûlée and Flourless Chocolate cake were good but again nothing special.
Girlfriends cod cakes were tasty. Chicken entrée was boring although spazle (German pasta) and mushroom side was nice.
What raises it from a 3 to 3.5 is the fantastic service. Very attentive. It is a slow dinner so if you have plans leave yourself 2 hours for dinner.
Dinner for 2 with wine tax and tip 150 dollars. Very average for the price paid. Might repeat if in Waterloo again but would look to try some of the other highly rated restaurants first. Nice restaurant for a date.

One of the best restaurants in Kitchener Waterloo. The food is great.
Tapas Tuesdays are good value and a really fun experience. It’s 3h or so of grazing on delicious little bites of food. Once you’ve been there for a while though, the quality of the plates decrease and you end up getting very large portions of cheap carbohydrate heavy items (like extra large bowls of poutine). Also, there are some dishes that they seem to serve each week, so the second and third time I went I was underwhelmed with the selection and variety.
The brown bag Fridays are a great idea but there is also a lot of repetition in the sandwiches (fried chicken is a typical default).
This restaurant is meat focussed and not great for vegetarians. Vegetarian food here is mostly just «food without meat» as opposed to something substantial.
Uptown Waterloo was severely lacking in upscale restaurants and the creativity and energy that Nick and Nat’s Uptown 21 has brought to the food scene is commendable!

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 wearing glasses, dark hair and a bit weird — he started the evening by asking us What do you guys do. 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.
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 chef or sous-​chef who stuck out his head from the cooking are to look at my friend and I. What horrible manners. He was too shy to come out and talk to us.
Don’t come here. Being a Montrealer who has travelled around the world, 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.

I can’t believe this is in Waterloo! I have walked past this place a few times and never checked out the menu before. I had heard good things about Nick and Nat’s from various people but I had no idea how right they were.
I took the 4 course prix-​fixe with the wine pairings (to share) and was blown away by what I got. My girlfriend got the fish I and I had the beef, pork and rabbit cottage pie. Her fish was possibly the best I’ve ever had at a restaurant, and my pie was very flavourful. The wine pairings worked and our server was lovely and professional.

The menu states, «Bacon, FREE … just because we love your decision.» This was the deciding factor in my restaurant selection process. They had me at bacon… and hooked me at FREE. I informed our server about my dietary requirements (ie I will eat all the bacon you can deliver) and what came out was a beautifully plated bacon course of three crispy-​edge, soft-​centered amazing-​ness with accompanying sauces to compliment. I remember every life-​enhancing bite.
I apparently could not get enough pork so I went with the pork chop. I didn’t think the night could be improved upon but I was wrong. I’m sure we’ve all experienced the typically dry pork chop and even in nice restaurants seems to be lacking in executing something memorable, but this is not the case here. A MASSIVE nearly prime rib style cut of pork was on my plate with a mountain of accompaniments and it was tender where I could taste just the right amount of interspersed fat as I savored each bite.
And they have Foie Gras every which way? N&N: This is my love letter.

A place that offers free bacon just cause is definitely a special place. Great daily fresh prix fixes menu that change constantly and give to you nice choices is definitely why this place became close to my heart so quickly.
They also have an a la carte menu and I’m always fighting with myself on what to choose.
Great service, awesome wine list and fun events including their Iron Chef competition makes this a must visit in KW

This place is great. The atmosphere is cozy but not overly intimate and the food is excellent. I’d only change the cocktail list; some of them have been on there for ages and it would be nice to see some new ones on the list.

Sigh.
Finally. An excellent upscale restaurant in KW that keeps me in the city on a Friday night rather than escaping to Toronto for dinner and fun.
Uptown 21 serves up delicious food — well crafted and thoughtful — excellent service, and a laid-​back + warm ambience.
I thoroughly enjoyed the tapas night. Every dish that came out of the kitchen proved to be creative, appetizing, and absolutely delicious. It’s a mark of an excellent restaurant when the diner trusts the kitchen to serve up an excellent dinner full of surprises and satisfaction.
Worth every penny. Worth every visit.
Highly recommended.
(Nick + Nat, please stick around here in KW and don’t listen to the siren call of bigger cities. KW needs you too much.)