Matteo’s Public

My family and I were turned away. This was Valentine’s day @ 3pm. Right after a nevada city parade. We got to the restaurant before the parade ended and the rush of people. Their was plenty of tables open but I was told that thier was a 30 min wait. Ok, no problem. May my wife my 2 year old and I be seated at a empty table and order some drinks while we wait? (just watched another family before us get seated to wait) No.. . You can sit at the bar. Maybe I dont dress as ethlcethic as they like. I almost asked if she was shure she wanted a baby at the bar, but by this point I was shure the food we would have ordered wouldn’t have covered the bitter taste in my mouth from the service. Apparently the angry cooks get upset if they receive orders too fast… for drinks??? Disappointed I didn’t get to ‘re try this resturant. Disappointed all around. I would have figured they would expect to have been busy that day and prepared for it. I dont understand.
By the way thus isn’t the first time I’ve been here. We we’re squeezed in once and turned away another. So I guess thier 1 for 3.
Also they do not take reservations.

The sticky grilled cheese sandwich is one of the best the things to eat here. Love this place! Always super enjoyable and the people are so friendly. Local atmosphere.

A real disappointment — this is a cute little place in downtown Nevada City. I had high expectations. Probably would have given it 3 stars except it is pretty expensive for what you get. For $ 20 for a plate of pasta, my expectations are a lot higher — the serving of clams was generous, but the sauce was very bland — I make a better butter/​wine sauce at home with just butter, wine and herbs. And the bread that comes with it was STALE — totally not excusable to use day old bread! It was rubbery bread!
Add to that, this is a fairly expensive pub — yet children are running around making it a less then delightful dining experience. I don’t mind children — but not running around in a restaurant! First running in and out of the door holding it open — on a cold rainy night — which means cold blasts of air on the diners near the door. Then shoving through the chairs and jabbing me in the back because they keep running around up and down, and the chairs and tables are set close together. Got the feeling these children are related to the restaurant management — which makes it even a little more annoying.
Live music is a nice touch, but I couldn’t hear it over the kids.

ALL AROUND GREAT PLACE! Amazing food!!! Amazing people! The patio is very nice during the spring/​summer and the bar area is THE BEST in the fall/​winter.
Great wine and great beer as well:)

Really enjoyed this place. Ambience is comfortable. Very roomy. Food was good. Waitress was outstanding. Answered all our questions and very attentive. Will definitely return.

Great, friendly service, very tasty food and a nice ambiance. The jambalaya was full flavored and a bit non-​traditional, but in a good way. The wild cod with the fish and chips was perfectly cooked with just the right level of crunch. The mussel appetizer was extremely tasty, the broth perfectly balanced — but the mussels were overcooked a little. Great beers and an informed staff to help with decisions. Highly recommended.

Don’t you just love it when the owner greets you at the door? We ordered a variety of items. Here are the highlights: pop a fry into your mouth and bite down. The outside crunches and the inside releases a cavalcade of flavor. The fish and chips have a crispy outside and a delicate cod inside. Excellent! The kitchen timing was uneven but our server took good care of us.

We’ve been to Matteo’s twice now and have thoroughly enjoyed both meals. We’ve shared a burger, had their fish and chips, fish tacos and a salad. All of it was very delicious and we’ll certainly be going back. The calamari was a good appetizer and their outdoor patio is very shaded and relaxing. We haven’t tried their beers but they seem to have a very good selection if you’d like to enjoy a cool one with lunch or dinner. I know there are many places to eat in Nevada City, but this one is definitely worth a try.

Phenomenal food! Lots of food for the money and super yummy! The service was spot on and the atmosphere is cozy. Great patio seating for the cool summer evenings. Highly recommend!

Must, Must Must get the mac and cheese as an appetizer to share, SIMPLY OUTSTANDING! … We also had the best fried mushrooms in amazing batter and the burger meat is also amazing.
I’d go back here quick…

Time for an update!
A group of us went in for kind of late dinner and sat on the patio to enjoy the nice evening. There was live music going on, kind of an eclectic mix of original songs and cover songs that spanned multiple genres. It wasn’t too loud or distracting, which was nice, but I just wasn’t sure what kind of crowd they were trying to appeal to.
Our group shared the potato skins, which is two large potato skins cut in half. I forgot that it came with the weird dilly-​dipping sauce, so these weren’t my favorite.
I decided on the Pub Burger for dinner and it did not disappoint! The patty was cooked medium rare, just like I asked. It was topped off with a delicious cheese skirt, bacon, lettuce, onions, and tomato. Remembering I loved the coleslaw last time, I chose that as my side. Holy cow, this was a damn good burger! If you’ve never had a cheese skirt on a burger, you are missing out! And this was no small burger, so I’m glad I went in super hungry.
A friend that got the fish tacos was initially disappointed by the size, but then later said he was satisfied but not completely stuffed. He also raved about the nice heat of the tacos. Another friend opted for the Fettuccini Alfredo. One word describes this dish: bland. Zero flavor in this at all. It was in desperate need of some salt and we even got a side of pecorino to add to it, but there was no helping it. And the addition of tomatoes, black olives, and green onions seemed a little weird and obviously did nothing to help the taste.
One final note, the house salad is a full sized salad, this is not a side salad by any means. And the ranch dressing, while being delicious, is really thick, so it’s hard to really dress the salad with it.
Anyway, I’m glad I made good on coming back and hope to do so again in the future!

The patio was full, a large party just seated. Lots of empty tables and they would not seat my party of one?
Didn’t like this. I’m a local that frequents this business and bring guest in all the time. I will rethink next time.

Are you kidding me? I stumbled upon a Nevada City favorite. The owner (Matt) came out and introduced himself like I was a regular. Quality eats and amazing service.

Amazing live music from Chuck Richards!
Great service, the lovely ladies behind the bar were super sweet and helpful.
They have an amazing local beer selection, and the food was awesome!
We ordered the Mac n’ cheese and the clam fettuccini they were a-​m-​a-​z-​i-​n-​g!

Meh, I like that they have Mammoth Brewing Co. 395 IPA on top– it’s really tasty, made with sage and some other nice botanicals– but I frequently order their fish and chips, and aside from the odd time here or there, they’re consistently cooked shittily. What do I mean by that? Well, the fish comes out greasy and the coating isn’t crisp. The fish inside often tastes BORDERLINE (though not quite) undercooked.
Otherwise the rib-​eye is fantastic and the steamed mussels SUPER freaking good! Thus, my 3-​star rating.

Good service and pub food. Really good shrimp and chips. I’ve been to better pubs, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere here and the outdoor seating. They allow dogs outside and even bring them water bowls!

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant where it is evident that the people that are working there genuinely enjoy their jobs? This is one of those places. The servers, cooks, and musicians all seem to really, truly just enjoy working there, which is awesome. It really makes for a good dining experience. The first time that I ate at Matteo’s I was a little disappointed in the food, but my most recent visit (and the fact that my parents said to try it again and that it was usually really good, who are kind of food snobs) made up for that. The music and food were spot on, and I had the most delicious cheesecake I think I have ever tasted — coconut cheesecake with chocolate ganache — yum, yum, yum… Looking forward to many more tasty dinners at Matteo’s and glad I gave it a second shot!
By the way, plan on waiting for a table, but they’ll call you when it’s ready so that you can actually go move around while you’re waiting, so it’s not a big deal.
@growingfourlife

Good service, nice selection of beers, and great beer sampler.
Garlic fries here are a bit overboard. While I commend them for TONS of garlic, this felt more like a basket of chopped garlic with some potatoes… gotta strike a better balance.
Had the sausage platter, which was not too bad, but honestly felt like a bowl of grease, some pretty good kraut, and sliced sausage. The grease was a bit overly gross for me and prevented enjoyment, but the kraut and sausage were both delicious.
I’d say, beers here are solid, food is so-​so.

Overall terrible service and mediocre food. I really want to like this place, but the service is always bad. My most recent trip here took 30 min to be sat when the restaurant was empty. They told me there were people ahead of me when there was nobody around. Then 30 min later they said they guess the other people aren’t coming back so they would seat me. Why not take care of the people who are there now than the people who check in and then leave?
Then, they took 20 min to take my order and told me they were slammed right now when there were only 3 other tables. Then another 40 min for my food to arrive and when it came, it wasn’t what I ordered. I ordered a burger medium-​rare, and it was very well-​done and overcooked. I ordered onion strings as a side and they brought me fries. They never offered to refill our drinks or check in on us.
I’ve worked in plenty of restaurants before and this is all due to poor management. The staff are friendly, the food is hit or miss, and the service is bad.

Matteo’s did its job: they fed me a decent meal and I ate it. Other than that, I wouldn’t say anything stands out from my experience for particular recommendation.
This might not be a totally fair assessment, since Nevada City has some higher expectations because of it’s touristy reputation. My group sauntered in because it was really the only place we could find in the few downtown blocks that either had seating available or wasn’t overpriced. The interior is nice and rustic with an attractive back patio. We were seated inside at the end table with a lamp so bright we felt like we were under interrogation. Our server was nice and the food came at a decent clip. My grilled cheese sandwich was heavy on the bread and light on the cheese, and the fries could have used a little more salt. Still, I was hungry, so I ate away.
I’d go back to Matteo’s when I go back to Nevada City. It just may not be my first choice.