First I have to say that I've only been once and only had appetizers (several as I was with a group on business). We had cocktails, pizzas, and several of their cheese and meat trays.
I wasn't excited to go as I used to have a North in my neighborhood in Glendale and was not impressed. I've also been to the Scottsdale location and the white leather, super modern motif doesn't really do it for me. The food was always "just ok" too, especially for the price.
Things have changed. The North in Arcadia is set up to look like a rustic Italian kitchen. I give major kudos for the pasta being freshly made by hand.
The cocktails I was having (called the Quiet Italian Gentleman) were a fantastic mix of rye, amaretto, and two other Italian liquors. Yum!
Another cool note is that they use a hand cranked deli slicer to slice their meats in order not to melt the wonderful fats in the meat. I've never seen this before and enjoyed the touch.
Pizzas were fair to good, but pizza is a tough nut to crack. I think I had every meat and cheese they offered. Every one was quite nice.
The only draw back was that it was HOT inside, which is apparently a problem as the manager came by to advise that an additional unit is being installed so this shouldn't be an issue going forward.
Our server was also excellent.
I'll be back.
PS Parking is valet only, which annoys some people. Not me since it is complementary and makes me feel special so its worth the couple buck tip.