At NOCA, the food is great, but the overall evening played out like a pro and con list, so here it goes
PROS
We were easily able to get reservations and were seated promptly
The menu was diverse and many things looked wonderful
All of our dishes (pasta, sea bass, steak) were tasty and were followed by almost equally yummy deserts
CONS
the atmosphere is loud, making it hard to converse. It probably didn't help that there was a kid's birthday party at the table next to us.
The waitress wasn't overly friendly and was confused by our drink order..I'm not sure about the finesse of the staff Deb L speaks about. Not that they were bad, but it wasn't comparable to Lon's or T Cooks.
The portions weren't really large enough given the prices. My husband was very hungry after his steak ($30?) as the portion was small. And although my handmade pasta was enough for me, I found myself reaching for the bread--something I don't need to do at Pasta Bar. I also prefer to have a side salad with my meal, that doesn't cost $12.
I needed to use the restroom, as did many of the other 20 female guests. With only one restroom this led to a line at the bathroom, not something I'm expecting when shelling out $150+ for a meal for 3.
Overall, I think I'll be back, but maybe for a Sunday meal, but it was a change from our normal rotations!